Red Wings missed David Perron during his six game suspension

Detroit Red Wings left winger David Perron of Sherbrooke, Quebec is back in the lineup on Friday against the Philadelphia Flyers after a six game suspension. The Red Wings will be extremely happy to have Perron on the ice as Detroit only won one of six games in his absence.

Why was Perron suspended?

Perron was suspended six games on December 11 for cross-checking Ottawa Senators defenseman Artem Zub of Khabarovsk, Russia on December 9. Perron was given a five minute match penalty for the incident, which came with six minutes and 10 seconds left in the first period. It was Perron’s second penalty of the game, as he took a two minute tripping penalty 27 seconds into the contest. The Red Wings lost 5-1 to the Ottawa Senators.

Struggling without Perron

In the six games without David Perron, the Red Wings were outscored 22-15 and only won once. That came on December 12 when they beat the St. Louis Blues 6-4. Detroit’s losses came on December 11 in a 6-3 loss to Dallas, on December 14 in a 2-1 loss to Carolina, on December 16 in a 1-0 loss to Philadelphia, on December 18 in a 4-3 loss to Anaheim and on December 20 in a 5-2 loss to Winnipeg. The Red Wings are now four points out of a playoff spot.

Perron’s 2023-24 NHL Statistics

Perron has seven goals and six assists for 13 points in 26 games. He is a -2 with 33 penalty minutes, seven power-play points, 50 shots on goal, six faceoff wins, 18 hits, 10 takeaways and two giveaways. The first game-winning goal came on October 18 in a 6-3 Red Wings win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Perron scored from Dylan Larkin of Waterford, Michigan and Alex DeBrincat of Farmington Hills, Michigan with two minutes and 11 seconds left in the second period. At the time, Perron put the Red Wings up 4-1. The second game-winning goal came on October 21 in a 5-2 Red Wings win over the Senators. Perron scored a power-play marker from defenseman Moritz Seider of Zell, Germany and Larkin with five minutes and six seconds left in the second period to put the Red Wings up 3-1 at the time.