DETROIT -- Chris Osgood’s future is murky after the Detroit Red Wings placed the 38-year-old goaltender on long-term injured reserve Wednesday.

Osgood, who was activated last week, had hoped to play in a couple of games before the end of the regular season and be ready to back up Jimmy Howard in the playoffs.

But he continues to experience soreness in his groin after surgery on Jan. 11 for a sports hernia. And now his status for the postseason is in doubt.

"We’re back to square one with him," Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said. "We’ll give him a few days off, bring him along slowly, see where he goes."

Osgood was placed on LTIR, which requires a player to sit out a minimum of 10 games and 24 days, retroactive to last week. He is eligible to return for the final two games of the season, April 8-10 against Chicago.

"Everybody’s frustrated," Holland said. "When we took him off LTI 10 days ago, the player, doctor and trainer all signed off.

"The first day he had a full practice he felt sore, thought he was going to push through it. We shut him down for 2-3 days. I think he feels pressure to come back with the playoffs looming. ... It’s obvious he’s not anywhere close to playing."

The Red Wings recalled Joey MacDonald from the Grand Rapids Griffins. MacDonald, 31, has played well in limited action since Jan. 10, when Osgood was idled.

Now, MacDonald might end up being the backup in the playoffs.

Osgood, after a few days of rest, will resume his rehabilitation process in hopes of returning this season.

"It’s become apparent (Osgood) needs 7-to-10 days of full practices to convince himself he’s healthy and get his level of performance up to the point he feels he can be effective at the NHL level," Holland said. "I know Chris is very frustrated, disappointed."

Osgood is in the final year of his contract, so there is a possibility that he might have played his last game.

"I feel for him, he’s a character guy in this room and we need him," Howard said. "I miss having him here to my right (in the dressing room). But I got another great partner here in Joey to my left who’s been absolutely solid for us and has done his job to a T."

Osgood has appeared in 11 games and has a 5-3-2 record with a 2.77 goals against average and a .903 save percentage.

He has 401 regular-season wins to rank 10th all-time. He also has 74 playoff wins to rank seventh all-time.

Hudler returns, others day-to-day

Jiri Hudler returned Wednesday after sitting out three games with soreness in his neck and back and scored his team’s only goal in a 2-1 loss to Vancouver.

"I’m still sore and stiff, but what are you going to do?" Hudler said before the game. "I don’t want to sit around and watch TV."

Todd Bertuzzi’s streak of 164 consecutive games was snapped due to a sore back. He had played in all 155 games since returning to Detroit in 2009-10.

Bertuzzi, Johan Franzen (groin) and Pavel Datsyuk (lower body) are listed as day-to-day.

Datsyuk said he hopes to start skating on Thursday but didn’t know if he would be ready for Saturday’s home game against Toronto.

"We’ll see after tomorrow," Datsyuk said. "It’s much better."

Junior goalie was Plan B

Before Osgood’s status was determined, the Red Wings brought in 20-year-old goalie Troy Passingham with the intent of signing him to a 24-hour amateur tryout contract and dressing him as Howard’s backup.

An excited Passingham got a call from Red Wings assistant general manager Jim Nill on Tuesday. Passingham played in the OHL this season for Windsor and Sarnia as an overage junior.

"I’m just happy to be here and watch these guys play hockey," Passingham said after the morning skate. "I was at my girlfriend’s house in Windsor and I got the call. Obviously, there’s a lot of excitement and a really long day yesterday, but I’m here now, so it’s good."

Once Osgood was placed on IR, the club had enough cap space to recall MacDonald.