DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings, losers of five straight games, will be without another key element to their lineup when they host the red-hot Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday.
General manager Ken Holland said Monday that Johan Franzen will not play after suffering a blow to the head from Tampa Bay's Radko Gudas during Sunday's 3-0 loss to the Lightning. Franzen's injury came one day after Justin Abdelkader suffered the same fate on a vicious shot from Pittsburgh's Deryk Engelland.
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The Pacific Division-leading Ducks have won five straight games while earning a point in eight consecutive contests after their 3-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday. No one is hotter than Ryan Getzlaf, as the captain has collected six goals and 17 points during his 14-game point streak - the longest in the NHL this season - and earned a point in his last 16 contests after setting up Dustin Penner's winning goal against Edmonton.
The Ducks also are bolstered by the return of top defenseman Francois Beauchemin (plus-17 rating), who was back in the lineup Sunday and played 19 minutes, 58 seconds after missing 10 games with an upper-body injury.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, Prime Ticket (Anaheim), FSN (Detroit)
ABOUT THE DUCKS (23-7-5): Teemu Selanne hadn't recorded a point in 16 contests or scored a goal in 19 - the longest drought of his career - before registering his 697th career tally Sunday.
"I've been waiting a long time," the 43-year-old right wing told the team's website. "It's a big relief. We needed that one. It's been easier because we've been winning. ... "
Anaheim begins a four-game road trip through the Eastern time zone and was 5-2-1 on a similar trek earlier this season.
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (15-11-9): With leading scorer Henrik Zetterberg (back) out indefinitely and goaltender Jimmy Howard (knee) not expected to return until after the new year, Detroit will not be near full strength for quite a while, as it also is missing Stephen Weiss (groin) and Darren Helm (shoulder).
Moreover, news came down Tuesday that forward Gustav Nyquist will miss about a week with a groin injury.
"Normally, and I say this all of the time, someone else gets an opportunity," coach Mike Babcock told MLive.com. "We're running out of guys to get opportunities.''
The Red Wings went 5-2-0 without top goal-scorer Pavel Datsyuk but 0-2-2 in four games since his return from a concussion, as the veteran is pointless in the last three contests.
OVERTIME
1. This is the first meeting since Detroit eliminated Anaheim 4-3 in the first round of last season's Stanley Cup playoffs.
2. The Red Wings were expected to call up C Riley Sheahan, who has six goals and 14 assists in 23 games with Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League, to replace Franzen.
3. Ducks RW Corey Perry, third in the NHL with 21 goals, had his seven-game goal-scoring streak snapped against Edmonton.