Gotta be a typo.

Posted by Heaton on 02/20/08 at 01:24 PM ET

I fully expect that to be a typo… with the digger having omitted the “not”.

Posted by GoCryWolfe from Indy on 02/20/08 at 01:27 PM ET

Yeah, I agree.  It sounds too good to be true.  I’m not saying I doubt Bruce himself as he’s just passing word.

I just wondered if Wolverine from the X-Men and Lidstrom are related or came out of the same Canadian military program in which their injuries are healed rapidly.

Posted by SYF from Las Vegas, NV on 02/20/08 at 01:29 PM ET

Has been corrected--not expected to play Friday.

Posted by Laura from Chicago on 02/20/08 at 01:31 PM ET

So we’re looking at a probable return of March 9th at the earliest against the Preds.

Posted by SYF from Las Vegas, NV on 02/20/08 at 01:39 PM ET

7-10 already became 21 in about 24 hours.  Awesome.

Posted by scsgoal31 from Huntington Woods, MI on 02/20/08 at 01:41 PM ET

Three weeks isn’t bad if it’s actually three weeks. It will definately cause major issues, but again, with the lead the team has, it could be a whole lot worse.

I was hoping for two. Three has me standing with my suitcase in front of the stress train, very close to boarding.

Kronwall coming back and not getting hurt within the first two or three games back would be enough for me to at least to back inside at just sit at the station, rocking in the fetal position. Rafalski coming back after the Western Canada trip might be enough for me to get in my car and consider driving back home… enough with this analogy!

Posted by Nathan on 02/20/08 at 01:48 PM ET

I definitely think you should have cross-referenced his facebook profile. Did his status say “looking forward to pounding Iginla into the boards”, or “enjoying not collecting air miles”?

Posted by anonymouss from Toronto, ON on 02/20/08 at 02:00 PM ET

7-10 days is now 21.  I suppose it could be much worse than that.  Lets see, today is the 20th, so that means somewehere around March 12th.  On tap for the Wings, who have twenty games remaining, are the following nine games:

Fri Feb 22, 2008
Red Wings Flames 9:00 PM ET

Sat Feb 23, 2008
Red Wings Canucks 10:00 PM ET

Tue Feb 26, 2008
Red Wings Oilers 9:00 PM ET

Fri Feb 29, 2008
Sharks Red Wings 7:30 PM ET

Sun Mar 2, 2008
Red Wings Sabres 6:00 PM ET

Wed Mar 5, 2008
Blues Red Wings 7:30 PM ET

Sun Mar 9, 2008
Predators Red Wings 3:00 PM ET

Tue Mar 11, 2008
Blackhawks Red Wings 7:30 PM ET

Thu Mar 13, 2008
Stars Red Wings 7:30 PM ET

My conspiracy thinking is that Nick’s injury probably is not too serious (but scared the beegeezers out of the Management).  The Organization knows it is well and truly screwed if Nick is not 100% for the playoffs, and they had expressed a desire to rest him some before the playoffs anyways.

Rest him up, and give him ten games to get back in the groove.  Good plan!

Sacrificing an additional chicken to the hockey gods appears to have appeased them somewhat.  But not yet ready to deboard the stress train.

Posted by Jeff OKWingnut from Hockey Netherworld on 02/20/08 at 02:12 PM ET

Now the Digger Captain is reporting Kronwall isn’t playing, so we will in fact have Ericsson on the back line.

Posted by Nathan on 02/20/08 at 02:13 PM ET

Thanks, Nathan!  Ericsson’s a rising star in GR.  I can’t wait to see this guy play.

Posted by SYF from Las Vegas, NV on 02/20/08 at 02:16 PM ET

I’m sure Cheli is walking around the locker room with a long face like everyone else. But, inside, you know he’s singing, “I’m gonna play on the power play. I’m gonna play on the power play. La la la la la!”

Posted by OlderThanChelios from Grand Rapids on 02/20/08 at 02:26 PM ET

I’m sure Cheli is walking around the locker room with a long face like everyone else. But, inside, you know he’s singing, “I’m gonna play on the power play. I’m gonna play on the power play. La la la la la!”

I’ll bet he’s rubbing his hands together in anticipation when he thinks no one is paying attention, too.

Then again, it means even more rookies for him to deal with.  It has to make him feel as though he never actually has a road trip, because it’s like his sons are always around!

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 02/20/08 at 02:54 PM ET

“I’m gonna play on the power play. I’m gonna play on the power play. La la la la la!”

Play on the PP?  At this rate, he’ll be running it!

Posted by Rumbear from Sandy Eggo on 02/20/08 at 02:54 PM ET

Not sure why MacLeod didn’t post this in the main blog entry about today’s practice, but in the comments to this post (http://redwingscorner.blogspot.com/2008/02/lidstrom-out-three-weeks.html), he responds to a reader’s inquiry as to why Hartigan was called up with this:

“Not sure. Babcock only said that Ericsson was being called up. We found out afterwards that Hartigan is coming too.
My guess is that Hartigan gives them more of a scoring option if they want to shuffle the lineup.
Then again, Dallas Drake and Pavel Datsyuk didn’t take part in practice today. There might be something more to that than just a day of rest.”

So what is it? Rest? Or did the Stress Train just go from an old locomotive to a Japanese Bullet Train to the City of Heart Attack?

Posted by Nathan on 02/20/08 at 03:37 PM ET

I read somewhere—sorry, can’t remember where—that Datsyuk and Zetterberg were going to be given a couple days off from practice. Hopefully, that’s the case.

Posted by YzermanZetterberg on 02/20/08 at 03:46 PM ET

Maybe the Wings should call up Chelios’ son from Des Moine....(But I think he is a winger. )
This defense is really going to be old man Chelios leading a bunch of kids. Suddenly Lebda and Lilja are top 4 D-men. Boy, this is going to be something to watch....

Posted by w2j2 on 02/20/08 at 04:30 PM ET

Hockeybuzz.com just updated the blurb on the main page to say Matt Ellis has been put on waivers...could explain the Hartigan call-up…

Posted by Z40scores from Davison, MI on 02/20/08 at 04:39 PM ET

UPDATE: Bruce MacLeod at Red Weings Corner just posted this:

Forward Matt Ellis was put on waivers by the Red Wings, Wednesday. The other NHL teams have until noon, Thursday, to claim him. After that point, the Red Wings can assign Ellis to Grand Rapids, if they desire.

Posted by Z40scores from Davison, MI on 02/20/08 at 04:41 PM ET

Making room for McCarty with the big club…

Posted by mudshark from Divetown, Colorado on 02/20/08 at 05:58 PM ET

Good news in some ways…

Interesting. I think this move is a good thing for Aaron Downey. Selfishly, I hope Ellis clears waivers because I like how hard he’s worked for the club, but maybe the best thing for Ellis would be if a team that could give him 10 minutes per game picked him up. He deserves the reward for his determination.

Posted by Nathan on 02/20/08 at 08:20 PM ET

I agree Nathan, Ellis deserves to playing more minutes at this level.

Well, this is a mini-glimpse into the future. A Lidstrom-less Wings; I think the kids will step up fine but I would assume we give up one goal more on average than before. When Raffy and Kronwall get back, that will go back down.

Our power-play, however, will definitely lack firepower. I actually think Flip will get some point time because he’s defensively responsible and can make clean passes in deep.

codeword is “thats14”::: Meech will either be huge or… clark kent: the young nhl d-man

Posted by srt on 02/20/08 at 10:07 PM ET

George Sipple on http://www.freep.com reported that the tests on Lidstrom’s right knee revealed NO tearing of the MCL.

Whew…

Posted by SYF from Las Vegas, NV on 02/21/08 at 03:06 PM ET