The Red Wings lost a huge game to the Capitals on Tuesday night, and may have lost Andrew Copp in the process.
Copp broke his cheekbone when he took a high stick to the face from Caps forward Nicolas Aube-Kubel late in the third period, an infraction that the officials missed. No penalty was assessed on the play, despite the fact that Copp was clearly injured and the play therefore could have been reviewed.
Derek Lalonde said after the Red Wings' 2-1 loss in which they outshot the Caps 43-23 that the broken cheekbone diagnosis came from a team doctor and that Copp was getting X-rays to confirm. He said the officials told him on the ice that they didn't see the high stick.
"They never took a look at it, they just said they didn’t see it," he said. "There was no blood. My understanding was, if injury is the cause for the whistle, you can take a look at it. Obviously a blatant high stick. If it hits him in the visor, you can probably move on from it, but the fact that he broke his cheekbone just stings a little bit.
"I just feel for Copper. I don't know what the situation is going forward, but that would be a big loss for us."
The loss of the game dropped Detroit one point behind Washington for the final wild card spot in the East, with both teams having four games to go. The Penguins are tied with the Wings and also have four games remaining, but own the tiebreaker with more regulation wins than Detroit. The loss of Copp, one of Lalonde's go-to matchup forwards, looms large ahead of another huge game Thursday in Pittsburgh.
"It will be a different look, but other guys will have to step up," said Lalonde. "Probably ask a little more of (Joe) Veleno, which he’s more than capable of, and it’s just that time of the year. You’re going to go through some of these things."