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Another wounded Wing: Helm out 4-6 weeks with MCL sprain

Darren Helm

Detroit Red Wings center Darren Helm (43) celebrates his goal in the first period against the Minnesota Wild in an NHL hockey game in Detroit, Sunday, April 3, 2011. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

AP

More brutal news for the Red Wings on the injury front -- GM Ken Holland told the Detroit Free Press that forward Darren Helm will miss the next 4-6 weeks with a second-degree MCL sprain in his left knee.

Helm’s injury occurred midway through the third period of Saturday’s 3-2 overtime loss to San Jose, after throwing a check on Sharks forward Dominic Moore.

“I was going to hit Moore, kind of took not the best angle on him,” he told DetroitRedWings.com. “[Moore] kind of jumped out of the way a little bit, trying to avoid the hit and we just kind of collided. I was trying to hit him pretty good and he got out of the way.

“It was just one of those funky collisions. I was in pain right away.”

Helm’s injury is just the latest in a growing list of wounded Wings, which includes Nicklas Lidstrom (ankle), Johan Franzen (back spasms), Jonathan Ericsson (wrist), Jakub Kindl (sprained oblique), Joey MacDonald (lower back) and Patrick Eaves (post-concussion).

Since late February, the Wings have had 12 players miss games because of injury or illness.

The Helm injury will prove costly for Detroit. He’s arguably their fastest skater, a dynamic penalty killer and has emerged as a quality third-line center between Drew Miller and Justin Abdelkader (the new “Grind Line”, if you will.)

If he does recover from the MCL sprain in four weeks, he’ll return to the Wings lineup during the opening round of the playoffs.