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Tuesday Numbers :: Injuries

In celebration of Johan Franzen‘s return to the lineup tonight, let’s take a look at the players that have missed the most games due to injury, illness, or rehabilitation assignments to Grand Rapids. Please note that these numbers do not include games in which the players were healthy scratches.

TOTAL NUMBER OF GAMES MISSED: 09-10 SEASON
1 :: Andreas Lilja — 58 (post-concussion)
2 :: Johan Franzen — 55 (torn left ACL)
3 :: Jason Williams — 38 (right fibula)
4 :: Niklas Kronwall — 31 (sprained left knee)
5 :: Valtteri Filppula — 26 (broken right wrist)
6 :: Jonathan Ericsson — 14 (flu, left knee)
7 :: Tomas Holmstrom — 13 (fractured foot)
8 :: Dan Cleary — 12 (separated shoulder)
9 :: Henrik Zetterberg — 8 (left shoulder)
10 :: Darren Helm — 6 (left shoulder, wrist)
T11 :: Patrick Eaves — 4 (right foot, left ankle, flu)
T11 :: Brian Rafalski — 4 (flu, stiff back. flu)
T13 :: Brad May — 3 (right eye, lower body)
T13 :: Chris Osgood — 3 (flu)
T15 :: Pavel Datsyuk — 2 (upper body)
T15 :: Kirk Maltby — 2 (flu)

As of February 9th, Andreas Lilja has missed the last ONE HUNDRED Red Wings games: regular season and playoff combined.

Interestingly, ZERO players have missed only one game due to injury. There have been fives instances in which players missed only one game during a specific injury — but they were either injured again later (or their one-game stint was after an earlier injury). You may notice a trend (also, Brian Rafalski, if you’re reading this, stop licking Patrick Eaves when you’ve got the sniffles):
1. Brian Rafalski :: November 3rd, with the flu. He would later miss games due to a sore back (and the flu again).
2. Patrick Eaves :: November 7th, with a right foot injury. He would later miss games with a left ankle injury (and the flu, as well)
3. Brian Rafalski :: December 23rd, with the flu again.
4. Patrick Eaves :: December 31st, with the flu again.
5. Brad May :: January 2nd, with a lower body injury. He also missed time after taking a teammate’s stick to the eye.

In 2008-09, the Detroit Red Wings amassed a total of 193 man-games lost due to injury. As of February 9th, the Wings have lost 279 man-games this season, and are on pace for a mind-boggling 393.

For what it’s worth, losing 278 man-games is the equivalent of 4.8 regulars being out for every game so far this season, or playing all 82 games with 3.3 fewer players than you’d like.

RED WINGS STATISTICAL LEADERS

Games Played :: Todd Bertuzzi, Nicklas Lidstrom, Brad Stuart (58 – that’s all of them)
Goals :: Henrik Zetterberg (16) [72nd in the NHL]
Assists :: Pavel Datsyuk (31) [32nd in the NHL]
Points :: Pavel Datsyuk (46) [39th in the NHL]
+/- :: Nicklas Lidstrom (+21) [14th in the NHL]
PIM :: Todd Bertuzzi (64) [67th in the NHL, tied with Alex Ovechkin]
Power Play Goals :: Tomas Holmstrom (7) [31st in the NHL]
Shorthanded Goals :: Darren Helm (2) [7th in the NHL]
Game Winning Goals :: Henrik Zetterberg (4) [20th in the NHL]
Shots :: Henrik Zetterberg (202) [10th in the NHL]
Shooting % :: Tomas Holmstrom (17.6%) [11th in the NHL]
Time on Ice Average :: Nicklas Lidstrom (25:33) [8th in the NHL]
Shifts Per Game :: Nicklas Lidstrom (29.3) [27th in the NHL]
Faceoff % :: Pavel Datsyuk (56.5) [11th in the NHL]
Faceoffs Taken :: Pavel Datsyuk (708) [52nd in the NHL]
Hits :: Justin Abdelkader (152) [19th in the NHL [Active leader: Brad Stuart, 145, 23rd]
Giveaways :: Pavel Datsyuk, Brian Rafalski (54) [tied for 11th in the NHL]
Takeaways :: Pavel Datsyuk (82) [1st in the NHL]

CHRIS CHELIOS AWARD Update
*Given at the year’s end to the Red Wings defenseman with the fewest goals scored in the most games played. The player must have played in at least 3/4 of the team’s games. The award is named for Chris Chelios, who scored 23 goals in his EXACTLY 600 games as a Red Wing.*
1. Brett Lebda (1 goal, 54 games)
2. Brad Stuart (2 goals, 58 games)
3. Brian Rafalski (4 goals, 54 games)
4. Nicklas Lidstrom (6 goals, 58 games)

DANNY CLEARY “SACRAFICE YOUR FACE” AWARD Update
*Given at the year’s end to the Red Wings forward with the most blocked shots. Award is named for Dan Cleary, who is used to becoming synonymous with “black eye” and/or “broken jaw.”*
1. Darren Helm (36)
2. Patrick Eaves (31)
3. Drew Miller (27)
4. Dan Cleary (23)
T5. Pavel Datsyuk (21)
T5. Kirk Maltby (21)

DEREK MEECH AWARD Update
*Given at the year’s end to the Red Wings player with the most games spent in the press box. Award is named for Derek Meech, who was a healthy scratch 35 times last season.*
1. Derek Meech (18)
T2. Brad May (13)
T2. Ville Leino (13) — no longer with the Red Wings
3. Patrick Eaves (7)
4. Kirk Maltby (6)

GREG STEFAN AWARD Update
*Given at the year’s end to the Red Wings goaltender that makes you question how they’re in the NHL and you aren’t. Award is named for Greg Stefan, who played nine seasons for the Red Wings, but only had three seasons with goals against average under 4.*
1. Chris Osgood (7-8-4, 2.94, .891)
2. Jimmy Howard (20-13-6, 2.31, .926)

MIKAEL SAMUELSSON AWARD Update
*Given at the year’s end to the Red Wings forward with the most shots to miss the net. Award is named for Mikael Samuelsson, who literally must have been aiming for the 11th row.*
1. Henrik Zetterberg (88)
2. Todd Bertuzzi (63)
3. Pavel Datsyuk (52)
4. Patrick Eaves (41)
5. Darren Helm (39)

PAST WINNERS
The GoodFellas Award (final Red Wing to be penalized) :: Patrick Eaves
The Aaron Downey Award (final Red Wing to score a goal) :: Derek Meech

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