Nicklas Lidstrom

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Nicklas Lidstrom has had a setback in his recovery from a deep ankle bruise.

The Red Wings’ captain skated for a very brief time Wednesday morning at Honda Center, but returned to the dressing room without working up a sweat.

“It is discouraging and it’s disappointing too that you’re feeling better and it’s getting up to over two weeks now,” said Lidstrom, who was injured Feb. 25. “So it’s frustrating when you want to be out there playing and you can’t.”

Lidstrom will sit out his eighth straight game when the Wings play the Ducks Wednesday night. It is the 43rd game of his career – regular-season and playoffs – that the legendary defenseman will miss in his 20 NHL seasons.

Lidstrom admitted that he and team trainers have discussed shutting it down for a week to rest the still-swollen right ankle.

“We’ve talked about it and I’m sure (the trainers) will talk more to the coaching staff and we’ll see what the next step will be,” he said. “But it’s still day-to-day. It was more sore today, that’s the update, so I don’t think it’s good when you’re sore. They want me to be more cautious with it.”

Lidstrom had two separate X-rays taken of the ankle shortly after he was struck by a shot in the Feb. 25 game against Colorado. In both cases, the reports were negative and did not show any structural damage.

Asked if the unexpected recovery time has given way to thoughts of retirement after this season, Lidstrom said, “It hasn’t really come into my thought process at all. It’s just one of those freak accidents that I’ve never really experienced in the past, so I think that’s the frustrating part.”


Meanwhile, the Wings will get Todd Bertuzzi back in the lineup Wednesday. Bertuzzi missed the last four games with a sore groin.

“I feel like it’s pretty strong right now,” Bertuzzi said. “It’s just going to take some time to get my timing back, but as far as the groin, it feels a lot better than it was. Just try to keep it simple.”

The Wings, who are 3-6-1 in their last 10 games and 1-4-0 in their last five road games, need a win, Bertuzzi said.

“It’s just winning games, winning games and getting our confidence back and getting ourselves ready for the playoffs,” he said. “Guys are working hard, we just haven’t put the puck in the net enough. I think we’ve made some uncharacteristic mistakes and it’s cost us goals.

“It’s back to the basics and taking care of our zone first and when we get our chances bury them. We just have to win games, that’s what it comes down to.”


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