Kyle Calder's reaction to being benched in favor of Tomas Kopecky for tonight's game ...

"We're here to win. That's the bottom line. I'll do whatever it takes to win. It's unfortunate, but I have to find a way to get back."

Why the slump after the good start with the Wings?
"I'm not really sure. It's just one of those things. You have to find a way to get better and get the feet moving and get some more energy."

Something changed after Game 1 in San Jose. I know there's the theory that Calder hurt his hand (left-handed hand shake after the Calgary series), but Game 1 against San Jose was the same for him as the entire Calgary series. Then the severe drop in ice time.
In the first seven games of the post-season, Calder averaged 12:58 of ice time. In that same span, Kirk Maltby average 11:35.
In the seventh game (Game 2 against San Jose), Calder's ice time dropped to 7:40. He averaged 5:34 in the seven games starting with that Game 2.
So what happened? I don't know. He went from only one game with less than 11:42 of ice time in the first seven games to no games with more than 7:40 in the next seven games.
Was it an adjustment to size? Why wait until now then?
Was it an injury? Did it happen then in Game 1 vs. San Jose rather than against Calgary?
I don't know what's going on. I guess as with the Datsyuk injury of last spring, we'll find out more in a year.