Detroit Red Wings finally appear ready to play Jakub Vrana — against his old team
WASHINGTON — Jakub Vrana's first NHL game in four months appears likely to come against his former team.
Detroit Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said after Monday's practice that "we would like to get him in," Tuesday when the Wings face a crucial test at the Washington Capitals. "We are stuck on who to take out."
Vrana spent practice at Capital One Arena taking shifts, in turn, on the third line and fourth line. He has not played in the NHL since Oct. 15, enduring a turbulent three months that included a stay in the players assistance program, being placed on waivers, and spending six weeks in the minors.
"It’s been some time, so I am really excited," Vrana said. "I’ve been training a lot so it’s going to be nice at some point to get the game going and get that game feel. I'm excited to go in."
MORE ON VRANA:How he has been dealing with being demoted by Red Wings
Vrana was recalled Feb. 15. but the Wings didn't want to change their forward group during what became a five-game winning streak. That's over with, and Vrana is simply too talented to have sitting on the sidelines when a playoff spot is within reach.
"The potential of him scoring is intriguing," Lalonde said. "You’d like to think he can help us. You really don’t want to expect, he hasn’t played an NHL game in such a long time."
Lalonde said the quandary was who to take out. Pius Suter's line with Filip Zadina and Oskar Sundqvist, "was probably our best line the other day. It’s just a matter of yes, we’d like to get him in, but it’s a matter of for who. That’s why you saw him rep on two different lines quite a bit."
It could end up being Dominik Kubalik who gets pulled; he scored twice last week against the Calgary Flames, but those are his only goals the last 10 games.
The Wings (26-21-8) are within three points of the last wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, and the Capitals are one of the teams standing in the way. Vrana played for the Capitals from 2016-17 until the 2021 trade deadline, when Wings general manager Steve Yzerman swung an 11th-hour trade deadline deal that sent Anthony Mantha to the Capitals for Vrana and the Capitals' 2021 first-round pick.
"I spent a couple years here, so I got some flashbacks for sure going to the rink and stepping on the ice here," Vrana said.
He has yet to play his old team, because he missed 56 games last season recovering from shoulder surgery, and had only just rejoined the team when they played in Washington on Dec. 19.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings' Jakub Vrana to play first NHL game in four months
