Draper & Homer still out with injuries
Kris Draper and Tomas Holmstrom are both still out with groin injuries and will not play in tomorrow’s game against Columbus.
Darren Helm was recalled to fill the roster spot left by Draper. He had just been sent back down yesterday, but then the team realized Draper wouldn’t be ready to play Wednesday and recalled Helm. Draper could return Thursday as he felt good after skating in practice today, but just wasn’t quite ready for Wednesday’s game.
Holmstrom is a bit farther behind Draper in terms of recovery. The earliest we’ll see him back in the lineup is next week, but who knows if that will actually happen. Homer still doesn’t like doing the hard stops and starts right now.
Bruce MacLeod has a great article on Johan Franzen’s recent offensive success, which can be partially attributed to the greater ice time with Homer out.
Franzen, 28, is the ultimate late-bloomer on a team laced with late-bloomers. He wasn’t drafted until he was 24, meaning that he was passed over by every NHL team in six entire drafts before the Red Wings selected him 97th overall in 2004.
Franzen didn’t reach the NHL until he was 25. His NHL ice time has been like an elevator going up, starting at 12:27 per game as a rookie, then 15:35 as a sophomore, to 17:27 in his third season. His only special-team time at first was on the penalty-kill and now he’s on the top power play on the NHL’s best team.
Chris Osgood will get the start on Wednesday with Dominik Hasek starting Thursday in Nashville.
Related Posts
Leave a Reply