Notes: Vanek, Ericsson closer to returning; Helm out a while

DETROIT -- As it has been all season with the Red Wings, it is one step forward, another back when it comes to injuries.
Forward Darren Helm is expected to miss an extended period of time with an upper-body injury but forward Thomas Vanek and defenseman Jonathan Ericsson could return as soon as Wednesday.

"Vanek is day to day, skated today, we'll see how he reacts tomorrow, so we'll have more info on him tomorrow based on how he reacted to a full skate today," Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. "I would say the exact same thing on Ericsson. Know more tomorrow. It's a little bit on how the reaction is and see how that goes, including a skate tomorrow. Darren, I'll know more tomorrow. He was evaluated today. In terms of prognosis and give you a little bit better estimate of time. But like I said after the game, this is not a day-to-day thing. He'll be out a good amount of time."

Unfortunately for Helm, he has entirely too much experience with this sort of thing, having missed 138 games due to various injuries since the start of the 2012-13 season.
Helm, who has a goal and five assists in 20 games, had been playing on the team's top line alongside center Dylan Larkin and wing Anthony Mantha.
"This league, you have no chance if you don't work and compete. You have no chance because the talent level differentiation is so close," Blashill said. "Work and compete becomes a bigger and bigger factor. That's where a guy like Darren Helm is huge, regardless of penalty kill, not penalty kill. Certainly we're going to miss him on the penalty kill, but he was a consistent worker and competitive person. If everybody else does that consistently, as consistently as he's done it, then we'll be fine. That certainly is a loss that way. So the other guys got to make sure they come and have a similar approach in terms of the work and compete.
"I also feel bad for Darren, he's had a lot of tough stretches, tough goes with injuries. I can't say enough good things about him as a professional."
During the game in New Jersey Saturday, Justin Abdelkader moved up to Helm's spot on the Larkin line and could remain there.
"I'm not saying that's exactly what we'll do but he fills a similar-type role, where he's a forechecker and a net-presence guy and both those guys want that," Blashill said. "They're different a little bit, Helmer is a little quicker, but I think Abby has been skating really good. I think Abby has been real good here the last number of games."
Blashill said the team should be fine on the penalty kill, even without Helm, as Jacob de la Rose has returned from injury and Luke Glendening, Larkin, Abdelkader and Frans Nielsen are all experienced on the kill.
"Double-A (Andreas Athanasiou) is certainly one, I think Bert (Tyler Bertuzzi) is a guy that can potentially move into that type of role," Blashill said. "He didn't do it in Grand Rapids. It's a hard league to learn in, but I think he's got that type of ability. I wouldn't give him this year but I think (Michael) Rasmussen is somebody long-term that could do it as well, but I wouldn't give him that yet."
Vanek does not play on the penalty kill, but he is a top-six forward so he can take on that role in Helm's absence if he's ready to go.
"I've been skating for eight, nine days," Vanek said. "Skating-wise I feel fine. It's just you gotta feel a little contact, a little battle and see how it reacts. Today went pretty well for the most part. See how it feels tomorrow."

Monday's practice at the BELFOR Training Center involved a lot of battling and skating, so it was a good test for Vanek, who said he suffered a bit of a twisted knee in the team's 5-3 win in Columbus on Oct. 30.
Ericsson has been out since Nov. 1 when he suffered a post-game lower-body injury in the weight room after the Wings' 4-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils.
"It felt really good in practice today," Ericsson said. "It's nice to have the first team practice. Obviously, a little bit of a ways to go but way better."

After all the battle drills and skating, Ericsson will have to wait until tomorrow to see how it reacts.
"It's a good test, obviously," Ericsson said. "Did some transition things and pivoting and stuff like that. That's probably the hardest part for me. But also battling in different situations and angles helps me. It felt pretty good."
Blashill said even if Vanek is not ready to go Wednesday, he does not anticipate any callups as Wade Megan remains with the team.

BEST RECORD OF LATE: It's hard to believe after the Red Wings' 0-5-2 start to the season, but in the last 10 games, the Wings have the best record in the NHL at 8-2-0.
"First and foremost, we're finding ways to win," defenseman Mike Green said. "I think there's a sense of composure. Even if we're down a goal, we stick with it. We can find a way to get a goal and make it a game. You don't always want to come from behind, but we've been finding a way to do it. In this league, at the end of the year, all those points add up and I think the guys have done a good job of committing themselves to those little things that make a difference."
Vanek, who has missed the last eight games, has been impressed with his teammates' fortitude.
"I think the first eight or nine games, we found ways to lose games early, to lose games late," Vanek said. "We just found ways. But I think throughout that stretch, our goaltending was tremendous and I think that kept going on. It was just a matter of time to get one win and feel good about it.
"Then we see Mo (Mantha) scoring a couple of goals and he feels better. Same with Ras (Rasmussen). It's small things. As a team, you need to win a couple to feel better. As individual players, you gotta get a couple of points or a goal or whatever just to feel more comfortable, and I think you've seen it over the last two weeks."
This recent successful stretch has been particularly helpful for giving the younger players some confidence.
"It's huge," rookie defenseman Dennis Cholowski said. "Obviously the first 10 games weren't going so well. I thought we were playing pretty well but we couldn't really score. We weren't scoring enough, that was the biggest thing. The last 10 games, I think we're 8-2, we're scoring lots of goals. It's a huge confidence booster, especially for younger guys like me, just being able to see what it's like to win a few games and try to enjoy that as much as you can."
ROOKIE DINNER: The Red Wings opted to remain in New Jersey after Saturday's afternoon game so the team could hold its annual rookie dinner at a New York restaurant.
"It was a fun night," Cholowski said. "Obviously there were four or five of us so it was pretty expensive but hey, it was a fun night, we all had a good time."
Cholowski said Rasmussen, Bertuzzi and Evgeny Svechnikov all helped foot the bill, with Megan possibly chipping in a bit as well.
It was an even more festive occasion as the Wings came back from another two-goal deficit to beat the New Jersey Devils, 3-2, in overtime.
"It's so much better," Cholowski said. "The New Jersey win was huge, especially with the team dinner afterwards. That was a big win. Everybody was happy and we weren't really thinking about a loss or anything, we were thinking about a comeback win. That just makes it that much sweeter."