DETROIT – Coming into the season, Justin Abdelkader was depended upon to be a contributing role player in the Red Wings’ everyday lineup. What the forward erupted into in 2014-15 was a threatening goal scorer who broke out with a career season.
Playing 71 games and skating alongside top talent like Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk would help anyone’s stat line but a top-six forward must produce in order to earn his keep.
By January – just 40 games into the 82-game schedule – Abdelkader had already matched his previous career-high of 10 goals when he scored on the man advantage in a 4-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers.