No team is immune to the injury bug, including the Detroit Red Wings. It's rare for a team to go through an entire season without missing at least one player for an extended period of time. Thursday night's game against the Edmonton Oilers is the first of a four-game West Coast road trip.

The Detroit Red Wings’ injury news was mostly positive as they left town Wednesday to start their four-game road trip Thursday in Edmonton. Patrick Kane skated.

Detroit prospect Red Savage’s Michigan State season has been ended by an upper body injury. The  only question now is what comes next for Savage. Will he sign with the Red Wings or wait until Aug. 15 and become an unrestricted free agent?

The Red Wings practiced at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center on Wednesday morning before departing for Edmonton. Patrick Kane (upper body) and Vladimir Tarasenko (illness) both participated, but J.T. Compher (upper body) and Jeff Petry (undisclosed) did not.

Patrick Kane is dealing with an upper body injury, and the Detroit Red Wings hope Vladimir Tarasenko can ameliorate that loss.

The Red Wings are struggling for offense these days and the team didn't get news Thursday that'll necessarily help that matter.

Something’s going to give tonight when the Detroit Red Wings begin a four-game road trip at Edmonton. Both teams go into the game on three-game winning streaks. The Red Wings are looking to keep their post-Christmas surge going,

Veteran forward Andrew Copp said the Detroit Red Wings have a togetherness they lacked before head coach Todd McLellan was hired in late December.

Said Lucas Raymond: “When you’re winning, it makes things a lot easier and makes you even more focused to keep it that way. You don’t want to let that go. I think it’s the way we’ve been playing, which is probably the nicest feeling. It hasn’t been a coincidence. We worked really hard for it and we continue to do so every day.”

After a trio of home wins, the Red Wings will get back on the road as January ends, hoping for better results than the last road trip.

A rebuild in the NHL can be a grueling process. With the patience needed to develop prospects, and decide whether to add or subtract to the team and what each offseason has to offer, there aren’t many situations for a team to be in that are more stressful than this.

Raymond was doing fine before McLellan became Detroit Red Wings coach on Dec. 26. Since then, his game has reached another level. He has 23 points (seven goals, 16 assists) in 16 games under McLellan. He ranks second in the NHL in points during this time, one behind Boston’s David Pastrnak.