Red Wings cancel practice after power outage, expect to play Tuesday

A power outage in Detroit forced the Detroit Red Wings to cancel their morning skate on Tuesday morning, but they expect to play on Tuesday night, Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press reports.

A power outage in Detroit forced the Detroit Red Wings to cancel their morning skate on Tuesday morning, but they expect to play on Tuesday night, Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Joe Louis Arena was one of more than 100 buildings to lose power, according to the Free Press. This is the second power outage involving Joe Louis Arena and the Red Wings in the last few days. On Sunday, their game with the Vancouver Canucks was delayed for more than 30 minutes when half of the arena went dark.

The Red Wings are scheduled to host the Florida Panthers on Tuesday at 7 p.m., and Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said he expects the problem to be resolved by then.

"It's good," Babcock said. "Players didn't want to go on, coaches didn't want to go on, we still had our meetings.

"Obviously, there's something wrong, but I hear it's the whole area. It'll get worked out."

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According to the Detroit Free Press, the outage affected all fire stations in the downtown area, along with several schools, the People Mover and the courthouse. The Detroit Public Schools announced half-day dismissals for the entire district.

At the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, the Detroit News reported that elevators were out and cited a firefighter entering the building as saying they were unsure how many people were stuck in elevators in the building other than to say “a lot.”

Katie Strang of ESPN reported there was no decision yet regarding the Red Wings’ scheduled game.

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