Nicklas Lidstrom (ankle) has now missed a career-high eight consecutive contests. To make matters worse, Lidstrom only skated for a matter of minutes on Wednesday before getting off the ice. "I was more sore -- that's why I was out there for just a few minutes," Lidstrom said. "I don't think it's good when you're more sore. So they want me to be more cautious about it." Lidstrom doesn't plan to skate on Thursday and it might be days before he is back on the ice. The area is swollen, but the silver lining that X-rays on Lidstrom's ankle haven't revealed a fracture.