Notebook: Robby Fabbri suffers knee injury; Vrana makes instant impact

The Detroit Red Wings will be without a huge part of their offense as they depart for their annual Western Canada road trip.
After Friday's practice, Robby Fabbri was placed on injured reserve and Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said he suspects the center suffered a torn ACL in the second period of Thursday's 6-5 shootout loss to the Minnesota Wild.

"For this to happen on a pretty innocent play, I felt terrible for him," Blashill said. "I felt terrible for him last night. I feel terrible for him today."

Fabbri entered Thursday's game with three goals in the last three games and had 17 goals and 13 assists in 56 games for Detroit this season. But Fabbri is unfortunately no stranger to knee injuries, enduring two ACL surgeries in a 19-month span from 2016-17 with the St. Louis Blues.
According to Blashill, the team will consult with another specialist to confirm the extent of the injury, but he expects the 26-year-old to miss the remainder of the 2021-22 season.
"The good thing is, he knows what it takes to come back and hopefully comes back better than ever, stronger than ever, more determined than ever," Blashill said. "Just from a human perspective, I feel terrible for him."
With Fabbri out, the Red Wings recalled left wing Taro Hirose from the Grand Rapids Griffins.
"I don't know that he'll play," Blashill said of Hirose. "I haven't made any decisions on tomorrow's lineup yet."
Hirose leads the Griffins this season in points (45) and assists (31) in 52 games. The left winger has split his professional career between the Red Wings and Griffins and has logged one NHL game with Detroit this season.

Vrana making instant impact

Jakub Vrana has made his presence felt since Detroit acquired him from the Washington Capitals at least season's trade deadline.
Vrana has 11 goals and three assists in his first 13 games with the Red Wings, requiring the fewest games in franchise history to reach the 10-goal mark with the club. The new mark bests the previous record held by current Red Wings executive vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman.
"I feel good out there," Vrana said. "I've been out for four months. I've been training hard and I've been really excited to come back and play."

The 26-year-old scored two first-period goals on Thursday, giving him three goals in two games since he made his 2021-22 season debut last Tuesday.
"We know from last year, and from playing against him, he can score," captain Dylan Larkin said. "He's catching his stride."

Red Wings prospects continue their progression in SHL

Several Red Wings prospects continue to make strides while representing Frölunda in the Swedish Hockey League.
Defenseman Simon Edvinsson, Detroit's sixth overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, is currently tied for third on the club with 15 assists.
Elmer Söderblom has three goals and three assists in his past 10 games andthe 20-year-old forward ranks third on the team with 29 points.
Theodor Niederbach has lit the lamp three times in his last five games, pushing his point total to 14 this season.