Lucas Raymond, Justin Faulk skip Red Wings practice
TLDR: Lucas Raymond and Justin Faulk both missed Red Wings practice Monday, 2 days after Raymond took a big hit from Kaiden Guhle, but Todd McLellan says both had maintenance days and will play Tuesday.
Detroit hit the ice Monday morning, and the first thing people noticed was who wasn't on it.
Red Wings practice, don't see Lucas Raymond. Took a big hit from Guhle Saturday in 2p, finished the game. Will know more post-practice.
That's what made people nervous. Raymond took the hit from Guhle in the 2nd period Saturday in Montreal and finished the game, but when a top-line winger who just got rocked doesn't show up for practice 2 days later, Red Wings fans tend to assume the worst. Guhle was playing his first game of the season that night. He'd sat out Montreal's first 4 games and had just been cleared to return, and he made his presence felt right away.
Raymond wasn't the only regular missing. The full practice sheet showed Nate Danielson slotted into Raymond's spot next to Dylan Larkin and Viktor Arvidsson, Andrew Compher skating with Dries and Mazur, and no Justin Faulk on the back end.
Red Wings practice lines and pairs Arvidsson Larkin Danielson DeBrincat Finnie MBN Rasmussen Copp Kolesar Dries Compher Mazur Chiarot Seider Albert Anton Wallinder ASP Englund JBD No Raymond, no Faulk today
Danielson getting a run on the top line is interesting on its own, even if it's just for a practice. But nobody shuffles lines on a Monday for fun, and with 2 key guys out at once you could start to picture a Tuesday lineup without either of them. Then McLellan talked after practice and calmed everybody down.
McLellan says Raymond & Faulk had maintenance days, will play Tuesday when Red Wings host Devils.
So it's a maintenance day, not an injury. According to McLellan, both are playing Tuesday when the Devils come to Detroit. Raymond is the guy that hit would have hurt most to lose. He's one of the main drivers of this offense, and a long absence would have meant Danielson or somebody else getting top-6 minutes they haven't earned yet.
The usual caveat applies. Coaches call it maintenance all the time and it turns out to be something more, so the real tell is Tuesday's morning skate and whether Raymond's back with Larkin and Arvidsson at puck drop. If he is, this was a Monday scare and nothing more. If Danielson is still there, that's when you can worry.
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