The puck hasn't dropped yet and already the Detroit Red Wings are facing a key injury, announcing Wednesday that star center Pavel Datsyuk will be out a month with a separated right shoulder.
"It's going to be around four weeks, give or take, depending on the healing process," Red Wings general manager Ken Holland told ESPN.com Wednesday.
"The good news is, two weeks of the healing process is going to be during preseason."
Datsyuk was injured after taking a clean but hard bodycheck from Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Rob Scuderi in Monday's 2-1 preseason win.
The Wings were hammered by injuries last season, including to Datsyuk, yet still made the playoffs. Datsyuk suffered a knee injury and was limited to 45 games.
Detroit opens the regular season Thursday, Oct. 9, at home against the Boston Bruins.