Detroit — At this point, with only 10 games left on the schedule, the Red Wings are attempting to somehow cobble together a healthy and winnable lineup.
Both of those things are getting increasingly difficult to do.
Coach Derek Lalonde confirmed it’s going to be a little tougher task after Monday’s practice, after pretty much confirming forward Robby Fabbri is done for the season and goaltender Ville Husso could be, as well.
All the while, there are others who are in the day-to-day category, which makes the Wings an underdog Tuesday in facing a Pittsburgh team clawing to get into the playoffs (7 p.m., BSD/97.1). In fact, these next four games (Pittsburgh, Carolina, Winnipeg, Toronto) are against teams who either are battling to reach the playoffs or to improve playoff seeding, which makes this a difficult stretch for the Wings in its own right.
“Guys will have to ramp up their games,” Lalonde said. “We’re realistic where we’re at. We’ll be huge underdogs. These will be tall tasks, but if you play the right way and limit mistakes, you give yourself a chance, and that’s the message against whoever we’re playing.”
It doesn’t make it easier when your starting goaltender might be done for the short remainder of the season.
Lalonde called Ville Husso (lower-body injury) week-to-week, but with only three weeks left on the schedule, Lalonde acknowledged Husso might be shut down for the season.
“Ville is in probably a week-to-week evaluation with what he’s dealing with,” Lalonde said. “He’s getting a couple different opinions. It will still be a couple of days before we fully know where he’s at.”
But the chance of Husso being done for the season is realistic.
“Possibly, for sure, of course, but we’ll leave it to the professionals over the next three or four days,” Lalonde said. “He’s actually feeling better. But, he’s going through the proper process and it’s going to take a few days because he’s getting a couple different opinions.”
Husso has played a career-high 51 games this season, but Lalonde doesn’t feel the workload has contributed to Husso’s current injury.
“It’s something that’s been underlying for a couple of years on him, and which is very common for his nature of position,” Lalonde said. “It’s just come to the forefront now, but it’s been an issue for him over a few years.”
Coming off an impressive effort Saturday in the 3-0 loss in Philadelphia, Alex Nedeljkovic will get a second consecutive start against the Penguins.
“Ned will be back in net,” Lalonde said. “It’s simply the reality of how well he played, he earned it. We want to make it down the stretch with both guys (Nedeljkovic, Magnus Hellberg) that if you play well and give us a chance, you’ll get the net again.”
Lalonde confirmed it’s likely that forward Robby Fabbri is done for the season.
Fabbri returned this season from a third torn ACL injury, but he appeared to suffer another leg injury on March 8 against Chicago.
Fabbri has done some skating on his own, but with only 10 games left, it might be best to begin preparing for next season. It isn’t known if Fabbri might need some more surgery, although it’s nothing major if it is.
“We’re going to have news in the next couple of days, but I don’t expect him back the rest of the year,” Lalonde said. “It’s more a cautious approach with him, looking more toward next year. I don’t know that (surgery), potentially (Fabbri might need it), but I don’t think it’s an aggressive type of surgery if there is, more of a clean-up type of thing.
“But, there’s still a process of figuring that out, too.”
Further, Alex Chiasson didn’t practice Monday. Chiasson was evaluated during practice, but Lalonde said Chiasson did skate after practice, so there’s hope Chiasson will be ready for Tuesday’s game.
Defenseman Ben Chiarot (upper-body injury) and forward Filip Zadina (lower-body injury) both practiced Monday, with Chiarot likely to be out still.
Chiarot has missed the last five games, but could be nearing a return.
“It was a step in the right direction,” Lalonde said. “It’s right on the time frame that we had talked about (Chiarot returning), so I don’t expect him available (Tuesday) but it’s a step forward.
“With Zadina, we’ll see post-practice how he feels. He has an underlying lower-body situation from his previous injury (Zadina missed two months, before returning).”
The Wings decided Monday to convert defenseman Simon Edvinsson’s recall from an emergency basis to a regular recall.
Chiarot, one of the Wings’ veteran leaders, said there’s plenty to play for these final three weeks.
“It’s about playing the right way,” Chiarot said. “We’re trying to build here to the future and having guys playing the right way, not cheating and not just being on their own page. You want to play the right way and play and do the right things and not cheat the game.”
Penguins at Red Wings
▶ Faceoff: 7 p.m. Tuesday, Little Caesars Arena, Detroit
▶ TV/radio: BSD/97.1 FM
▶ Outlook: The Penguins (36-27-10) are clinging to the last wild-card spot in the East and are coming off an emotional, last-minute victory Saturday over Washington. The Wings defeated Pittsburgh, 5-4, in overtime in the only game between the teams this season. C Sidney Crosby (54 assists, 85 points), C Evgeni Malkin (50 assists, 75 points) and D Kris Letang (55 games, 34 points) continue, all these years later, to lead the Penguins.
ted.kulfan@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @tkulfan