Red Wings forward Henrik Zetterberg was relieved that his lower-body injury isn't as bad as he first feared when he was checked by Carolina's Bryan Allen on Wednesday.

Zetterberg, who sat out Friday's game against Chicago and won't play in Sunday's season finale on the road against the Blackhawks, is listed as day-to-day and is confident he will return at some point in the playoffs.

But nobody knows if Zetterberg will be ready for the postseason opener on Wednesday or Thursday, or if he'll be available at all in the first round.

That's why the Wings are prepared to play without their leading scorer, who tallied 80 points (including 24 goals) in 80 games, and one of their best defensive forwards.

"We lost one of our top players. It's tough, we're going to have to deal with that," Detroit's Kris Draper said. "We've played with (injuries to) top players before. Guys just have to elevate their game. Guys are going to get an opportunity."

It could be a tough decision next week for Zetterberg, whether to let the injury heal some more or push it to return in the first round.

BLACKHAWKS 4, RED WINGS 2: The Blackhawks, fighting to make the playoffs, played with urgency from the drop of the puck. The Wings, with little to play for, were flat. Chicago scored 27 seconds into the game, led 3-0 less than nine minutes into the first period, and rolled to an easy win, its fourth in a row over Detroit. The game wasn't as close as the score indicated. Chicago spent a lot of time in the Detroit zone, making it hard on the defense. The Wings made costly turnovers that led to goals.

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