Abdelkader (face) will play Wednesday against the Flames, Ansar Khan of MLive reports.

EDGE Analysis

This comes as a bit of a surprise as Abdelkader recently suffered a fractured cheekbone. However, he practiced wearing a face shield Monday, and apparently is ready to give it a go Wednesday.

Abdelkader is dealing with a fractured cheekbone, but he isn't expected to be out long term, Ansar Khan of MLive.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

Evidently Abdelkader won't share a similar fate as Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf, who recently underwent surgery on his cheekbone with a return timetable of two months, but it's still a tough pill to swallow for the Red Wings given the Michigan native's role as a utility player who does a little bit of everything. Without Abdelkader -- who's added nine points in 17 games this season -- the Wings could rotate David Booth and versatile forward/defenseman Luke Witkowski in the bottom six moving Andreas Athanasiou back to a scoring line.

Abdelkader recorded two assists, four shots, a minor penalty and a plus-2 rating through 15:56 of ice time (1:16 on the power play) during Monday's 3-2 win over Vancouver.

EDGE Analysis

At this stage of his career, you know what to expect from Abdelkader. He's going to chip in semi-regular offense and provide strong peripheral numbers. After Monday's showing, the 30-year-old veteran is up two nine points, 29 shots, 17 PIM and 32 hits through 14 games. Those are serviceable statistics in deeper settings.

Abdelkader picked up a primary assist in Wednesday's 5-3 home win over the Coyotes.

EDGE Analysis

It was shaping up to be another lost night for the Michigan native in the points column until he set up Darren Helm with the net empty on the game's final scoring play. Abdelkader is a cross-category contributor, having also recorded 13 PIM in as many games.

Abdelkader registered a power-play assist for his 200th career point in Thursday night's 3-2 road loss to the Lightning.

EDGE Analysis

He skated to a minus-5 rating with a four-game pointless skid entering this contest, but bucking that trend was probably of little consolation to Abdelkader, as the Red Wings have now lost six straight games after a hot start. Expect a high degree of inconsistency from the Michigan native with his team needing to figure out how to right the ship under the leadership of captain Henrik Zetterberg.

Abdelkader has skated to a minus-4 rating without any points over his last three games.

EDGE Analysis

The industrious winger has certainly been through longer slumps in his career, but his latest slide is particularly noteworthy as the Wings have dropped four straight games and desperately need Abdelkader to pick up his play as a top-six utility man who's deployed in all situations. Until that happens, though, it's recommended that you seek out alternatives in the fantasy realm.

Abdelkader recorded a goal, an assist, two shots and a minor penalty during Monday's 3-2 loss to the Lightning.

EDGE Analysis

Abdelkader doubled his goal, point and PIM totals with Monday's outing, and is now up to two tallies, two helpers and four PIM for the campaign. He offers a nice cross-category profile, and his salary will likely keep him playing meaningful offensive minutes. However, 23 goals and 44 points are his career-high marks, and Abdelkader is in his age-30 campaign. He's not a universal fantasy asset.

Abdelkader provided an even-strength assist in Friday's 6-3 road win over the Golden Knights.

EDGE Analysis

It initially appeared that Abdelkader would be held pointless for a second straight game, but he slid the puck near the top of the right circle to Luke Glendening, who blasted it home with 54 seconds remaining. A Jack of all trades, Abdelkader has averaged 17:58 of ice time with eight hits, four blocked shots and two points through the first four contests.

Abdelkader (lower body) notched a power-play assist Thursday night in a 4-2 home loss to the Blackhawks. This was his preseason debut.

EDGE Analysis

The Michigan native connected with Niklas Kronwall, who then dished to center prospect Michael Rasmussen for the man-advantage tally. Abdelkader's tallied only seven points on the man advantage last season, but five of his seven goals took place in that situation. Of course, he only played in 64 games last season, so expect those numbers to level out if he can manage to stay healthy for the vast majority of the new campaign.

Abdelkader (lower body) returned to the ice Sunday, skating on his own prior to practice, but will miss Monday's preseason matchup with Pittsburgh, Ansar Khan of MLive.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

Abdelkader hadn't skated since Sept. 15 and it's reasonable to expect that he'll need to get a few full practices in with his teammates before returning to game action. Additionally, head coach Jeff Blashill said that he wanted to get Abdelkader in to one preseason game later this week, which could come as early as Thursday against Chicago.