Tyler Bertuzzi out six weeks, as Red Wings attempt to fill void again

Detroit News

Detroit — The Red Wings will be without forward Tyler Bertuzzi for a lengthy period again.

Coach Derek Lalonde said Friday that Bertuzzi underwent surgery for an upper-body injury (believed to be Bertuzzi’s hand) and will be out about six weeks.

Bertuzzi was hit in the left hand area by a shot in the third period Wednesday against Buffalo, was in immediate pain, and headed straight to the Wings’ locker room. The Wings placed Bertuzzi on injured reserve Thursday, and called up Austin Czarnik.

Bertuzzi broke his right hand while blocking a shot the second game of the season in New Jersey and missed a month. Bertuzzi has one goal and three assists in nine games this season.

“You feel for him,” Lalonde said. “It’s a gaping hole within our top six (forwards), but we’ve had some experience with it now and we’ve had some success with him out of our lineup. We’ll be just fine from the team side of it, but with that said, you feel for him.”

Bertuzzi struggled upon his return, including a glaring turnover in front of his net in his first game back Anaheim which led to the Ducks’ overtime winning goal, but Lalonde felt Bertuzzi was finding his game.

“There will be some rust to his game, and I watched him subconsciously trying to manage his game a little better, and there were a bunch of turnovers and risk to his game the first couple of games, but he was doing a much better job managing his game like everybody else,” Lalonde said. “It’s unfortunate timing.”

Bertuzzi was a 30-goal scorer for the first time in his career last season. Losing that sort of offensive ability will be difficult for the Wings to replace.

“He had one goal on his return but his chances, two or three games, he could have had three goals,” Lalonde said. “Just being around the net, for a team already struggling to create some offense, obviously we don’t want a potential 30- or 40-goal scorer out.”

Captain Dylan Larkin, often Bertuzzi’s linemate, also felt bad considering the timing, and Bertuzzi getting hurt so quickly after recovering from the previous injury.

“It’s tough,” Larkin said. “I just feel for him. The team, we’re doing to miss him, (but) we’re going to find a way to go on. We have to take a step, all of us have to, for what he brings. But I feel for him. I felt he was just kind of getting his legs back and getting back to the swing of things and it happens again with his hand.

“It’s unfortunate news but we have to step up and fill the void.”

ted.kulfan@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @tkulfan

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