Blake to have MRI on 'upper body' injury

DETROIT — Defenseman Rob Blake is expected to undergo an MRI today in San Jose to determine the extent of the "upper body" injury that kept him out of the lineup Thursday night.

The Sharks captain left Wednesday night's game in Columbus about 16 minutes into the second period after falling to the ice following incidental contact with Blue Jackets forward R.J. Umberger while San Jose was killing a penalty.

"Sometimes you fall wrong," said Blake, who watched the Red Wings' game from the Joe Louis Arena press box with his left arm in a sling. "It wasn't a vicious hit or anything like that."

Blake, 39, would not discuss the specifics of his injury and said it would be wrong to estimate how long he might be sidelined until knowing the results of the MRI and other tests.

Sharks coach Todd McLellan wouldn't elaborate on Blake's injury either.

"We'll leave it as we always do — vague," McLellan added.

  • Two defensemen with the Sharks development team in Worcester got call-ups after Blake was injured, but they came about 12 hours apart.

    Derek Joslin, 22, who has played 14 games for San Jose over the past two seasons, was notified about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday that his services would be needed against the Red Wings. He caught a 2:45 a.m. shuttle to the Boston airport for a 5:50 a.m. flight that got him here about

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    8:30 a.m. — just in time for breakfast and the morning skate.

    Joe Callahan's call didn't come until about 10 a.m. Thursday, just as he was about to practice in Worcester. Callahan, 27, took a similar shuttle to the Boston airport, caught a 2 p.m. flight and made it to the team hotel around 4:30 p.m.

    Callahan, who played at Yale, was signed by the Sharks as a free agent last summer. He spent five years in the minors before playing 18 games for the New York Islanders last season, earning two assists. He got his third on center Logan Couture's goal in the second period.

  • McLellan went with seven defensemen against the Red Wings, making forward Brad Staubitz a healthy scratch one game after the coach was critical of him for an ill-advised penalty in Wednesday night's game against Columbus.

    "If Stauby happens to come out of the lineup, it's not pure punishment for taking a dumb penalty," McLellan said before the game. "It would be a lineup decision based on what we feel is best to play against Detroit."

  • Sharks equipment manager Mike Aldrich was saluted on the Joe Louis Arena video board for reaching the 1,000 NHL game mark Thursday night. Aldrich is a Michigan native and will serve as the equipment manager for Team USA at the 2010 Olympics.

    — DAVID POLLAK