Detroit Red Wings forward Michael Rasmussen has been ruled out indefinitely with a lower-body injury.
Rasmussen was injured in the first period Saturday, buckling in pain after getting hit in the kneecap by a puck fired by Tampa Bay’s Zach Bogosian, who has a heavy shot. Wings coach Derek Lalonde said Sunday the team should know more in the next couple days.
The Wings at least expect to be able to counter Rasmussen’s absence with the impending return of Lucas Raymond. He has missed eight games — during which the Wings went 6-2 — with a lower-body injury. And Jakub Vrana is available, too; he was a healthy scratch in Saturday’s 3-0 defeat, part of a rotation of forwards who have sat out in recent weeks that also numbers Dominik Kubalik, Filip Zadina and Jonatan Berggren.
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The injury interrupted what had been a stellar season for Rasmussen. Now in his fourth year with the Wings, he already earned a career high with 29 points, and, with 10 goals in 56 games, was on pace to match the career-best 15 he recorded last season.
Rasmussen, 23, thrived being moved from playing center on the third line to playing wing on the second, developing chemistry with middle-man Andrew Copp. Rasmussen also made himself valuable on the penalty kill, and has performed well in all facets of the game.
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“What he’s brought to our team, not just on the score sheet but physicality, penalty kill, doing all the little things it takes to win. It hurts. I feel for him, we all do,” Dylan Larkin said. “Just his commitment to the team, his leadership, he’s really found a great role and he’s expanded his game in that role. It just sucks for him right now.”
The Wings have dealt multiple times this season with losing players to injury stemming from being hit by a puck. Tyler Bertuzzi broke his hand in the second game of the season and missed a month; shortly after returning he broke his other hand, and missed nearly six weeks. Zadina needed leg surgery after sustaining a hit in early November that left him sidelined three months.
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