Detroit — The ice storm that pounded the region impacted the Red Wings on Thursday morning.
The Wings canceled their morning skate Thursday, ahead of tonight’s game against the New York Rangers (7 p.m., BSD/The Ticket).
The Wings had an official day off Wednesday, returning from a five-city, nine-day road trip in which they went 4-1-0 and moved within two points of a playoff spot.
How the Wings’ lineup will look Thursday night will be something to watch.
According to capfriendly.com, the Wings have reassigned Jakub Vrana to minor-league affiliate Grand Rapids. Vrana was recalled last week when Lucas Raymond (lower-body injury) was placed on the injured list. Vrana played in Tuesday’s 3-1 victory in Washington.
But, the Wings have made no official announcement regarding the move, and Vrana is still listed on the official notes for tonight’s game, indicating either that Vrana is still in Detroit and Raymond is not ready, or the Vrana move was some sort of paper transaction to fiddle with salary-cap space or circumvent Vrana’s waiver eligibility.
Raymond has missed the last six games, but coach Derek Lalonde indicated Raymond could be ready to face the Rangers.
Lalonde also indicated he’d like to get Filip Zadina, who was a healthy scratch Tuesday to get Vrana into the lineup, back into Thursday’s lineup.
Vrana played the first two games this season, then entered the NHL/NHLPA players assistance program, keeping him out of hockey for two months. Vrana returned in mid-December, was waived by the Wings, but went unclaimed and was sent to Grand Rapids.
Twitter: @tkulfan