The Detroit Red Wings will dress Todd Bertuzzi and move Mikael Samuelsson to the top line for Game 4 in place of the suspended Justin Abdelkader, head coach Mike Babcock announced on Monday. Abdelkader was suspended two games by the NHL for charging in Game 3.
Red Wings to play Bertuzzi, Samuelsson to top line for suspended Abdelkader
The Red Wings have some changes to make with Justin Abdelkader suspended.
Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Abdelkader had come on strong late in the season and had an excellent first two games of the playoffs, leaving a gaping hole for the Wings to fill. Samuelsson only played four games in the regular season due to a variety of injuries and was scratched for the series' first two games, but he played in Game 3. He's not the physical, gritty player that Abdelkader is so the first line will take on a bit of a different look, but Samuelsson has played with Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk before so the trio are familiar with one another.
With Samuelsson on the first line, Bertuzzi will slot in on the fourth line, alongside Patrick Eaves and Cory Emmerton. Whether those lines stick for the entire games is still up in the air, though. if the Wings struggle early on, they could split up Zetterberg and Datsyuk on the top line and move guys around on all four lines as they try to avoid a 3-1 series deficit.
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