The Detroit Red Wings sent a not-so-subtle message to underachieving forward Anthony Mantha on Sunday, designating him a healthy scratch against the Florida Panthers.
And so far, there’s no indication he’ll be in the lineup tonight, either.
With a team worst minus eight plus/minus rating, Mantha had been struggling offensively prior to a three-game goal streak, and had been largely ineffective on the ice.
Head coach Jeff Blashill declined to answer whether or not Mantha would hit the ice tonight, simply stating that he had no comment on the matter. However, Blashill did explain what he and the rest of the team need to see out of their scoring forward in order to get back into his good graces.
“Ultimately, when Anthony skates he’s a great player and when he doesn’t skate, he’s not as good, so just got to make sure as a player that he’s continuing to bend those knees and move his feet,” Blashill said.
GM Steve Yzerman is also well aware of Blashill’s decision to make Mantha a scratch Sunday, seeing how they speak on a regular basis/
“I would just say that I talk to Steve on a regular basis pretty much every day about a lot of things, including our lineup and players,” Blashill said.
The team will be without defensive forward Luke Glendening, who suffered an upper body injury following a questionable hit from Florida defenseman Radko Gudas. Additionally, leading scorer Tyler Bertuzzi remains out at least the next three games.
The Red Wings will be taking on the Panthers in the fourth of their six game road trip tonight starting at 7:00 PM EST.
– – Quotes via Ansar Khan of MLive Link – –
