Stability in lines pays off for Red Wings
Detroit – No tinkering, no shuffling forwards around. For the last several games, Detroit Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill has kept all four lines the same.
The familiarity is appearing to help, with players saying chemistry is being developed.
“It’s encouraging, for sure,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “When you’re starting to play good hockey you can see and we’re starting to play good hockey. I really like our line combinations.
“They mesh well together.”
Blashill juggled the lines often last season, and the first couple of months this season were a puzzle because of injuries and slumps.
But Blashill likes what he’s seeing now.
“It’s probably the most I’ve liked our lines since I’ve been here,” Blashill said. “We have guys in good spots, the guys are playing real good, and we’re taking steps in the right direction.”
Blashill has Henrik Zetterberg centering Tomas Tatar and Anthony Mantha, Dylan Larkin between Thomas Vanek and Gustav Nyquist, Frans Nielsen centering Justin Abdelkader and Luke Glendening, and a fourth line of Riley Sheahan between Tomas Jurco and Steve Ott.
Tatar, for one, likes the stability.
“You don’t have to work on chemistry every time (such as) when the lines are changing,” Tatar said. “We are playing good this way right now.”
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Just knowing where linemates are on the ice, and their tendencies, is important.
“Everybody has a little different movement on the ice,” Tatar said. “When you’re switching players, it’s not the easiest way. You can’t really figure it out.
“But the combos are working real good now and it’s clicking for us.”
Sheahan surging
Riley Sheahan has certainly struggled statistically this season, with no goals (four assists) in 23 games, and a minus-9 rating.
But Blashill has seen progress the last two games, with Sheahan recording six hits against Montreal and ranking as the Red Wings’ best forward in their own staff-kept statistics against Dallas.
Blashill talked with Sheahan recently about what the young player can control.
“You can control your play; you can’t control necessarily whether it (the puck) goes in,” Blashill said. “One way he can help is to hit the net. That’s something we’ve had to focus on with him. The last two games might have been the best in a while here.”
Ice chips
Zetterberg’s goal was his team-leading 16th point of the season. It was also his 313th goal as a Red Wing, just one behind Pavel Datsyuk for seventh place in franchise history.
… Over his last three starts Petr Mrazek has a 1.62 goals-against average and .944 save percentage.
... Ken Kal, radio play-by-play man, returned behind the microphone Thursday night. Kal was at the morning skate and conserving his voice, after having missed the last several weeks with an issue with his vocal chords.
… Tatar on Florida’s Jaromir Jagr, who remains effective at age 44: “I don’t even know what to say. He’s a legend. At this age to still play and perform at that level, it’s really impressive. He’s a motivation for a lot of players.”
… Blashill didn’t get deeply into the firing of Panthers coach Gerard Gallant earlier in the week, but Blashill had kind things to say about the former Red Wings player.
“Certainly I can tell you this, he’s an excellent coach and excellent man from the little bit I’ve got to know him,” Blashill said.
ted.kulfan@detroitnews.com
Twitter @tkulfan