One right-handed defenceman out and one right-handed defenceman in – Head Coach Blashill announces that Mike Green will be out for 3-5 weeks and therefore 21-year-old defenceman Filip Hronek will take his place in the lineup.

It was reported earlier than both Green and Ericsson were both “banged up and questionable” for the game against the Senators tonight. Now it looks like the former was more than just banged up and will be out for at least a few weeks.

Unsure of when exactly the injury occurred, Green will return to the injury list for the second time already this season – missing the first couple weeks of the season.

As most people know, the Red Wings really struggled without their top defenceman. Without Green this season, they have a 1-6-2 record and only score an average of 2.22 goals per game, while allowing 4.22 goals on average per game. Those are some brutal numbers that really are reflected in their record.

With Green this season, the Wings are 13-8-2 and score on average 3.09 goals per game, while only allowing 2.87 goals on average. That is a significant rise in performance – it could be because of other players returning from injury or some forwards getting more puck luck. But taking into account how big of a role Green has on this team, his prescence on the blueline will be missed.

Replacing him is one of the Wings’ top prospects. Filip Hronek has had an outstanding year for the Griffins this year and is certainly deserving of this recall. The points-per-game leader among U23 AHL defenceman this season, Hronek is definitely an NHL defenceman. He has 18 points in just 20 games for the Griffins and played significant minutes for the Wings earlier this season.

He played six games for the Wings and was able to score one goal and two assists in that time. Pretty good for a defenceman that was 20-years-old at the time. One of the few Wings players that actually made the team better with him on the ice at the beginning of the season, Hronek looks to make his mark and hopefully earn a permanent spot on this blueline.

You can argue that he already has, but Blashill will have the final word on that.