Archive for the 'Tomas Kopecky' Category

Kopecky’s ACL torn

Published
by
Matt Saler
on April 4, 2008
in Darren McCarty, Injuries, Justin Abdelkader and Tomas Kopecky
. 4 Comments

George Sipple reports that Tomas Kopecky tore his ACL and sprained his MCL last night.

According to Ken Holland, he’ll need surgery when the swelling subsides. He will miss 4-6 months, which puts him out of the playoffs for sure. At latest, he’ll be making his return to the ice around the time the Wings start the 08-09 season.

What a shame. Kopecky has had a solid season, occasional weak games aside. He plays angry, which is always a good thing to see in a Red Wings forward, and has the size to back it up. As Ken Holland told Sipple,

“We’ll miss him. Our depth is getting tested up front.”

The Wings do have that depth, though. Given the size and speed of Justin Abdelkader, it’s not outside the realm of possibility that he could find a place on the roster while players like Mikael Samuelsson (groin) and Kris Draper (groin) recover. His lack of experience counts against him, of course, but he stands a fair chance of winning over Babcock, I would think.

Darren McCarty is also an option, though he apparently has a ways to go with attaining NHL-level conditioning (one possible explanation for his being a healthy scratch twice since returning).

Best wishes on a speedy recovery, Tomas. See you next season.

4/4 Notes

Published
by
Matt Saler
on April 4, 2008
in 2007-2008, Blue Jackets, Dominik Hasek, Injuries, Justin Abdelkader, Tomas Holmstrom and Tomas Kopecky
. 2 Comments

… I only caught the first period of the game, so I can only comment directly on that.

I thought it was a marked improvement over their first period performance in Chicago Wednesday night. Dominik Hasek looked strong, the forwards were dangerous, and the defense was relatively tight.

It’s easy to write the Jackets off because they aren’t making the playoffs once again. However, they have developed into a talented team and are just a piece or two away from providing competition in the Central. The common assessment is that they just need a center for Rick Nash and a puck-moving defenseman. It’s hard to disagree. They’ve already got most everything else.

… Just from the highlight reel, it’s easy to see why the Wings had to make a comeback in this one: Pascal Leclaire. The guy had 36 saves in his first game back from a concussion and there were some very impressive ones.

Hasek’s 20 saves is an obvious improvement over his performance prior to being pulled Wednesday, but I’m a little concerned about the two goals he did allow. The replays show long shots that were only marginally screened. I can’t tell if either of them was tipped, but I do know that the original shooter got credit both times. So, if they came off deflections, it was off a Red Wing both times. That would just be Dom’s luck.

Maybe someone who saw them live can comment on Dom’s performance.

… The good news to come out of the game, aside from the win, was the fact that the Wings finally locked up first place overall and home ice throughout the playoffs. I hear they hand out a trophy for that, but I’m more interested in the fact that they won’t have to deal with any road Game 7’s.

… The bad news to come out of the game was the injury to Tomas Kopecky. He hurt his knee 6:40 into the third period when he got tangled with Manny Malholtra. He didn’t make it back and the initial impression isn’t a positive one. He’ll be undergoing tests to determine the severity of the injury.

Kopey is a role player on the team, but a valuble one. He’s still in the maturing phase of his game, but he plays with an edge that will be vital in the post-season. Here’s hoping he’s not out long.

… In addition to the bad news about Kopecky, the news on Maltby was less than good: Mickey Redmond said before the game that it looks like he’ll be out 10-14 days.

… With Vancouver’s loss and Nashville’s win, the Canucks and Blackhawks were eliminated from playoff contention. The remaining possibilities are Calgary and Nashville.

If Chicago beats the Preds tonight, we’ll see Nashville in the first round. If the Predators lose and the Predators win, we’ll get the Flames in the first round for the second year in a row.

… By all accounts, it sounds like Justin Abdelkader had a strong debut. Given that and the fact that Kopecky is hurt, he may find a regular injury replacement spot in the coming weeks.

Of course, there remains the small issue of his entry level contract, on which he and the team must agree by Saturday or he’ll be inelligible for post-season play. I doubt there’ll be much trouble with that, though.

… An injury update: Tomas Holmstrom (groin/abdomen) characterized himself as definitely in for Sunday’s game.

3/7 Post-practice Update

Published
by
Matt Saler
on March 7, 2008
in Chris Chelios, Darren McCarty, Injuries, Nick Lidstrom, Tomas Kopecky and Valtteri Filppula
. 0 Comments

Bruce MacLeod has the latest from the Joe:

… Nick Lidstrom (knee) participated in battle drills today and is headed for a Sunday return. The team will finalize his status on Saturday after practice.

… Chris Chelios (bone chip, right leg) is feeling better and hopes to be ready to play against Nashville. However, MacLeod says it’s unlikely he’ll dress and that he’s it’s a better bet he’ll return Tuesday.

… Darren McCarty is in town, but only to undergo treatment for a rib injury he suffered Sunday. He played through it Wednesday night, but must have aggravated it during that game.  MacLeod says he may play for the Griffins Saturday night. He’ll be back in Detroit on Monday as his conditioning stint will be over.

… Valtteri Filppula apparently has a leg injury that kept him out of practice. Mike Babcock said he’ll be okay for Sunday, though.

…  Tomas Kopecky skated and suffered no ill effects from the big hit he took late in the game Wednesday night.

3/6 Notes

Published
by
Matt Saler
on March 6, 2008
in 2007-2008, Aaron Downey, Andreas Lilja, Blues, Brett Lebda, Brian Rafalski, Coyotes, Derek Meech, Jonathan Ericsson, Manny Legace, Stars and Tomas Kopecky
. 6 Comments

… I only caught the first period of the Wings’ 4-1 win over the Blues last night. I was reasonably impressed with what I saw, though it’s obvious they aren’t quite firing on all cylinders yet. Still, it’s a marked improvement over their February play, that’s for sure.

I have to say something about the phantom Pavel Datsyuk call that led to the Blues’ late first period power play. What the heck was that? I’d like to think that the official who called the penalty knows the difference between a trip and a player falling on his own. Apparently not.

In the end, it doesn’t matter, but my confidence in the officiating is waning. What with the missed call in the Sharks game Friday night, the play that was not stopped in Buffalo Sunday, and various phantom calls, how are we expected to trust in the referees? It’s not as though it’s just a problem in Wings games either. Just ask the Philadelphia Flyers.  I hate to complain about the officiating, but to me this is a League-wide quality issue, not a Wings fan-specific gripe.

… I’ve been trying to cut Andreas Lilja some slack lately. I figure there’s a reason he remains in the lineup, despite his more visible blunders. With that change in mindset, I’ve been able to appreciate big #3 more.

On the Blues’ goal, however, I thought his attempt to knock the puck down was a little on the boneheaded side. It turned out to be a perfect redirect. I thought the conventional wisdom was that defensemen leave the puck alone if they can’t outright block it. With Stempniak  right there, I can understand what Andreas was trying to do, but it just didn’t turn out so well.

… It wasn’t  Brett Lebda that Mike Babcock sat in favor of Jonathan Ericsson  last night. It was Derek Meech. I admit it, I was surprised. Meech apparently hit a high point against Edmonton last week, but his play since was still quite good, I thought. I assume Babcock was just demonstrating to Meech that his spot on the roster is not a given. Hopefully it won’t backfire, somewhat like we saw with Quincey.

… Giving Ericsson another game paid off, if only because of a little drop pass  that kicked off the cycle leading to Pavel Datsyuk’s first goal. If Nick Lidstrom does return Sunday, however, last night was probably Ericsson’s last game in the Winged Wheel this season as he’ll be returned to Grand Rapids.

… Since I missed the second and third periods, I didn’t see the hit on Tomas Kopecky or the aftermath.  It didn’t make the cut on the highlight reel, and neither did the Rafalski throwdown or Downey’s coming off the bench. Too bad. IwoCPO says he’ll have video later.

I’m glad to read that Kopecky’s okay. He looked good in the first period and I assume played a strong game in the second and third, as well.

… I don’t know what he looked like in the second and third, obviously, but you get the feeling that Jiri Hudler is finally going to break out of this horrendous slump. I thought he looked strong in the first.

… Where was Manny Legace’s head on Brian Rafalski’s goal? It just blew by him.

… The Dallas Stars lost at home to the Coyotes last night. That’s two home losses in a row for the second-ranked team in the Conference. Much ballyhooed trade deadline acquisition Brad Richards has zero points in both games since posting five in his debut with the Stars. That’s called being brought back to earth.

The Wings’ two consecutive wins have put them 7 points ahead of Dallas and they retain two games in hand.

St. James: Osgood to start versus Phoenix

Published
by
Matt Saler
on November 30, 2007
in Aaron Downey, Chris Osgood, Dominik Hasek, Injuries, Links, Matt Ellis and Tomas Kopecky
. 0 Comments

Helene St. James reports that Chris Osgood will get his fourth straight start Saturday night against the Coyotes.

Personally, I’d like to see Dominik Hasek get a chance to get on track, but this gels with Bruce MacLeod’s report of earlier this week in which he reported that Dom would start either Saturday or Tuesday. Hopefully Babcock will stick with that plan, as Hasek needs some reps, even if Osgood is tearing it up.

Also, Kirk Maltby (back) did not skate today, so he will not dress tomorrow. Matt Ellis, having been cleared to play, will return to the lineup and will give the team some added defensive security. He practiced on the fourth line with Aaron Downey and Tomas Kopecky.

11/27 Injury Update

Published
by
Matt Saler
on November 28, 2007
in Chris Osgood, Dominik Hasek, Injuries, Kirk Maltby, Kris Draper, Matt Ellis and Tomas Kopecky
. 2 Comments

Update (4:40 PM): It looks like the Wings’ site is ramping up the news updates, even on off days. Nice to see. DetroitRedWings.com’s Bob Roose has more on Draper’s knee injury, including a better description of what happened and on the effect the injury will have on the roster make-up.

Also, a response to this piece by Ryan Dixon of The Hockey News, in which he berates Andreas Lilja for fighting Dion Phaneuf after the latter’s high hit on Jiri Hudler last night. Regardless of the cleanliness of the hit (a somewhat debatable point given the fact that Phaneuf left his feet and used his elbow), Lilja was perfectly within his rights to challenge the Flames defenseman. Like George Malik points out, Phaneuf did not have to accept the challenge and could have easily skated away. Few would have questioned his toughness.

Dixon betrays his true motivations for criticizing Lilja here:

Would the thinking go: “Well, I could give my team a lift by laying somebody out, but is that worth our worst defenseman getting more ice time while I sit in the box for five minutes?”

Dixon’s all wound up because Phaneuf is touted as a star in the League, whereas is Lilja a no-name player who had the gall to challenge him and take him off the ice, away from prospective fans, for a whole five minutes. Mr. Dixon, it’s part of the game and Lilja earned points with his own fanbase for the fight. It’s not all about Phaneuf. It’s too bad for the Flames that it happened in the last 7 minutes, but, again, Phaneuf didn’t have to fight. - Matt

Update (3:22 PM): Red Wings TV has added three post-practice interviews:

- Matt
… Bruce MacLeod reports that Kris Draper will be out 10-14 days with a knee sprain. That’s a big hit to the team’s defensive capablities, especially going into the game against the NHL points leader Vincent Lecavalier and Tampa Bay tomorrow night. It’s not the end of the world by any means, given the defensive talent on the roster, but the third line won’t be as effective at shutting the other team down.

… Tomas Kopecky has been cleared to play.

… It looks like the earliest Matt Ellis will be back is Tuesday night in Montreal.

… Kirk Maltby did not practice today and the reason given is a shoulder injury. MacLeod does not know his status for the Tampa Bay game. If he’s not able to go, the team will carry 7 defensemen or call up a forward from Grand Rapids in order to fill in the empty roster spot. Personally, I hope Derek Meech gets to see some ice time, if Maltby needs a night off. The last thing the Griffins need is to lose a forward, however temporarily.

… Apparently, Chris Osgood will start again tomorrow night. It’ll be his third start in a row. Dominik Hasek is slated to start either Saturday or Tuesday. Babcock says the strategy is to play Osgood more in the first half in order to rest Dom for the second half and the playoffs. Okay, I can believe that, but tell me Dom wouldn’t be starting more often if he were tearing it up like Osgood has been.

Khan: Osgood to start versus Calgary

Published
by
Matt Saler
on November 26, 2007
in Chris Osgood, Dominik Hasek, Injuries, Matt Ellis and Tomas Kopecky
. 0 Comments

Update (4:10 PM): Bruce MacLeod has more on the situation. Basically, Osgood is getting the team points, while Hasek is not. So, the “backup” gets the start while the “starter” sits. - Matt

Ansar Khan reports that Chris Osgood will get a second consecutive start Tuesday night versus the Flames. Something’s obviously going on behind the scenes here. Sure, Ozzie’s earned it, but Hasek is still nominally the starter and you’d think he’d be in net again after a strong showing Thursday night.

Khan also says that Matt Ellis did not skate today, as his headaches continue. Sounds like it could be a concussion, though Babcock professes to know nothing about it. Tomas Kopecky (shoulder) skated, but mostly by himself.

Kopecky update

Published
by
Matt Saler
on November 21, 2007
in Aaron Downey, Injuries, Links, Matt Ellis and Tomas Kopecky
. 2 Comments

Bruce MacLeod reports that the initial diagnosis on Tomas Kopecky’s injury is that it’s muscular and will require only a short rest. That’s just a preliminary take, however, so it could turn out to be worse than that. In the meantime, Matt Ellis or Aaron Downey will be able to step in.

More on the Wings’ 3-0 win over St. Louis tomorrow.

11/6 Post-practice Update

Published
by
Matt Saler
on November 6, 2007
in Aaron Downey, Chris Osgood, Dallas Drake, Dominik Hasek, Injuries, Jiri Hudler, Matt Ellis and Tomas Kopecky
. 0 Comments

… Bruce MacLeod, Ansar Khan, Helene St. James, and Ted Kulfan all report that Chris Osgood will be the starter tomorrow night against the Predators while Dominik Hasek will make his return from an aggravated hip Friday versus the Blue Jackets.

… MacLeod is the only one of the beat writers to go beyond the goalie story and report on other items of interest from practice. First of all, he reaffirms that Niklas Kronwall won’t be back Wednesday. Good to know (and to be reminded yet again of how injury prone Nik is).

He then suggests that Jiri Hudler could be a healthy scratch tomorrow, given that he’s been working with the first and second lines all week and hasn’t had reps with the fourth line, to which he was supposedly demoted Sunday. MacLeod’s suggestion is given added weight by the fact that Aaron Downey, Dallas Drake, and Matt Ellis have been the first group of forwards to represent the fourth line in drills lately, and that at the expense of Tomas Kopecky.

Assuming MacLeod’s speculation is correct, it looks like Babcock is gearing up for a physical showdown with the Predators by dumping some offense in exchange for toughness. I still think Hudler’s getting the shaft because he’s shown himself capable of playing against physical teams, but it does make sense to put the biggest and grittiest guys in there against a Nashville team that no doubt will be running and gunning for the Wings’ top line.

If Babcock does make these changes, it’ll be one of those rare instances in which the Wings throw down the gauntlet on physicality. I like it, despite the fact that I think it’s grossly unfair to Hudler.

Some new jersey numbers

Published
by
Matt Saler
on August 27, 2007
in Brian Rafalski, Dallas Drake, Links and Tomas Kopecky
. 0 Comments

George Malik points out that the Wings’ official site has an updated number for Tomas Kopecky and free agent signing Dallas Drake. Kopecky gave up #28 to Brian Rafalski and will take #82 this season. Dallas Drake can’t wear his St. Louis number, 10, here in Detroit, as it hangs in the rafters with Alex Delvecchio’s name on it. And he can’t wear the number he wore on his first time in the Winged Wheel, 28. So, it looks like he’s picked #17, most recently worn by Kyle Calder, as well as, more famously, Brett Hull and, more nostalgically, by Doug Brown.