The Red Wings will be without Tomas Jurco tonight in Calgary.
Jurco left Tuesday night's game in Edmonton after the second period because of back spasms.
"It's been a little sore for a while and (Tuesday) night it got really bad," Jurco told reporters in Calgary Wednesday. "I just had to get out of the game."
Jurco said he would undergo tests on his back when the team returns to Detroit after the game Wednesday.
He didn't expect the long flight to be much fun.
"Yeah, it's going to hurt, but what can I do?" Jurco said.
Jurco said he's had lower back pain before but nothing that forced him to miss time.
"It's not like it was affecting me," Jurco said. "Not on the ice, maybe sometimes on the bench sitting. But then when I went to play I was good again and went to the bench and I was sore. It's been like that for a little while but I was still good to play with, just last night it got worse."
NYQUIST FINED
The NHL announced Wednesday that forward Gustav Nyquist has received a $2,000 fine Wednesday as supplementary discipline for diving/embellishment.
According to NHL.com, NHL Rule 64 "is designed to bring attention to and more seriously penalize players (and teams) who repeatedly dive and embellish in an attempt to draw penalties."
The NHL's Hockey Operations department tracks all games and issues citations on a graduated scale.
After receiving a warning, a player's next infraction is a $2,000 fine. Each subsequent citation increase the fine amount by $1,000.
The maximum fine for a player is $5,000.
If a player gets a fifth citation after the initial warning, then the player's head coach is fined $2,000 in addition to the player's fine of $5,000. If that player gets additional citations, the head coach's fine increases by $1,000 each time up to a maximum of $5,000.
According to the story on NHL.com, Nyquist received an initial warning from an incident Nov. 28 at New Jersey.
Then on Dec. 29 at Boston, NHL's Hockey Operations department determined that the play in which Bruins forward Chris Kelly took a tripping penalty, Nyquist was guilty of diving or embellishment.
MRAZEK GETS A START
Jimmy Howard is the Wings starting goaltender, which leaves backup Petr Mrazek mostly on the bench.
But since Howard started Tuesday in Edmonton, Mrazek gets the call for Wednesday's game in Calgary.
It's Mrazek's first start since Dec. 23 against Buffalo.
"If I'm playing here one game in 10 days or two weeks, it's much better than playing three games in the AHL," Mrazek told reporters in Calgary. "The level here is so much higher."
Mrazek, 22, said he works hard in practice with goaltending coach Jim Bedard to stay fresh.
"I wouldn't say it's difficult," Mrazek said. "You have to be ready every game. You never know what happens. Practice hard and be ready."
It will be Mrazek's eighth game of the season. He is 4-2-1 with a 2.35 goals-against average and .917 save percentage.
It's Mrazek's fifth game on the road.
"I played here in World Juniors in 2012," Mrazek said. "The games on the road are fun. You have to enjoy it and have fun if you're playing at home or on the road, it's the same game."
