The Detroit Red Wings have been pushing themselves into the 2022-23 postseason race. They are trying to capture one of the Wildcard spots in the Eastern Conference, and things seem to be shaping up for a fun run down the home stretch.
However, given the recent update on his injury situation, the Detroit Red Wings may be without forward Michael Rasmussen. He was ruled out indefinitely, with an update expected this week as the Red Wings forward sustained what looked like a knee injury against Tampa Bay on Saturday night.
Here’s the update from the Red Wings on Twitter:
Rasmussen left the ice with a gingerly skate to the bench on Saturday after wearing a shot off the knee from Lightning defender Zach Bogosian. It looked like it caught him a little off to the side and could be a bit problematic. It’s a concern either way as the Red Wings keep moving through their season.
Detroit Red Wings forward Michael Rasmussen was ruled out indefinitely.
The Red Wings have been relying on Rasmussen as of late. He’s really stepped up and seen a bit of emergence in his performance. Rasmussen’s offense has seen an uptick, and he’s been playing a complete game and finding a way to get involved.
Through 56 games played in 2022-23, Michael Rasmussen has ten goals and 19 assists for 29 total points. He’s been involved in both ends of the ice, bringing some physicality to the Red Wings lineup and just acting as a big piece of what the Red Wings are doing as they have been on a tear lately.
Losing him would be a significant detriment for sure. It felt like all the momentum in the world was with the Red Wings over the last few weeks, but a tough loss to Tampa Bay, where Andrei Vasilevskiy stole the show and losing Rasmussen could stall the momentum a bit.
On top of that, Rasmussen’s injury could very well prompt General Manager (GM) Steve Yzerman to make a move this week. Not that he’s going to go overboard and pick up a huge name, but something could come up before the trade deadline for the Red Wings to add some depth.
With Rasmussen possibly being out for a while, there could be more work for Yzerman to do to check on anyone available and make sure there’s not a good fit to bring in a player to add to the forward core he’s missing out on.