Wings GM Ken Holland with updates on Henrik Zetterberg and Jonathan Ericsson

DETROIT >> Henrik Zetterberg looks like he’ll begin skating sometime next week.

Zetterberg underwent successful surgery on Feb. 21 in New York to remove part of a disc which was rubbing against a nerve, which caused severe back pain.

“I don’t have an exact date but I think next week sometime he’s going to start to put skates on,” Wings general manager Ken Holland said. “Now I don’t know to what extent he’s going to push. I think he’s still waiting for the doctor to give him … But I know on the horizon he’s going to put skates on.”

The Wings won’t have Zetterberg back for the regular season, but expect him to return possibly in the middle of the first round of the playoffs.

“We’re not getting Zetterberg back for anytime in the regular season and if we can play our way into the playoffs don’t expect him to play at the start of the first-round playoff series,” Holland said. “How the last part of the playoff series goes and that’s based upon how Z’s feeling. That’s the timeframe where the doctor had said around eight weeks that he would start giving him some clearance to do some things. Now it depends on how he heals. Eight weeks is probably around the middle of the first round.”

Jonathan Ericsson also isn’t expected back until sometime during the first round of the playoffs.

Ericsson had successful surgery to stabilize his fractured finger and repair a partially torn tendon on March 19.

“He can skate whenever,” Holland said. “I know he told me that the doctor told him in the first couple of weeks they don’t want him training and working out for the risk of infection. I know he’s been working hard off ice now, or ramped up the off-ice at some point in time. Skating is not an issue because his injury is a finger.”

Season appears to be over for Stephen Weiss

DETROIT >> Stephen Weiss’ season appears to be over.

“I don’t really know where he’s at,” Wings general manager Ken Holland said Friday after team’s morning skate at Joe Louis Arena. “I know he’s frustrated. He’s not on the horizon to come back. I was just in there talking to Steve, talking to our trainers, everybody is a little bit frustrated because we obviously thought he would be back by now, actually a long time ago. So they’re going through a check list. Everybody’s frustrated. He’s not getting better the way we had hope. We might send him back next week to see the doc who performed surgery, but in the meantime, he continues his rehab.”

Weiss had sports hernia surgery on Dec. 23.

“The doctor who performed the surgery and the doctor in St. Louis, who gave a second opinion, both think that it’s not an issue,” Holland said. “Part of heeling is what they call breaking down scar tissue and is it the scar issue, is it some other issue? At this stage of the game I’m not expecting him back this year. I think that’s the way we have to go forward. I mean he’s not even practicing. So I really don’t know what to tell you.”

Weiss last played on Dec. 10.

Weiss was expected to return to the lineup right after the Olympic break.

“We’re a month in and he’s nowhere in sight, so when you’re talking about healing you’re really never 100 percent sure,” Holland said.

Weiss said last week he was a day away from returning when he suffered another setback.

“It’s been a nightmare,” Weiss said at the time. “I keep pushing and trying to make myself available because in the end if we get in (the playoffs) we’re going to need bodies to be available.

“I had to kind of go backwards there for a bit which was real tough to take,” Weiss continued. “For whatever reason it’s been a tough year for me trying to get healthy.”

Weiss, who signed a five-deal deal on the first day of free agency at $4.9 million a season, has just two goals and two assists in 26 games this season with Detroit.

Quote of the day … Wings coach Mike Babcock

DETROIT >> Wings coach Mike Babcock on Pavel Datsyuk returning to the lineup after missing the last 16 games with inflammation in his left knee.

“It’s not about Pavel Datsyuk tonight it’s about the Red Wings, he’s got to fit in,” Babcock said.

Wings expect Alfredsson to play Friday; Datsyuk will skate with Helm and Abdelkader

DETROIT >> Quick update from the Wings’ morning skate at Joe Louis Arena prior to their game against the Buffalo Sabres.

Daniel Alfredsson (back) took part in it after not skating since last Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Wings coach Mike Babcock said Alfredsson will be reassessed when he returns later this afternoon.

Wings general manager Ken Holland said he thinks Alfredsson will play.

Babcock said he didn’t know who would be the healthy scratches if Alfredsson can go, but from how the morning skate looked it would be Todd Bertuzzi and Joakim Andersson.

Pavel Datsyuk confirmed he will play tonight against the Sabres, his first game back after missing the last 16 resting inflammation in his left knee.

He’ll center a line with Darren Helm and Justin Abdelkader.

Wings get Datsyuk back, but they’re not looking for him to be a savior

DETROIT >> With six games left in the regular season, the Detroit Red Wings will be getting one of the best players in the world back in their lineup.

And they do not have to ask him to come in and lead the way to the playoffs.

After missing 16 straight games to rest inflammation in his left knee, Pavel Datsyuk will play Friday night when the Wings host the Buffalo Sabres.

“He has an ability to change the game,” Wings coach Mike Babcock said after practice Thursday at Joe Louis Arena. “In saying that, we can’t stand around watching him play. We’ve been doing it without him and we’ve got to continue to make sure we’re doing our part. We’ve got to guard against saying, ‘Oh, Pav’s going to look after it.’ He isn’t going to look after it; we’ve got to look after it as a group.”

The Wings are 8-6-2 without Datsyuk over the last 16 games, but have won their last three games in a row, including a 3-2 win over the Eastern Conference leading Boston Bruins on Wednesday.

“I expect him to be one of the best players in the world,” Babcock said. “He knows how to play, so he knows how to play with and without the puck. When he gets his hands on it, he’s going to be good with it. Without it, he knows how to play. I’m not sure how much pace he’ll have, but I saw him battling after practice. If it appears he’s ready and feels confident, then I’m sure he is.”

Detroit also leads the race for one of two wild card spots in the Eastern Conference.

Datsyuk played for Russia at the Olympics, but has only been able to play in two games with the Wings since returning. He last played on Feb. 27, leaving in the second period of a 6-1 win over Ottawa.

“I feel much better now,” Datsyuk said. “(My) knee doesn’t really bother me but not too much like before when it was really bad. It definitely helped (being off) and I feel like I can push now.

“I wish the whole pace picked up after one practice,” Datsyuk added. “The plan is short shifts, not too much ice, stop and go, and then we see.”
Datsyuk will play on a line with Darren Helm and Justin Abdelkader.

“He looked awesome, like he’s got lots of energy,” Helm said. “I forgot how good he was with the puck, trying to get it away from him, I really didn’t have an opportunity to steal the puck from him too much. He’s going to be a great addition back in this lineup.

“He’s a guy that we need,” Helm continued. “He slows the game down. Plays with so much poise, skill, backs the other team’s D off a lot. He’s going to be a good help on the power play as well.”

Helm has also missed considerable amount of time this season due to numerous injuries and Abdelkader just returned from a leg laceration.

“It’s going to be kind of a fresh start,” Helm smiled. “I’m kind of fresh, he’s kind of fresh and Abby is kind of fresh so it’ll be a pretty interesting line out there.”

The team has played much of the season without Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg together.

“Things are rolling along right now and hopefully things will continue to roll with him back in the lineup,” Helm said. “I can’t see anything changing. He’s one of the elite players in the league and all he’s going to do is help.”

One thing Datsyuk didn’t lose in his time off was his sense of humor.

“I don’t know if his speed helps me,” Datsyuk said of playing with Helm. “He looks like me, old, slow guy.

The Wings announced they were shutting Datsyuk down for three weeks at the trade deadline to rest his ailing left knee. Friday marks the fourth-week in that timeframe.

Datsyuk, who has 15 goals and 18 assists in 39 games this season, has played in just four games since the Winter Classic.