Notes: Erne to miss significant time with broken hand

DETROIT-- Coming into Monday night, the Red Wings had already lost a whopping 280 man-games to injury this season.
That number is about to go up even higher as forward Adam Erne will soon join forward Filip Zadina (lower body) and defenseman Danny DeKeyser (back) on injured reserve.

"He broke his hand blocking a shot," Wings coach Jeff Blashill announced after the team's optional morning skate Monday at Little Caesars Arena. "Adam is going to miss significant time. I don't have an exact timeline yet, but it'll be a significant time. I'll have a better timeline tomorrow. But it could be the rest of the season."
At 14:51 of the third period Saturday in Ottawa, Erne blocked the shot of Senators defenseman Mike Reilly and did not play after that.
Forward Darren Helm, who missed Sunday's practice, was one of nine skaters who participated in the optional morning skate and is expected to play.
"I anticipate everybody being available but there's a couple of question marks that we're waiting for to get through warmups," Blashill said.
AVALANCHE IN TOWN: It's not a great time to be facing the Colorado Avalanche, who are not only 39-18-7 but also in the midst of a six-game winning streak and a franchise-best eight-game road winning streak.
The Avalanche are 22-9-2 on the road, which is even better than their 17-9-5 home record.
"I don't know that I'd have an answer of why they'd be better on the road than at home," Blashill said. "I would just say they're as dynamic a team as there is in the league. They do have a significant number of injuries but certainly when they're at full strength, they're as dynamic as anybody in the league. They've gotten very good goaltending most of the year and they just have some guys that are super-dynamic. (Nathan) MacKinnon is one of the best players in the league, without a shadow of a doubt. And (Cale) Makar is like a MacKinnon on defense. He's got that same ability to break you down one on one, how explosive he is as a player. And they got lots of other really good players."
MacKinnon has 85 points (33-52-85) in 64 games to lead Colorado.
Makar, a 21-year-old rookie, is second on the team with 47 points (12-35-47) in 56 games.
"I think one thing is he got to spend some time after that draft before he got to the NHL," Blashill said. "I think he had two years at least at UMass. I think that's important because we want to judge these players so quick. Like last year, Zadina right out of the draft, we're judging him so, so fast, where Makar got to spend two years at UMass. So he's come in a little bit more ready made. The same would be said for Quinn Hughes in Vancouver.
"At least you have some time where you come in a little more ready-made and ready to attack that challenge. He's got a really explosive skillset. He's very good with the puck. He skates so well, he can take offensive chances and get back defensively. He can break you down one on one. He's just one of those rare guys in the league that are hard to handle one on one. Again, to me, the comparison is MacKinnon up front. MacKinnon not just skates but he's heavy on his skates. I think this guy is, too."
The key to success against any team with high-powered players like MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, Andre Burakovsky and Makar remains the same.
"We have to do the best we can to play with the puck as much as we can," Blashill said. "We have to be patient when we have it and take what's given. We can't try to force things that aren't there. That's been an issue for us at times. If we force a bunch of stuff, we're going to be seeing their rush game. If we see their rush game all night, it'll be a really tough night.
"Going back to the tape in Colorado, we didn't play well at all but we gave up an enormous amount of chances and if you give up that many chances to this team, you'll be in trouble. So let's be good with the puck, let's be patient with it and let's play in their end as much as we can."

'90s NIGHT: Many hockey fans remember the rivalry the Red Wings and Avalanche had in the 1990s, not just Detroit and Colorado fans.
New Wings forward Sam Gagner, a London, Ontario, native, recalls those days, even though he would have been quite young, turning 8 in 1997.
"I watched a lot of those playoff series growing up, so I understand kind of what the rivalry means," Gagner said Sunday after practice. "Obviously it's at a different stage now but it's always still an exciting matchup. They're a top team in the league and they got a lot of skill, so we gotta be ready for them."
TIMASHOV HOPEFULLY IN THE HOUSE: Forward Dmytro Timashov, whom the Red Wings picked up on waivers a week ago from the Toronto Maple Leafs, played for the Wings Saturday in Ottawa and will hopefully play again for them against the Avalanche.
All of that is dependent upon him getting his passport and making it to Detroit in time.
"Likely. I don't have the answer for sure," Blashill said. "He had to pick up his passport today. As long as all goes according to plan, he'll be here but plans sometimes change."
Since Timashov has not had the chance to practice with his new team, Blashill has given him simple instructions.
"The thing I generally tell guys like that and certainly in his case maybe a couple keys that I want him to make sure he does well," Blashill said. "Make sure he's finishing every check, make sure he's tracking back hard and stopping in the D-zone. But offensively, he's got to use his instincts and in the end, you got to go out and play and do what you think is right, not what you think the coach wants you to do, and then you come back and get coached. That's how it works best. I thought he did a pretty good job of it the other night. He seemed to just go out and play."