Late start to Wings-Bruins series could aid in Zetterberg’s return to the lineup in first round

DETROIT >> The chance of Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg being ready to play in the first round of the playoffs seems highly unlikely.

But having the series begin on Friday leaves a glimmer of hope he could return sometime in the best-of-seven series.

“We were always shooting for Round 2, but we have two extra days now,” Zetterberg said. “If it’s just before that I will be happy. It’s still a ways away. I’m doing well, happy to be back skating here.”

The Wings thought their first round series with Boston was going to start Thursday.

Zetterberg was supposed to skate on Tuesday with the team, but now that’s pushed back to Thursday. He did skate on his own prior to the team taking the ice.

“There are still a lot of things that need to fall in place,” Zetterberg said. “Up until now everything in the rehab has gone good. Now hopefully Thursday I’ll skate a little bit with the team and keep making progress every day.

“I haven’t skated a lot,” Zetterberg said. “This phase, being on the ice more, skate more, being involved more with the team, is going to decide when I come back. It’s impossible to say now if it’s Round 2 or if it’s before. There are a lot of things that need to happen, but so far everything has been good and we just have to keep taking it day by day.”

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.
Friday marks eight weeks for when Zetterberg can start having contact on the ice.

“You can do a lot of stuff in the gym, you can run, jump, but as soon as you step on the ice and have a pair of skates on and there are other people around you, that’s going to decide a lot,” Zetterberg said. “I’ve been skating by myself for a while, been feeling good and now it’s time to take the next step.”

Asked if he didn’t want to test his back against the hulking Zdeno Chara, Zetterberg said it was the Bruins defenseman that lent him a hand on the flight back from the Olympics.

“Chara was actually the guy that helped me with my bag at the Olympics,” Zetterberg recalled. “So he’s part of this rehab. When we flew home from the Olympics, I was walking out and had a backpack with me and he said you’re not carrying that so he carried it for me. He’s one of the best defensemen in the league and he’s a great guy.”

Zetterberg has been sidelined since the Winter Olympics after playing just one game with Sweden and watched as the Red Wings qualified for the playoffs a 23rd consecutive season without him.

“I’m happy I’m watching them in the playoffs,” Zetterberg said. “There are worse things that I could watch. You want to be playing. Today we had our first playoff meeting. This is the best time of the year. When you go through the regular season this is where you want to be and we’re here now. We’re facing a really good team and we have to play good hockey to move on.”

Despite playing in just 45 of the Wings’ 82 games this season, Zetterberg finished tied for third on the team in points with 48 and led the team with a plus-19.

“I’m very proud, just seeing the guys step up, different guys every night,” Zetterberg said. “It’s amazing we kept the streak going. I don’t think a lot of people believed that going into the Olympic break and definitely not after, but we found a way. That’s what we do.

“In the regular season I tried to stay away as much as I could,” Zetterberg added. “We still have a lot of leaders in this room, core guys that have been around. Now that I’m around, part of the skates and travel with the team and then hopefully be playing later.”

Zetterberg, 33, missed 11 games in December with a slightly herniated disc. He also missed two games in January due to it.

Zetterberg began having issues with his back in 2008, which made him miss the All-Star break.

In 2007, he injured his vertebra and missed several weeks.

Bruins too much for Wings and will take series in six; Canadiens, Penguins, Rangers, Avalanche, Blackhawks, Stars and Kings all advance

DETROIT >> Breakdown and predictions of the first round of the NHL playoffs, which begins Wednesday.

Eastern Conference
(1) Boston Bruins vs. (WC2) Detroit Red Wings
The Wings were the only team this season to beat the Presidents’ Trophy winning Bruins three times; unfortunately none of those wins carry over to the postseason.
“The reality is you have to play well,” Wings coach Mike Babcock said. “If you look at it in their shoes they’ve got to believe they’re in the driver’s seat. We believe we’re going to be a tough out so something’s got to give.”
Boston is as physical a team as you’ll find in the NHL that has a solid four lines, great goaltending and a strong defensive core.
“I think we’re actually a harder team than we’ve ever been since I’ve been here,” Babcock said. “I think we have the ability to play heavy. We have some smaller type players that have the ability to be physical. What sets them aside from anyone else is (Milan) Lucic and (Zdeno) Chara. They have them, we don’t. We have a lot of big bodies as well.”
Pick: Bruins in 6.

(2) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. (3) Montreal Canadiens
All four meetings this season between the teams have been very close, three of which were decided after regulation and another didn’t become a two-goal advantage for the Lightning, who won three of the four games, until an empty net goal in the final minute. This series will come down to goaltending and the Canadiens have a decisive edge with Carey Price. But Lightning rookie sensations, Ondrej Palat and Tyler Johnson, could help steal a game or two.
Pick: Canadiens in 5.

(1) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (WC1) Columbus Blue Jackets
If Marc-Andre Fleury can shake off his past two postseasons – 4.11 goals-against average and a .857 save percentage in 11 appearances – the Penguins should advance with ease. Pittsburgh won all five meetings with the team, outscoring Columbus 16-7. The Blue Jackets’ only hope is a strong performance from their netminder, Sergei Bobrovsky, who played in just one game against Pittsburgh this season.
Pick: Penguins in 6.

(2) New York Rangers vs. (3) Philadelphia Flyers
It’s all about home-ice advantage in this series and the Rangers have it, winning eight straight at Madison Square Garden over the Flyers. Claude Giroux has really come on strong for Philadelphia ending the season third in the league scoring race after not notching his first goal until 15 games in.
Pick: Rangers in 5.

Western Conference
(1) Colorado vs. (WC1) Minnesota
Patrick Roy’s Avalanche have been quite the story all season long and should breeze into the next round in large part because of the edge in goal with Semyon Varlamov. The Wild’s Ilya Bryzgalov played well down the stretch, but has had his meltdowns in the postseason.
Pick: Avalanche in 5.

(2) St. Louis vs. (3) Chicago
This series had all the makings for a classic. It can still if the Blues, who lost six straight to end the season, get a few of their injured forwards back sometime in the series. The Blackhawks expect to have two of their key injured players back – Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane.
Pick: Blackhawks in 4.

(1) Anaheim vs. (WC2) Dallas
The Ducks’ season ended in the first round a year ago and it could end the same way this year against the offensive-minded Stars. Anaheim has a lot of questions in goal, while Dallas, which has won two of the three meetings this season, has a 33-win Kari Lehtonen between the pipes.
Pick: Stars in 7.

(2) San Jose vs. (3) Los Angeles
Easily could be the best series in the opening round. The teams played a classic series last year with the Kings prevailing in seven games, with five of the games being decided by one goal. Look for more of that this time around.
Pick: Kings in 7.

Plan is for Zetterberg to skate with team Thursday; hasn’t ruled out returning in first round

DETROIT >> Quick update from Wings practice at Joe Louis Arena.

Henrik Zetterberg did not skate with the team as originally planned, but did skate on his own prior to the team taking the ice.

Zetterberg now plans to join the team Thursday at practice and will fly to Boston.

“We were always shooting for Round 2, but we have two extra days now,” Zetterberg said. “If it’s just before that I will be happy. It’s still a ways away. I’m doing well, happy to be back skating here.

“I’m happy I’m watching them in the playoffs,” Zetterberg added. “There are worse things that I could watch. You want to be playing. Today we had our first playoff meeting. This is the best time of the year. When you go through the regular this is where you want to be and we’re here now. We’re facing a really good team and we have to play good hockey to move on.”

The Wings thought their first round series with Boston was going to start Thursday instead of Friday.

“There are still a lot of things that need to fall in place,” Zetterberg said. “Up till now everything in the rehab has gone good. Now hopefully Thursday I’ll skate a little bit with the team and keep making progress every day.

“I haven’t skated a lot,” Zetterberg said. “This phase, being on the ice more, skate more, being involved more with the team, is going to decide when I come back. It’s impossible to say now if it’s Round 2 or if it’s before. There are a lot of things that need to happen, but so far everything has been good and we just have to keep taking it day by day.”

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.

“You can do a lot of stuff in the gym, you can run, jump, but as soon as you step on the ice and have a pair of skates on and there are other people around you, that’s going to decide a lot,” Zetterberg said. “I’ve been skating by myself for a while, been feeling good and now it’s time to take the next step.”

Asked if he didn’t want to test his back against the hulking Zdeno Chara, Zetterberg said he was the Bruins defenseman that lent him a hand on the flight back from the Olympics.

“Chara was actually the guy that helped me with my bag at the Olympics,” Zetterberg recalled. “So he’s part of this rehab. When we flew home from the Olympics, I was walking out and had a backpack with me and he said you’re not carrying that so he carried it for me. He’s one of the best defensemen in the league and he’s a great guy.”

Zetterberg has been sidelined since the Winter Olympics after playing just one game with Sweden.

Despite playing in just 45 of the Wings’ 82 games this season, Zetterberg finished tied for third on the team in points with 48 and led the team with a plus-19.

“I’m very proud, just seeing the guys step up, different guys every night,” Zetterberg said. “It’s amazing we kept the streak going. I don’t think a lot of people believed that going into the Olympic break and definitely not after, but we found a way. That’s what we do.

“In the regular season I tried to stay away as much as I could,” Zetterberg added. “We still have a lot of leaders in this room, core guys that have been around. Now that I’m around, part of the skates and travel with the team and then hopefully be playing later.”

Zetterberg, 33, missed 11 games in December with a slightly herniated disc. He also missed two games in January due to it.

Zetterberg began having issues with his back in 2008, which made him miss the All-Star break.
In 2007, he injured his vertebra and missed several weeks.