Darren Helm is one of the fastest players in the NHL, and the Red Wings need him to be faster than ever now. Helm is trying to return to the lineup less than a month after spraining a medial collateral ligament. The Wings need him, not just for what he does, but for what he represents. With Helm back, they can feel whole again.
The Wings begin the playoffs tonight, and one major question hovers over the proceedings: Which Wings? Is this the team that looked like the best in the NHL just a few weeks ago? Or the group that did not even play like a playoff team lately?
And this is where Helm comes in -- or at least, the Wings hope he does. Coach Mike Babcock has been adamant that when the Wings are healthy, they can beat anybody. He has every reason to believe that. But he also said that Helm's return was so important because he made two lines better: The third line (which he centers) and the fourth line (because center Justin Abdelkader would get bumped down from the third line).
The NHL playoffs are often called a crapshoot, which doesn't sound quite right to me. That implies that the key element is luck. I think it's more accurate to say they are unpredictable. Teams win and lose for good reasons in the NHL playoffs. We just don't know what those reasons are until after the games.
We know this: It helps to be playing well, be healthy and have a hot goaltender. The Wings are zero for three. Since Feb. 20, the Wings are 7-11-4, and the Predators are 14-7-2. The Wings' record is skewed by injuries, especially to goalie Jimmy Howard.
Still, this all can change quickly. The Wings have the talent to beat the Predators. They are getting healthier. And Howard, who missed several games late in the season with a groin injury, has the ability to match Predators goalie Pekka Rinne.
Babcock sounded optimistic about Helm, and he might be. But I don't trust NHL coaches when they talk about injuries at this time of year. Those guys could hold up a hamburger and declare that the cow is day to day.
Also, Babcock has perfected a sort of demanding optimism: If the Wings do exactly what he asks, they should win. So it was not surprising for him to say Helm looks great. A day earlier, though, I asked Helm: How healthy do you have to be to be effective?
"I don't know," he said. "We'll find out. My Game 1 probably won't be 100%. But we want to get as close as possible. I want to be able to be effective and help the team -- if it's 75 and I can't do anything out there, then I can't go. We're going to have to see how I am."
You don't have to be a doctor to realize that a player who relies so heavily on speed might be bothered by a knee injury. Helm said he had never suffered this kind of injury before, so even he didn't know how he would react.
The Wings' health is the key to their success -- maybe as important as their opponent and far more important than the location of the rink. Forget all the talk about the Wings being a great home team and awful road team. That is what the records say, but I don't buy it. Last year the Wings were better on the road than at home. This year they emphasized playing well at home, got on that crazy home winning streak and probably eased up a bit on the road. I don't think it is relevant in this series.
What matters is who plays, and how well.
"Watching games is no fun," Helm said.
Actually, I rather enjoy it. But I see his point.
Contact Michael Rosenberg: 313-222-6052 or mrosenberg@freepress.com . Follow him on Twitter @rosenberg_mike or on facebook.com/michaelrosenbergwriter.
Join us for live blogs of every Red Wings playoff game at freep.com/sports.
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