Red Wings-Maple Leafs morning skate Tweets: Abdelkader absent as black lower-bowl seats make their debut

The Detroit Red Wings will attempt to stifle the Toronto Maple Leafs’ offensive machine this evening (7:30 PM EDT on FSD/TSN4/97.1 FM), with the Wings hoping to earn their first win of the season against the 3-and-1 Leafs.

The betting odds for today’s games do not favor the Wings, and

The Red Wings hit the ice at Little Caesars Arena just before 10:30 AM for their morning skate, as noted by the Detroit News’s Gregg Krupa…

#RedWings on ice, morning skate.

7:30pm #TORvsDET
⁦@LCArena_Detroit⁩ pic.twitter.com/NUoiECWSOS

— gregg krupa (@greggkrupa) October 11, 2018

And the Red Wings:

Morning skate getting started as we prep for tonight vs Toronto. #TORvsDET #LGRW pic.twitter.com/fYkSfKMulO

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 11, 2018

Krupa spotted a change to LCA’s lineup, as it were:

for the life of me, i will never understand.#RedWings#Pistons pic.twitter.com/RXmg3PubUF

— gregg krupa (@greggkrupa) October 11, 2018

ericsson skating, but blashill ruled him out for tonight.#RedWings

— gregg krupa (@greggkrupa) October 11, 2018

DetroitRedWings.com’s Dana Wakiji said, “Hello”…

#RedWings Howard in starter’s net. #MapleLeafs tonight at ⁦@LCArena_Detroit⁩. pic.twitter.com/j49lvSid9E

— Dana Wakiji (@Dwakiji) October 11, 2018

WXYZ’s Brad Galli did the same…

Black seat covers are on the lower bowl chairs at Little Caesars Arena this morning.

Red Wings host the Maple Leafs tonight. pic.twitter.com/15EzRtNSid

— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) October 11, 2018

Close look at the black seat covers at Little Caesars Arena this morning. pic.twitter.com/f8WLT9UL4m

— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) October 11, 2018

And the Free Press’s Helene St. James took note of LCA’s wardrobe change:

Newly installed black lower bowl seats at Little Caesars Arena. pic.twitter.com/Re9PdgFvDE

— Helene St. James (@HeleneStJames) October 11, 2018

Uh oh:

#RedWings Abdelkader not skating this morning.

— Dana Wakiji (@Dwakiji) October 11, 2018

Ted Kulfan and St. James took note of the seat covers…

Black seat covers are on, as they were for last night’s Pistons game I presume pic.twitter.com/KxVbCtfE0V

— Ted Kulfan (@tkulfan) October 11, 2018

These are black covers on red chairs, cosmetic update before new black seats installed lower bowl of Little Caesars Arena. pic.twitter.com/1U54DAGkvO

— Helene St. James (@HeleneStJames) October 11, 2018

While Wakiji focused on an on-ice development…

#RedWings Draper giving Ehn a few pointers. pic.twitter.com/2TE5APQbpq

— Dana Wakiji (@Dwakiji) October 11, 2018

As did Krupa:

blashill calls ehn, over.

“ehner!”

result is conference with kris draper on face-off technique. pic.twitter.com/zVHTuGyuez

— gregg krupa (@greggkrupa) October 11, 2018

97.1 the Ticket’s Will Burtchfield took note of the new seat covers, too:

New black seat covers — soon to be new black seats — at Little Caesars Arena. #RedWings host the #MapleLeafs Thursday night. pic.twitter.com/7rFEIjHSXe

— Will Burchfield (@burchie_kid) October 11, 2018