DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings have responded to many challenges this season by fashioning one of the best records in the NHL up to this point.

Now they’ll face another test.

Top-pair defenseman Simon Edvinsson, out the past two games with a lower-body injury, will miss the next five games leading into the Olympic break, coach Todd McLellan said Monday.

“He is a significant piece, but we have others that are going to have to go in and play, and they’ve done that already for a couple games and done admirable job,” McLellan said. “When you lose players – there’s all the cliches — somebody else steps up, all that type of stuff. It just means that everybody has to pull a little harder and do a little bit more. And if you manage the game properly, you can get through it.”

Edvinsson (6-6) and Moritz Seider (6-3) have formed a formidable top pairing with size, reach, physicality and shutdown ability. Edvinsson is averaging 22:23 minutes per game, second on the team to Seider, is one of the club’s top penalty killers and even produces offensively despite little power play time (six goals, 17 points in 48 games).

McLellan said Edvinson is expected to return the first game after the Olympic break (Feb. 26 at Ottawa).

In the meantime, defense pairs will be juggled a bit. Jacob-Bernard Docker, a right shot, has played on the left side with Seider the past two games. Ben Chiarot has extensive experience playing with Seider, but the team might be reluctant to separate him from rookie Axel Sandin-Pellikka.

“Trent (assistant coach Yawney) is managing that back there during the game, and he’s making some judgment calls,” McLellan said. “If you look at the Winnipeg game, even the Minnesota game, there’s different pairs of guys going out at different times, and I think that’ll continue.

“We don’t want Simon out of the lineup, but the fact that we got to shuffle some things around and guys have to play with other partners and in different situations, that’s not a bad thing for the group. They haven’t had a lot of adversity back there (with) injuries. So now we have to deal with it, and it’s not the end of the world. They’re capable of playing with different partners at different times in different situations.”

The Red Wings might be in the market to acquire a defenseman by the March 6 trade deadline, but Edvinsson’s injury isn’t going to accelerate the process.

“If I came in today and said, ‘Simon’s done for the season,’ then it may change, but we’re going to get Simon back and it’s not like he’s going to lose his game anywhere,” McLellan said. “When he comes back and begins to play again, everybody will be coming off the break, so he’ll fit right in with the rhythm of the team.”