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Skipping practice just worked, so why not try it again?
With a Carolina Hurricanes warning on the near horizon and a relentless schedule filling up the rest of the regular season, the Detroit Red Wings spent Thursday watching video and working out, avoiding the ice for a second straight time this week.
"We are trying to manage fatigue a little bit, but when I say that, I’m not giving our group an out for using that," coach Todd McLellan said. "We’re just trying to do what we think is the right thing for the game tomorrow and the weekend ahead.
"We had some good video today that we went through. Some of it was rewarding, some of it was stuff we still need to clean up. We’ll have a full team skate in Carolina, which we seem to respond to better than going the other way."
More: Detroit Red Wings rally around scrums, a 'dumb coach,' Patrick Kane — and Tomas Holmstrom
The Wings (31-28-6) responded to a sudden cancellation of Tuesday's practice by routing the lowly Buffalo Sabres, 7-3, Wednesday. But Friday's date is a different matter: The Hurricanes are one of the top teams in the NHL, and just beat the Wings 10 days ago in Detroit. That was the game where defensemen Simon Edvinsson and Albert Johansson were on the ice for shifts that lasted four-and-a-half minutes, unable to get to the bench as the Hurricanes whirled the puck around Detroit's zone. That kind of dominance is Carolina's modus operandi.
"When Carolina plays, they have some of the same thoughts and principles that we do – the volume shooting, the rapid fire of pucks and get it back and do it all over again," McLellan said. "They’re very good at it and they’re on top of you.
"Therefore there’s going to be segments of your game where they’re in your end and it feels a little overwhelming. But if you defend well and hold your ground, you can get through it and be fine."
The Wings have liked what they've seen from Marco Kasper in handling playing between Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane on the second line. McLellan likened the role to how Tomas Holmstrom figured out how to play with Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk, knowing the value of going to the net and creating space for two ultra-skilled linemates.
"In my mind Marco is way closer to 40 (Zetterberg) than to 96 (Holmstrom), but the fact that when he does go to the net, there’s people that go there with him and it opens up space for others," McLellan said. "We don’t necessarily dig out the old VHS tapes. Homer would probably be happy if we did, but we don’t do that.
"If we were doing it with Homer, we’d certainly talk about the toughness he had to go there, the willingness to stay in there as guys are taking bombs and how he was able to drive goalies nuts and all that stuff. He was very good at what he did."
Kasper's promotion has dropped J.T. Compher to the third line, with Vladimir Tarasenko and trade deadline acquisition Craig Smith.
"It does slot everybody into lines that maybe fit better," McLellan said. "Maybe Smitty, JT and Vladdy fit each other a little bit better."
McLellan lauded the fourth line of Michael Rasmussen, Dominik Shine and Tyler Motte, saying, "they've been able to have an impact on the game. They’re important."
That has bumped Jonatan Berggren from the lineup, though, the last two games.
"He's very capable of filling in," McLellan said. "I think he fits the top three lines better than he does the fourth line. And he's a talented young man. Just sometimes your number isn't called and you have to figure out a way to get back in there and steal ice time from teammates.
"We all preach team, but sometimes you have to steal from your teammate. And if you're doing a really good job, you're stealing from a teammate and you're getting more. And maybe that happened to him a little bit, when Elmer (Söderblom) showed up and then Kasp started playing really well − they started to steal a little bit of his ice time."
The Wings had a would-be goal waived off Wednesday when officials ruled Michael Rasmussen interfered with Buffalo's goalie, and benefited when the Sabres challenged Dylan Larkin committed goaltending interference on Vladimir Tarasenko's goal. The Wings are 0-2 themselves challenging goalie interference since McLellan's arrival, and when asked how confident he and his staff are in what constitutes goalie interference, McLellan conceded, "not very. Some of that is on us. We have to educate ourselves better. Some of that is situational that is a judgment call. It's not easy. It's never the same."
Contact Helene St. James at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.
Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her latest book, “The Franchise: Detroit Red Wings, A Curated History of the Red Wings,” was released October 2024. Her books, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” and “The Big 50: The Men and Moments that made the Detroit Red Wings” are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings playoff chase: Staying grounded against Hurricanes
Continue reading...
With a Carolina Hurricanes warning on the near horizon and a relentless schedule filling up the rest of the regular season, the Detroit Red Wings spent Thursday watching video and working out, avoiding the ice for a second straight time this week.
"We are trying to manage fatigue a little bit, but when I say that, I’m not giving our group an out for using that," coach Todd McLellan said. "We’re just trying to do what we think is the right thing for the game tomorrow and the weekend ahead.
"We had some good video today that we went through. Some of it was rewarding, some of it was stuff we still need to clean up. We’ll have a full team skate in Carolina, which we seem to respond to better than going the other way."
More: Detroit Red Wings rally around scrums, a 'dumb coach,' Patrick Kane — and Tomas Holmstrom
The Wings (31-28-6) responded to a sudden cancellation of Tuesday's practice by routing the lowly Buffalo Sabres, 7-3, Wednesday. But Friday's date is a different matter: The Hurricanes are one of the top teams in the NHL, and just beat the Wings 10 days ago in Detroit. That was the game where defensemen Simon Edvinsson and Albert Johansson were on the ice for shifts that lasted four-and-a-half minutes, unable to get to the bench as the Hurricanes whirled the puck around Detroit's zone. That kind of dominance is Carolina's modus operandi.
"When Carolina plays, they have some of the same thoughts and principles that we do – the volume shooting, the rapid fire of pucks and get it back and do it all over again," McLellan said. "They’re very good at it and they’re on top of you.
"Therefore there’s going to be segments of your game where they’re in your end and it feels a little overwhelming. But if you defend well and hold your ground, you can get through it and be fine."
Fine in the middle
The Wings have liked what they've seen from Marco Kasper in handling playing between Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane on the second line. McLellan likened the role to how Tomas Holmstrom figured out how to play with Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk, knowing the value of going to the net and creating space for two ultra-skilled linemates.
"In my mind Marco is way closer to 40 (Zetterberg) than to 96 (Holmstrom), but the fact that when he does go to the net, there’s people that go there with him and it opens up space for others," McLellan said. "We don’t necessarily dig out the old VHS tapes. Homer would probably be happy if we did, but we don’t do that.
"If we were doing it with Homer, we’d certainly talk about the toughness he had to go there, the willingness to stay in there as guys are taking bombs and how he was able to drive goalies nuts and all that stuff. He was very good at what he did."
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Steal from teammates
Kasper's promotion has dropped J.T. Compher to the third line, with Vladimir Tarasenko and trade deadline acquisition Craig Smith.
"It does slot everybody into lines that maybe fit better," McLellan said. "Maybe Smitty, JT and Vladdy fit each other a little bit better."
McLellan lauded the fourth line of Michael Rasmussen, Dominik Shine and Tyler Motte, saying, "they've been able to have an impact on the game. They’re important."
That has bumped Jonatan Berggren from the lineup, though, the last two games.
"He's very capable of filling in," McLellan said. "I think he fits the top three lines better than he does the fourth line. And he's a talented young man. Just sometimes your number isn't called and you have to figure out a way to get back in there and steal ice time from teammates.
"We all preach team, but sometimes you have to steal from your teammate. And if you're doing a really good job, you're stealing from a teammate and you're getting more. And maybe that happened to him a little bit, when Elmer (Söderblom) showed up and then Kasp started playing really well − they started to steal a little bit of his ice time."
Goalie interference, you say?
The Wings had a would-be goal waived off Wednesday when officials ruled Michael Rasmussen interfered with Buffalo's goalie, and benefited when the Sabres challenged Dylan Larkin committed goaltending interference on Vladimir Tarasenko's goal. The Wings are 0-2 themselves challenging goalie interference since McLellan's arrival, and when asked how confident he and his staff are in what constitutes goalie interference, McLellan conceded, "not very. Some of that is on us. We have to educate ourselves better. Some of that is situational that is a judgment call. It's not easy. It's never the same."
Contact Helene St. James at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.
Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her latest book, “The Franchise: Detroit Red Wings, A Curated History of the Red Wings,” was released October 2024. Her books, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” and “The Big 50: The Men and Moments that made the Detroit Red Wings” are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings playoff chase: Staying grounded against Hurricanes
Continue reading...
