DETROIT — There were more than a few heavy hearts Thursday at the Detroit Red Wings' practice.
Five-year-old Herman Liv came to visit the Wings. Herman is the son of Anna and Stefan Liv, a former Red Wings goaltending prospect who died Sept. 7 in an airplane crash in Russia. He was only 30.
Former Wings Brad McCrimmon and Ruslan Salei also died in the crash that wiped out the entire Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team of the Kontinental Hockey League.
Herman; his 3-year-old brother, Harry; and their mother have been in Detroit for about a month, staying with Wings defenseman Jonathan Ericsson, who says the Livs “are family.”
“It’s nice for them to get away, to get off the focus of home," said Ericsson, who is recovering from a broken right wrist. "It’s been a lot for them, so it’s nice for them to think about something else for a while.
"The kids are fine. They’re too young, I think, but Anna has her up-and-down days.”
Ericsson became close to Stefan Liv when they were teammates in Grand Rapids. They stayed in contact and spent time together during the summer. Ericsson’s girlfriend and Anna Liv also have formed a tight bond.
“This one (Herman) looks exactly like his dad, and the other one (Harry) looks exactly like his mom -- blond hair and blue eyes,” Ericsson said.
Another Wings player who knew Stefan Liv well is defenseman Niklas Kronwall. The two played on several national teams back in Sweden.
“The way the kids are reminds you nonstop of Stefan,” Kronwall said. "Two great kids, a beautiful wife, very down to earth, just great people.”
Kronwall said that Liv was “one of those guys you always wanted to be around and hang out with. He always made you smile. He was always in a good mood.
“It’s tough looking back, especially when you see them (Liv’s wife and children).”
Injury report
The Red Wings will be without captain Nicklas Lidstrom for at least the next two games.
The team announced on Friday that Lidstrom has a deep bone bruise in his ankle and will miss this weekend's games vs. Minnesota and Chicago. He will be reevaluated Monday.
Lidstrom hasn’t been on skates since a puck hit him in the ankle during last Saturday’s loss to Colorado.
It appears that the news about Kyle Quincey is encouraging enough to speculate that he should be back in the lineup Friday vs. Minnesota.
Quincey participated in a full practice on Thursday and said he didn’t feel any ill effects from his sore groin.
“Hopefully, I’m looking forward to getting back in (on Friday), but it’s up to the coaches and the medical staff,” said Quincey, who tweaked his groin last Saturday. “Something was on the scan that they did, so they decided to be safe. That’s what they do best. it’s really up to them.
“I went as hard as I could out there and felt good. I was really happy with today. If it gets better tomorrow, it should be good.”
In other injury news, Ericsson (broken wrist) told reporters that he’s coming along fine, with boredom being his largest obstacle.
“I’m doing well," he said. "It’s a fracture. Hopefully, I can get back quicker.
“I’m just trying to stay positive and doing what I can off the ice to prepare to be back before the playoffs.”
Ericsson might try to skate on Friday. He’s not sure if the original timeline of him being out for a month is accurate or not.
Pavel Datsyuk (knee) was bopping around the Wings dressing room, but did not talk to reporters.
Datsyuk worked out but has not skated since his arthroscopic surgery Feb. 21.
Smith plans on staying
Red Wing defenseman Brendan Smith doesn't look at his call from Grand Rapids as an audition. He plans to stay with the Red Wings for the long haul.
“I’m trying to stay as long as possible and be here,” Smith said. “I’ll be judged by my play and stuff I’m doing in the gym because, obviously, I’ve got to be a little bit bigger.
“I have to keep it going and play like I did in Columbus because when you get more minutes, the more chances there are to make mistakes. I just have to keep playing my style.”
