A holiday wish for the Red Wings, per Sportsnet’s Shayna Goldman, presented without comment:
Detroit Red Wings: A couple more shots: Tyler Bertuzzi’s vaccination status has been a topic of conversation throughout the season, especially after the forward was sidelined with COVID-19. The biggest issue, on the ice, is that Detroit has to play without him whenever they travel to Canada — and they look a lot different without one of their best offensive generators. Bertuzzi’s one of the best Red Wings at 5-on-5 at shooting (and scoring) from the slot. He also has one of the best passing rates in the offensive zone on the team, and can move the puck to the dangerous areas to set up his linemates, Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond.
Without Bertuzzi, they’ve lost their first three games over the border. They’ll miss him again, unless something changes, in six upcoming games in Canada. That’s the potential for 12 points that this team is going to need if they want to maintain their wild card standing.
Continued; at this point, the Wings can only make due without him. They’re not going to change his mind.
