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No Franzen (concussion) for Winter Classic, Alfredsson (groin) misses Monday

franzenalfgetty

James OBrien

The good news is that the Detroit Red Wings look to be a healthier team headed into the 2014 Winter Classic. The bad news is that they won’t be 100 percent, though.

Johan Franzen has already been ruled out after failing to make much progress with a concussion while it’s hard not to wonder about Daniel Alfredsson, who sat out Monday’s game against the Nashville Predators with groin problems. Both accounts come from MLive.com’s Ansar Khan.

“Of course (it’s disappointing), but it is what it is,” Franzen said.

(“It is what it is” ranks up there as far as sad phrases go, probably alongside “I won’t be able to play in front of a gigantic crowd on an enormous stage.”)

It could just be that Alfredsson is playing it safe so that he can play on Wednesday, but either way, the Red Wings will be a little shorthanded against the Toronto Maple Leafs (who have problems of their own).

(H/T to The Score.)

Follow James O’Brien @cyclelikesedins