Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Brendan Smith's timeline (update)
By Tom Carpenter
UPDATE: The prognosis is worse than initially anticipated; a week's worth of recovery time isn't going to cut it.
After undergoing more tests on his sprained shoulder, Brendan Smith was placed on injured reserve. The Detroit Red Wings rookie is expected to miss up to four weeks, altogether.
The blue-line loss isn't as severe as it would have been last week. Jonathan Ericsson and Jakub Kindl are back in action, and Ian White is expected to compete Tuesday against the Calgary Flames. Young Brian Lashoff -- who was thought to be heading back to the AHL -- will remain with the NHL club as a seventh D-man until Smith or Carlo Colaiacovo return.
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A shoulder injury sustained Saturday will keep defenseman Brendan Smith sidelined for at least the next week and a half, according to the Detroit Free Press' Helene St. James. He could even miss more time, depending on how future testing goes.
"[Smith] is going to see a doctor on Monday," coach Mike Babcock said. "Initial diagnosis is he's out minimum 10-14 days."
Smith was working as a top-four defenseman, as the Detroit Red Wings transition to the post-Nicklas Lidstrom era. He hadn't done much statistically, netting just a lone assist, but the Wings are counting on the maturation of the former first-round pick for the long haul.
The Wings hope that Ian White will be ready to return from his leg laceration for Tuesday's game, but they'll turn to Brian Lashoff for blue-line depth if he isn't.
