Red Wings D Kronwall, RW Holmstrom sit out vs. Oilers

Nov 21, 2008 - 6:50 AM EDMONTON, Alberta (Ticker) -- Detroit Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall and right wing Tomas Holmstrom did not play in Thursday's 4-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers after aggravating injuries prior to the game.

Holmstrom suffered back spasms during the pregame warmup, while Kronwall did not even get that far.

"Kronwall, I thought the way he skated this morning - he tweaked his ankle just a little bit," Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. "He skated this morning, felt real good, and then I guess when he came back tonight, he just said no.

"Then Homer, I don't know if his plate was too heavy at the pregame meal or whatever, but I guess he got spasms in his back and couldn't go. So we'll have to see over the next couple of days how he does."

Babcock was not willing to estimate just how long he would be without the 35-year-old Holmstrom.

"When it's a back and spasms, he can wake up tomorrow and feel great or he can wake up tomorrow and feel terrible," Babcock said. "Tomas is as tough as they come, so we'll figure that out."

In his place, Tomas Kopecky recorded his first goal of the season - in much the same manner as Holmstrom.

With Detroit on the power play midway through the first period, Kopecky gave his team a 3-0 advantage by causing havoc in front of the net and tipping defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom's shot past goaltender Dwayne Roloson.

"You always watch the other guys," Kopecky said. "You watch Homer, Mule (Johan Franzen) and Clears (Daniel Cleary) in front of the net and sometimes it's fortunate, sometimes it hits you, sometimes it hits your stick, and that's where you score the goals."

"I thought he did a real good job," Babcock said of Kopecky. "When you're thinking of who you could put there, you could put Fil (Valtteri Filppula) there, but he's not a guy at the net, and Koppy is. He works real hard at it and has been building his confidence, so I thought that was positive for us and real positive for him because of the fact he made a major contribution tonight, and he's got to feel good about himself."