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Mantha Suffers Fractured Cheekbone |
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Anthony Mantha’s face first faced the puck, and Friday, he faced up to the music, and Mantha didn’t like the tone of the tune.
“They think there’s a fracture there (in the cheekbone) but we’re getting a second opinion,” Mantha, the Detroit Red Wings right-winger, told Mlive.com. “That’s how it goes.”
The team leader with 20 goals suffered the injury in Thursday’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Buffalo Sabres.
“Their D tried to clear the puck out and it caught me right in the face,” Mantha explained. “I’m going today for an appointment and we’ll see whatever happens with this.”
The good news for Mantha and the Wings is that it appears he won’t miss any time and will suit up - grudgingly, mind you - for Saturday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes wearing a protective face shield.
“It is difficult,” Mantha said of wearing the cage. “When you look down to try to find the puck between your legs, the lower part is kind of weird, but I guess you get used to it.”
Evidently, you get used to having a broken face as well.
“Obviously, today it’s pretty swollen,” Mantha said. “It’s all right. It’s not that painful.”
Green Returns
Defenseman Mike Green, out the past four games with an upper-body injury, returned to practice Friday and is expected to be back in the Detroit lineup for Saturday’s game.
“He skated today,” Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said. “He felt good, so we’ll see how he feels tomorrow. But I would say he’s a game-time decision.”
For how long Green will remain a Wing is anybody’s guess.
An unrestricted free agent at season’s end, it’s likely that Green will be dealt prior to Monday’s 3 p.m. NHL trade deadline. Talks that had heated up between the Wings and the Tampa Bay Lightning appear to be cooled off, now that the Lightning are all-in with their efforts to acquired two-time Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson from the Ottawa Senators.
The trade deadline is often about lining up the dominoes and waiting for them to fall, and the biggest domino is the defensive scheme of things is Karlsson. Until he is dealt or teams determine that the price is too high and move on, everything else tends to be put on hold. The Lightning are also kicking the tires on Ryan McDonagh of the New York Rangers, so that trade may also have to be completed before it’s Green’s turn.
The Washington Capitals, Green’s old team, could still come into play here if the Lightning are out. There’s also been talk of the Toronto Maple Leafs, though Leafs coach Mike Babcock has never offered any indication that he’s a fan of Green’s work, leaving him off both of the Canadian Olympic teams he coached. There’s even talk that the Vegas Golden Knights could be in the market for an upgrade in the skill of their back end.
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