Notes: Zadina called up after Mantha's injury

DETROIT -- The Red Wings have to hope that adrenaline can carry Filip Zadina through tonight's game against the Hurricanes.
Detroit's leading scorer, Anthony Mantha, suffered a lower-body injury in the first period Saturday night in New Jersey so the Wings called up Zadina from the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins.

"I'd temper any expectations in the sense that he just played two games in a row, so this will be his third in three nights," Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. "They got in at 4 in the morning from Milwaukee. I've lived that life. It's not easy. You're grinding through the third day and now you got to come play in the NHL. So it's not an easy thing to ask of him.
"With that said, we needed a forward. We wanted somebody with high-end skill. That's why he was drafted sixth overall. We're hoping he can come in and give us a good game as much as he can. He'll have a chance to play with good players. I'm not going to say where or what for sure, but he'll spend time on the power play and play with good players. We're hoping he can grind out a good game tonight."
The Griffins were shut out by the Admirals in Milwaukee, 5-0, Saturday night, halting Zadina's season-high six-game point streak.
Zadina, 19, had four goals and four assists in that span.
"Obviously, we were pressed into this with the number of injuries, so I think if we all had our druthers, we would have given him longer," Blashill said. "It's just one moment in time, it's not THE moment. He's going to come in and play a hockey game and that's as far as we're going with that. I hope he comes in and plays a real good hockey game. The better he plays, the better it is for all of us, but that doesn't mean anything specific to the future. He has played much better of late. He's played well of late. He's produced, which is one part of it, but certainly not the only part.

"When I've talked to their coaching staff, they've been happy with his overall play. When I've talked to Steve Yzerman, he's been happy with his overall play. It's not something where it was so good we had to get him in the NHL. A little bit of this is with the injury issues, he's pressed into service and how he's got a great opportunity, so come and grind out a good game."
Zadina did get a taste of the NHL last season, playing in nine games.
He scored his first NHL goal on March 5 at Colorado and also had two assists in his stint with the Wings.
"It's easier than playing your first game," Blashill said. "The fact that you've been through it a a little bit, he can come in here and be a little more comfortable. He has two training camps under his belt. All those things make it way easier. I mean you guys walk into a new job, the more comfortable you are, usually the better you do. It's true of everybody and it's certainly true of hockey players and professional athletes. I think the fact he's been around it, he feels good about it and hopefully he can have a good game."
INJURY NEWS: Blashill said that Mantha was undergoing further evaluation and would be seen by the team doctor tonight.
Forward Adam Erne, who injured his hand during Saturday's morning skate and did not play in New Jersey, is also out for the Hurricanes game.
In addition to calling up Zadina, the Wings placed defenseman Mike Green on injured reserve retroactive to Nov. 19.
"Mike's out tonight. He had some further testing here today," Blashill said. "I'll know more for you Tuesday. I don't think it's going to be a long, long-term thing but obviously, I think we put him on the IR today. But that really didn't affect anything. If he wasn't in today, then it's fine. I still think he'd be ready for our next game at that point. So we'll see if he's ready at that point."
HURRICANES AGAIN: The Wings face the Hurricanes for the second time this season.
On Nov. 1, the Wings dropped a 7-3 decision in Carolina.
Star forward Andrei Svechnikov, younger brother of Evgeny, leads the Hurricanes with 26 points (11-15-26) in 23 games. But the team's second leading scorer is defenseman Dougie Hamilton, 26, who has 25 points (10-15-25) in 23 games.
"Dougie's a really, really elite talent," Blashill said. "He's big, he's got a great shot, he's got a good stick. He's been in the league a number of years now. They've got a number of really good defensemen. I think they've got lots of strengths to their team but certainly one of them is they have one of the best D corps in the league. They're really probably very underrated amongst the media but one of the very, very best in the league. And he's a piece of that.
"He makes their power play really effective. They play I guess I'd call it an in-your-face very aggressive style. We gotta do a really good job of getting pucks out of our end. If we spend lots of time hemmed in our end, they can eat you alive. We gotta get the puck out of our end, and it's something we haven't been good at the last couple of nights. We gotta be better at it."
The Hurricanes are 14-8-1 and are third in the Metropolitan Division behind the Washington Capitals (16-4-5) and the New York Islanders (16-3-2).