Rafalski Sits With the Flu

The Red Wings had their defensive depth tested last night against the Bruins, as both Brian Rafalski and Jonathan Ericsson couldn't dress for the game because of the flu. It doesn't sound like either case is too serious and both should be considered day-to-day, but the Red Wings did have to call up Doug Janik from the minors and dress him and also dress Derek Meech for another assignment.

Certainly, the Wings were not one to panic, registering a 2-0 shutout on the Bruins. The Wings kept the Bruins to only 29 shots in the game, including only 8 shots in the third period, so the team effort was quite good. Nicklas Lidstrom picked up a bit of the slack, playing over 27 minutes in the game, leading all players in the game in that department.

Of course, Rafalski is the only name that we're worried about in terms of pool implications and if it's only a day-to-day thing, the time missed should be minimal and there was no guarantee he was going to get points in the brief time missed anyways.

Rafalski is one of John P.'s better defenders on his Draft team, with six points in the first 12 games of the season. John is currently in 14th place in the standings, so a game missed isn't what he's after. John's group of defensemen are slightly below average, as a whole, with only 22 points combined. The average is almost 25. Just some extra stats for you today.

On the Sheet, Rafalski belongs to Box 11, which is a pretty competitive box, in terms of points among all players in the box. Rafalski ranks in the middle of the pack with his 6 points, trailing Vancouver's Christian Ehrhoff, who has 11 points. He is, however, the second-best player, in terms of popularity, ranking only behind Jay Bouwmeester of the Flames.