Still in search of their first win of the season, the 0-5-2 Detroit Red Wings hope that the return to the lineup of veteran defenseman Jonathan Ericsson may prove a steadying influence for the team’s young blueline corps.

“Everything is not going to be 100 percent right away, I can’t expect that,” Ericsson told Detroitredwings.com. “Everyone wants that to be the case, but obviously it’s going to take a couple of games.”

Though likely, it’s still not definite that Ericsson is a go for Saturday’s road game with the Florida Panthers. If Ericsson does draw in, Luke Witkowski will be a healthy scratch.

Ericsson, who has a history of hip issues, has been on the shelf since the preseason due to an undisclosed lower-body injury.

“You just want to get out again,” Ericsson said. “It was a while ago. I had one preseason game in the last 6-7 months. I’m ready to get back at it.”

It’s the second straight game that the Wings have welcomed back a veteran defender. Trevor Daley returned from a head injury to play in Thursday’s 3-1 loss at Tampa Bay. Detroit coach Jeff Blashill knows the public perception of Ericsson isn’t always a flattering one, but he hopes that in his absence, the hearts of Red Wings fans have grown fonder of his presence.

“I think sometimes in people’s absence you appreciate them more, you realize the real positives they do when they’re not there,” Blashill said. “Daley coming back was a big plus. I think Johnny coming back, he’s a big man who knows how to play against real good players and is a good penalty killer. He makes mistakes like everybody else, but he does lots of good things that at times haven’t been appreciated enough.

“I think the size factor hasn’t been appreciated enough. If he can get back and ready to roll, it would be good to have him to be able to play at times against (Florida forward Aleksander) Barkov.”

From his perch in the press box, Ericsson gained a bird’s-eye view of what ails this team.

“Consistency throughout 60 minutes is one big problem,” Ericsson said. “We’ve been playing good for like 40 minutes but those 20 minutes have really been hurting us.

“We always have tough games against Florida. Especially now in our own division, we have a tough division. We lost a few in a row in our own division. That feels like it’s four-point games every night. It would be huge for us to get our first two points.”

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