In Red Wings Land

Detroit Red Wings' 1st-round pick Michael Rasmussen out 4-8 weeks

“He could have waited till the end of the season, but he was tired of playing in pain,” Holland said Saturday. “We decided on surgery now because on the short end, he’ll be back some time in late Janurary; on the long end, sometime in February.

On the one hand, this obviously is not something you want to see. On the other hand, it seems to make more sense to address this now than waiting until the end of the season.

Around the NHL

On this day in NHL history: Wayne Gretzky scores 50 in 39 - Sportsnet.ca

Of all Wayne Gretzky’s numerous NHL records, there is one that seems destined to last forever.

Consider that the current goal leader is Nikita Kucherov, who has 24 goals in 37 games. If someone breaks this record, it’ll be a pretty tremendous accomplishment.