Brassard injured, but it's hard to see how

DETROIT -- Derick Brassard sat out the entire third period of the Penguins' 5-2 loss to the Red Wings Wednesday night at Little Caesars Arena, and Mike Sullivan confirmed afterward it was because of a "lower-body injury."

Asked if he had any further information, Sullivan replied, "No."

There was one sequence midway through the second in which Brassard bumped into Detroit's Frans Nielsen, with his left ankle bending slightly sideways, as captured by our staff photographer, Matt Sunday, in the image above. But a closer look at the video strongly suggests not much occurred there.

On Brassard's final shift, beginning with 1:43 left in the second period, he cleans the Red Wings' Luke Glendening on a defensive-zone draw, then chases him around and takes a couple hockey whacks at him, but nothing out of the ordinary ...

... and he ends the shift with a turn toward the Penguins' bench after the Red Wings chip the puck deep into the Pittsburgh zone. Just a routine change on the fly, right alongside linemates Conor Sheary and Phil Kessel:

The Penguins canceled their scheduled practice for Wednesday, so further word isn't likely until the morning skate Thursday in Newark, N.J., before the game against the Devils that night.

In Brassard's absence, Riley Sheahan took extra shifts at center.

MATT SUNDAY GALLERY