Detroit Red Wings’ Brian Rafalski out for three to four weeks after undergoing knee surgery
The Detroit Red Wings will be without one of the primary leaders of their defensive corps over the next few weeks.
Brian Rafalski is slated to be out of the Red Wings’ lineup for the next three to four weeks as he undergoes arthroscopic knee surgery. The team has called up defenceman Doug Janik from
their American Hockey League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins. Janik will serve as Rafalski’s replacement while he is on the mend.
“The three or four week timetable is a bit of a guess,” Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said of Rafalski’s surgery. “It could be sooner, it could be longer. But basically the scope
went well, (and) the doctors found some loose fragments floating around and cleaned the knee. We’ll wait and see how the knee responds, and hopefully within a couple of weeks he’ll be back on the ice skating and take it from there.”
Rafalski, 37, is one of Detroit’s top defencemen. He has picked up an assist in each game that the team has played this far, and he helps to run their power play from the right point.
The 5ft 10in native of Dearborn, Michigan, is known for his superb tape-to-tape passes, and also for his ability to provide the team with some key offence from the back end.
On Monday, October 11, Rafalski left the Wings’ practice early after complaining of pain in his knee. Doctors then went to work on the defenceman, draining his injured knee of some of
the fluid inside.
Janik, who will take Rafalski’s spot on the blue line, is a journeyman defender who has played with a plethora of NHL teams. He played 13 games for Red Wings last season, and has played
in 174 games during his NHL career.
The Red Wings’ next game will be against the Dallas Stars on Thursday, October 14.
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