The Red Wings got a not-so-encouraging injury update from coach Todd McLellan on top-pairing blueliner Simon Edvinsson. Edvinsson was a surprise scratch right before Thursday night’s game against the Minnesota Wild. The Wings played on back-to-back nights after defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 in overtime on Wednesday night.
Edvinsson scored a goal in the game, while logging 26:45 of ice time against Toronto. However, McLellan revealed after the game against the Wild that Edvinsson wasn’t fully ready after the Maple Leafs’ game. The Detroit Free Press reported McLellan’s comments, stating:
“He was questionable leaving Toronto last night. We thought we might be able to get him get him through another game, but having today off and tomorrow off will certainly help him."
The Red Wings have Friday off before facing the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday at the Canada Life Centre. However, Edvinsson remains questionable for Saturday night’s tilt. While McLellan didn’t rule out Edvinsson completely, he wasn’t fully certain about the 22-year-old hitting the ice in Winnipeg.
“There’s a chance, yeah. We'll have to get him looked at but he's walking around and feeling okay. It's just got to get a little better."
The Red Wings will be hoping that Edvinsson is good to go on Saturday night. As the Free Press reported, the original plan was to scratch Axel Sandin-Pellikka. The rookie blueliner has been the grind of playing in his first full NHL season.
Sandin-Pellikka has appeared in all 52 games this season. That total has surpassed his career-high of 48 games, which he played last season between the Swedish league and the AHL. As such, the Red Wings will be looking to give Sandin-Pellikka a break.
Edvinsson key to Red Wings’ plans for Sandin-Pellikka
Edvinsson’s late scratch forced the Red Wings to deploy Sandin-Pellikka instead of scratching him as originally planned. That situation essentially forced McLellan to roll with five defensemen for much of the night. Sandin-Pellikka only saw 12:31 of ice time, including two shifts during the second period.
McLellan addressed the situation regarding Sandin-Pellikka, "If we just stop and think about it. He's 20 years old, and he's played in the second pair since Day 1. It's a grind right now – this is the max amount of games he's ever played in his life in a season, and he's doing it against men and having to travel. So it's taxing, but he's handling it well, he's very determined, and it's our job to help him get through it."
That’s why getting Edvinsson back would allow the Red Wings to give Sandin-Pellikka a break. Veteran Travis Hamonic and Jacob Bernard-Docker can pick up the slack, while Edvinsson takes his usual place on the top pair with Moritz Seider.
Seider, incidentally, was a workhorse on Thursday night in Minnesota. He logged nearly 28 minutes of ice time, with Ben Chiarot clocking in at 21:56. Chiarot spent much of the night with Seider, though Bernard-Docker also got a few shifts in with Seider.
Ultimately, Edvinsson will be a game-time decision on Saturday night as the Red Wings look to bounce back from their loss to the Wild on Thursday night.