From MLive’s Ansar Khan:
Publicly, the team continues to list him as day-to-day. Privately, the club has ruled him out for the first five games of the opening-round playoff series against the Phoenix Coyotes.
The earliest the team believes Zetterberg can return is Game 6 on April 24. Ideally, the Red Wings hope they can win the series without him and have him ready for the start of the next round.
Zetterberg skated today prior to the Wings’ optional practice; He took some shots and handled the puck, but didn’t do any actual drills.
Without Hank in the lineup, the team is definitely missing out on some depth, some character, and some leadership. However, I still wholeheartedly believe that the Wings should be able to handle the less offensively-deep Coyotes without Zetterberg in the lineup. I want him back as soon as possible, but he needs to be able to contribute. This should give guys like Modano, Draper, and Miller some more time to fight and claw for their spots at the bottom of the lineup. The Wings’ depth is being tested here early; let’s see how they come out of it.
