Wishful thinking was on display after Red Wings practice on Friday.
Many of the injured players were encouraged with their progress leading head coach Mike Babcock to believe that captain Nick Lidstrom (ankle bone bruise) was ready to rejoin the lineup.
"Nick's in, isn't he?" Babcock asked reporters after practice.
When the coach was informed that Lidstrom indicated that he was still day-to-day and he'd gauge his return on how he felt after Saturday's morning skate, Babcock had this to say.
"I thought that Nick was back for sure," Babcock said. "That's just me watching practice. It just goes to show you that beauty is in the eye of the beholder."
Lidstrom participated for the entire practice, but afterword was cautious about saying he'd return Saturday against Carolina at Joe Louis Arena.
"We'll have to see how it feels after having a good practice today," said Lidstrom. "We don't want it to get any worse. I'm going to skate tomorrow morning, but it's still day-to-day."
Detroit's captain said that the decision of when he'll play again will be left up to the trainers and the coaching staff. As it stands right now, Lidstrom wants to make sure that once he does return he will not re-aggravate the ankle.
"I felt better today than I did two or three days ago, which is encouraging," said Lidstrom. "It's slowly getting better that's the good part.
"It's just a matter of the doctors making sure that it's healing the way it should be and I can't aggravate it again."
It's not of question of playing through the pain for Lidstrom. He acknowledges that once he returns he'll be sore and have to play through some discomfort. The difficult part is trying to determine when he's reached that point of tolerating the pain without putting his injured ankle at risk.
You could tell Babcock really is hoping that Lidstrom will be ready for the Hurricanes. It's been a grind for Detroit and having the captain back may be the elixir that will end the Wings' six-game losing streak.
"We want him to get back and help us get out of our zone quicker," said Babcock. "We're not as quick and we're not as fast a team. Our gap is not quite as tight, we're not as efficient on sort outs. We're not near as good on the power play.
"You go through the whole thing he's a big part of everything."
Howard and MacDonald hopeful
Starting goalie Jimmy Howard (tweaked groin) and backup Joey MacDonald (back spasms) did not practice with the team on Friday. Howard did skate for a half-hour with goaltending coach Jim Bedard and is hopeful that he can return sometime next week.
"Ideally I'd like to get a couple of good practices under my belt," said Howard about when he'll be ready to return to the net. "I've never had anything like this before, so it's all new for me."
Like Lidstrom, Howard wants to err on the side of caution. He doesn't want to rush back only to find himself right back on the sideline again.
Howard said that he didn't believe that he rushed back too soon from his last groin injury, but with playoffs looming he wants to make sure he's completely healed.
It hasn't been easy for Howard. After being on pace for an unthinkable 50-win season, the netminder has been hampered by first a broken right index finger and now a nagging groin injury, which is extremely tough on a goalie.
"You're constantly using your groins (as a goalie)," said Howard. "It could be a problem, but I'm not thinking about it like that.
"It felt really good skating out there today, so hopefully I'm back out there soon. It's frustrating because you want to be out there competing with the guys. It's no fun sitting in the dressing room watching the games."
MacDonald's return is still pretty much up in the air after he saw a back specialist on Tuesday and was diagnosed with a partial bulging disc. He'll have cortisone shot this coming Monday.
"Hopefully it'll settle down (after the shot) and we'll go from there," said MacDonald. "When I had my back before I had a shot and it worked, so I've got to think positive."
Even if the cortisone shot works, MacDonald will take most of next week resting allowing the disc to calm down.
"He (the doctor) was real positive. He doesn't feel there will be any surgery," said MacDonald. "It doesn't feel that bad, it just that nerve that's kind of shooting. Once the pressure comes off that, it should be good to go."
MacDonald said that if everything checks out fine after the shot, he'll resume skating and should be ready for the playoffs.
Franzen not ready, Kindl might be
Babcock said that forward Johan Franzen (back spasms) is still not ready to return to the lineup. "He (Franzen) twirled out there, but when I got on (the ice) he got off. So, that means he's not ready," Babcock said.
Officially Franzen remains day-to-day, but it appears to be a mystery as to when he'll actually return.
Defenseman Jakub Kindl (strained oblique) appears set to go.
"It's now up to the coaches," Kindl told reporters following practice. "I was shooting hard, I was even shooting one-timers and I was doing drills in the end just one-on-one and I didn't feel any pain. It felt good. I'm assuming it will be better tomorrow"
Whether Kindl plays will be determined after Saturday's morning skate when Babcock will meet with the Wings medical staff.
"We'll watch in the morning," Babcock said about whether Kindl will get the nod or not. "In the end you've got to practice good enough to be ready."
Babcock then quickly added, "Nick did."
