Ask Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock how he can fix what ails his bottom two forward units and he'll utter a one-word answer.

"Helm," is Babcock's response.

Unfortunately, that situation doesn't look like it's about to change anytime soon.

The Wings will go into St. Louis tonight to face the Blues (8 p.m., FSN) minus energy-providing centre Darren Helm, out for all but one game of the current NHL season due to a mysterious back ailment.

Even Helm is at a loss to explain his absence.

"We did a bunch of tests (Tuesday and) they came back negative," Helm said. "We still don't know what the main cause is. I'm going to see a back specialist again with all the results we've accumulated. Maybe he'll have something new for me to do."

At this point, Helm simply doesn't know what measures he can take to make his back better, and is seeking answers.

"Some days feel better than others," he said. "Nobody is real sure what's going on.

"I'm just hoping one day soon I can turn the corner." He's been extremely limited in the type of physical activity that he can become involved with during his absence.

"Walking is fine," Helm said. "Walking around most of the day is pretty good. It's when I start sitting down or standing in one spot too long, it starts to get uncomfortable. The drive down here (to Joe Louis Arena) is usually when I gauge myself, how much pain I'm in."

It wasn't the playing of his one game that hurt Helm as much as it was the sitting between shifts on the ice.

"That's when I start feeling it," he said.

He's undergone more tests since that day than a high-school student in exam week.

"I've had two MRIs," Helm said. "They did a quick CT scan on me (Tuesday). They can't find anything in particular, so I don't know if it's just me."