At this point, we’ve run out of original ways to describe the Red Wings’ injury situation this season...so take it away, Detroit News!
Defenseman Jonathan Ericsson didn’t come out for the third period [of Tuesday’s win against Toronto] after breaking a finger late in the second period.
Ericsson will be out “10 days to two weeks,” general manager Ken Holland said, and is expected to undergo surgery Wednesday to stabilize the finger.
“We get someone hurt every day and they never come back,” said [Mike] Babcock, not exaggerating as the Red Wings have lost six players in six games. “He’s seeing a hand specialist. He has a broken finger. In the old days you just taped it up and kept playing.
“I don’t know what the rules are (now).”
The six players Detroit has lost in the last six games are Ericsson, Justin Abdelkader, Todd Bertuzzi (who returned to face Toronto), Tomas Jurco, Joakim Andersson and Jonas Gustavsson. Those players joined an already lengthy list of Detroit skaters shelved with various ailments -- Darren Helm, Dan Cleary, Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and Stephen Weiss.
It’s hard to blame Babcock for being exasperated. Despite all these injuries, Detroit is right in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff chase and the head coach is clearly wondering where the club would be if it was even a fraction healthier than it is right now.
Update: Oh, it just keeps getting better for Detroit. Ericsson underwent successful surgery on the finger and will now miss the next 4-6 weeks.