Xavier Ouellett called up by Red Wings

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings have recalled defenseman Xavier Ouellet from the Grand Rapids Griffins ahead of their Game 5 meeting with the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday in Tampa. 

Ouellet, 22, appeared in fives games for Detroit this season and most recently on Feb. 21 in New York. He tallied 1 assist and was minus-2 through those five games. 

Overall, the 2nd round pick from the 2011 draft has appeared in 30 regular season games with the Red Wings since 2013. He also played in a playoff game back in 2014 against the Boston Bruins. 

With the Griffins, Ouellett has appeared in 183 games since 2013-14. This season, he has 29 points in 61 games with a plus-18 rating. 

Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill has had to shuffle his defense pairings during this series with the Lightning due to injuries. Alexey Marchenko was a Game 4 scratch. Kyle Quincey took his place. Brendan Smith did not appear in Blashill's lineup until Game 3. It's unclear whose spot Ouellett might take. 

The Lightning are returning to Tampa with a chance to end this series in five games. The Red Wings were trailing 0-2 in Game 4 but tied it up at 2-2 before the Lightning scored the game winner on a power play in the 3rd period.