Trio of players nearing a return to the Red Wings

Robby Fabbri is nearing a return for the Red Wings and there’s more help on the horizon as well as head coach Derek Lalonde told reporters, including MLive’s Ansar Khan that wingers Tyler Bertuzzi and Filip Zadina are on the same timeframe for a return and should be back in the next eight to ten days. 

Bertuzzi has missed the last month after undergoing wrist surgery and while he’s off to a slow start this season, he had a career-high 62 points in 2021-22. 

Meanwhile, Zadina has missed more than seven weeks with a lower-body injury. With those two and Fabbri close to coming back, Detroit’s forward group is about to get a lot deeper in the very near future as they look to hang around the Wild Card battle.

Elsewhere in the East:

• While Carolina’s original intention might have been to send Pyotr Kochetkov back to the minors when Frederik Andersen returns from his injury, his play has made that much more difficult. Accordingly, Adam Proteau of The Hockey News opines that Antti Raanta might be the odd one out between the pipes. He has a 2.53 GAA with a .900 SV% in 14 starts this season, a decent return on a $2.25M AAV.  While the Hurricanes likely wouldn’t be able to command a sizable return for Raanta’s services, he could be a useful pickup for a team looking for a short-term option between the pipes.
• The Blue Jackets announced that goaltender Daniil Tarasov suffered an upper-body injury in practice on Friday. The 23-year-old was likely to be sent to the minors soon with Elvis Merzlikins clearing COVID protocol earlier this week but this will now delay that for at least a few days as Tarasov is listed as day-to-day. He has played in a dozen games with Columbus this season, recording a 3.40 GAA with a .907 SV%.
• Still with the Blue Jackets, defenseman Nick Blankenburg has resumed skating as he works his way back from a broken ankle, relays Aaron Portzline of The Athletic. The 24-year-old has been out for the last seven weeks due to the injury and there remains no timetable for his return. Blankenburg has three points in seven games so far this season.