Derek Lalonde confirms bad news for Red Wings before Xmas.

The Detroit Red Wings fan base is getting some coal in their stocking this Christmas courtesy of Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde who confirmed some bad news on Monday morning.

According to Lalonde, the Red Wings will now be without two of their defensemen for today's game against the St. Louis Blues, with both Simon Edvinsson and Ben Chiarot sidelined due to injuries.

Edvinsson will miss his third straight game on Monday, last playing on December 18th against the Philadelphia Flyers, which is a tough break considering he has been one of the few bright spots for the Red Wings this season. There was something of a silver lining here with Lalonde indicating to reporters that he expects Edvinsson will be ready to go after the Christmas break, which could mean he will be ready later this week when the Red Wings face Atlantic Division rivals the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday.

The news regarding Chiarot however does not appear to have any such silver lining however with Lalonde indicating that Chiarot will need to be evaluated when the team returns from their holiday break, a sign that he isn't likely to be ready at that time. Chiarot appeared in both games against the Montreal Canadiens over the weekend but played just 13 minutes and 48 seconds during Saturday's game due to his injury.

No word yet on what the timeline for Chiarot's return currently looks like.

As a result both 23 year old defenseman Albert Johansson and 28 year old defenseman William Lagesson will slot into the lineup tonight against the Blues to fill the void left by Chiarot and Edvinsson.