As the Red Wings slide down the standings on a five game losing streak, they finally received some good news. It sounds like Darren Helm is ready to make his return to the lineup in tomorrow’s home game against the Calgary Flames.

Helm hurt his shoulder during a November 19th game against the New Jersey Devils. Helm left the game and didn’t return. He’s been off the ice ever since.

Having always had a knack for getting hurt, it wasn’t any surprise to see him miss this much time, but it did certainly hurt more now than it has in the past. Helm only has one goal and six points on the season, but he was a key part of the top line with Dylan Larkin and Anthony Mantha before getting hurt. He’s also a big part of the Red Wings penalty kill, which is getting a lot of ice time this year.

Helm’s return is a welcome one and it means that Wade Megan or Christoffer Ehn will be returned to Grand Rapids. If it were up to, I’d be sending Megan back. Ehn looks like he’s taken the next step since scoring his first NHL goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs on December 23rd. He’s playing with much more confidence.

With one player going down, the Wings are also bringing one back up. Trevor Daley did not dress in Monday’s game against the Florida Panthers. It’s since been learned that Daley has a broken foot and will be missing 3-5 weeks. Wanting to keep seven defensemen on the roster, Jeff Blashill has said that he’ll be calling someone up.

Obviously this one is still a question mark, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see Brian Lashoff get the call again. If they just need a warm body to put in the press box in case of an emergency, then there’s no point taking ice time from Joe Hicketts or Libor Sulak in Grand Rapids. As they’ve done in the past, Lashoff will come up.

The Wings can’t seem to catch a break with their veteran defensemen this year. All of them have sustained an injury at some point, including Mike Green and Danny DeKeyser who still aren’t close to returning. There’s no doubt that this is a huge contributing factor to the latest losing skid.

It was learned yesterday that Anthony Mantha’s injury wasn’t a broken hand as we all expected, but a torn ligament. Mantha has been practicing with the team and is thinking that he’s about a week away from returning to the lineup. His big frame and big shot are certainly missed on the top line with Larkin, who’s been keeping it afloat with a 13 game point streak.