Per Helene St. James of the Free Press:

Detroit Red Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom has been diagnosed with a "deep bone bruise," general manager Ken Holland told the Free Press this afternoon. "He is out for the weekend. We'll re-evaluate on Monday."

Lidstrom will miss both Friday's game against Minnesota and Sunday's against Chicago. After that, the Wings play at Philadelphia on Tuesday.

Lidstrom took a puck off the ankle at Saturday's loss to the Colorado Avalanche and could not find a comfortable or more importantly safe-enough equipment setup to let him risk his availability for the playoffs against the Wild or Blackhawks this weekend. This will mean that Jakub Kindl and Brendan Smith, who both played well in Tuesdays win, will get another chance to earn ice time tomorrow. Kyle Quincey skated and says his groin feels good, but the Wings have yet to send Doug Janik back to Grand Rapids in case Quincey is not yet ready to go.

With the Wings in the midst of a late-season positioning battle for first place, they will need their young defensemen to play well.