DETROIT – Filip Hronek was the odd-man out on the Detroit Red Wings defense in Tuesday’s 3-1 victory over Anaheim, but they might not have seen the last of him this season.

Hronek will remain with the team on its three-game Western Canada trip that begins Friday in Calgary (9 p.m., Fox Sports Detroit Plus). It remains to be seen if he’ll get into a game.

“I think he’s played good enough to give me tons of confidence, so if I put him in, I think he can help us win,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “Will he supplant somebody? I don’t know. We just won a game. I don’t tend to change a lineup unless somebody comes back from injury like (Danny DeKeyser) did. So, we’ll look at the film again and make that decision.

“My expectation is Fil will play on the trip, but I’m certainly not making any promises, but that’s my expectation because I think he deserves to go back in.”

Hronek has shown much improvement in his second NHL stint this season. He has five points (goal, four assists) in his past five games.

The Red Wings were able to delay making a roster move following DeKeyser’s return by placing Michael Rasmussen (hamstring) on short-term injured reserve.

Hronek might be reassigned to the Grand Rapids Griffins following this trip so that he can play some games during the Red Wings’ nine-day break (All-Star break and bye week). Whether Hronek would return immediately after the break would depend on if there is a roster spot.

Blashill indicated one of the reasons Hronek did not play Tuesday was because he wouldn’t have gotten power-play time, following Mike Green’s return on Friday or penalty-kill minutes with DeKeyser’s return.

“In the final deciding factor, we had three guys ahead of him on the power play,” Blashill said. “We had just moved (Dennis) Cholowski over to that one-timer spot. I think (Niklas) Kronwall’s done an excellent job up top and it’s good to have lefty-lefty there. It makes that pass a lot more dangerous the way the power play’s set up on that unit. Then Greener’s on the other unit.

“Then as a killer, he’d probably become the fifth (defenseman). As a young player, you got to earn your keep every single time you play, show that you’re better than somebody else. How do you do that? Well, next time he goes in, he’ll get a chance to kill, he’s got to keep showing us he’s a great killer and if he does get a chance on the power play, he’s got to excel on that. He’s done a good job. I’m happy with where Fil Hronek is compared to where he was at the beginning of the year. I think it’s great for us long-term. He’s just got to hang with it and I think mental toughness is a big factor in guys’ success at this level.”