Red Wings lose Filppula to broken wrist
Last Updated: Friday, October 30, 2009 | 8:42 PM ET
The Associated Press
Red Wings centre Valtteri Filppula has six points in 11 games this season. (Paul Gilham/Getty Images) Detroit Red Wings forward Valtteri Filppula is out six to eight weeks after breaking his right wrist.
The six-foot, 190-pound centre was injured on a hard, clean check by Edmonton's Gilbert Brule in the second period of a 6-5 shootout win by the Oilers on Thursday.
"Obviously, I feel terrible," Filppula, who has six points in 11 games this season, told reporters after Thursday's contest. "But there's nothing I can do about it now."
Detroit, which sat 13th in the NHL's Western Conference entering Friday's action, is also without right-winger Johan Franzen until at least February after he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in a Oct. 8 game against Chicago.
"It's a big blow, obviously," said Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock of the Filppula injury. "We're going to have to buckle down as a team. It doesn't matter who's not here.
"We are going to miss Fil. You don't replace good players like that. But we have to find a way to win games."
Detroit (4-4-3) is 1-1-2 on its current five-game road trip that wraps up Saturday against the Calgary Flames (CBC, CBCSports.ca, 10 p.m. ET).
With files from CBCSports.ca
