George Sipple

Detroit Free Press

Detroit Red Wings forward Justin Abdelkader played with a dislocated left ring finger in the playoffs.

“Having your hands taped, you can’t engage in a fight,” Abdelkader said after the season. “If something happens and you draw some blood, you’ll get a match penalty. So, I had to be, obviously, cautious of that, too.”

Abdelkader was injured in a 3-2 win over Minnesota on April 1.

“I was tied up with (Ryan) Suter in front of the net,” Abdelkader said. “I was kind of grabbing his jersey, and all of a sudden my finger dislocated. I took my glove off and my finger was kind of pointing sideways. I had to go back in the room, and it didn’t really pop back into place right away. Kind of had to put some numbing into it, and then I went out and played.”

The finger was sore the rest of the season.

“We were freezing it before games, just because it was so sore,” Abdelkader said. “Rest of the season and playoffs, I had to keep those fingers taped. So I had to stitch my gloves together and put some extra protection in the gloves to protect that finger.

“Yeah, it wasn’t great. Guys at this time of year are going to be battling injuries and different things.”

Abdelkader said it would take 6-8 weeks for the finger to heal.

“Even now that the season is over, it’s still pretty sore,” he said.

Abdelkader also tweaked his knee against Boston on April 7. Abdelkader said he didn’t think he’d need surgery on the knee.

“With a little rest, should be good to go,” he said.

Like other Wings, Abdelkader’s 2015-16 wasn’t as good as his previous season.

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He had career highs in goals (23) and points (44) and was plus-three in 2014-15. He had 72 penalty minutes in 71 games.

Abdelkader had 19 goals and 23 assists this past season. He had a career-high 120 penalty minutes in 82 games but was minus-16. His 207 hits led the Wings. Luke Glendening had the next-highest total, 143.

“I think there was some good, and some parts I want to improve on,” Abdelkader said. “I want to try to be more consistent. I think I can be a player that can produce offensively and score.”

The Wings rewarded Abdelkader with a seven-year, $30-million contract in November.

“I think I can be a player that can score 20 goals in this league each year,” Abdelkader said. “That’s what I’m going to try to strive each and every year to score 20 and to produce and to be a player that can be physical and can play in all situations.”

Contact George Sipple: gsipple@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @georgesipple. Check out our Red Wings Xtra app on Apple and Android!

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