Red Wings hope to reverse trend of playing sluggish after returning from the West Coast
The Detroit Red Wings were a bundle of energy Saturday despite playing their second game in as many nights and being two forwards short because of injuries.
They outskated the Vancouver Canucks for most of the game, fired a season-high 54 shots on Roberto Luongo and won 4-3 on Henrik Zetterberg's goal with 0.3 seconds remaining in overtime. It earned them five of a possible six points on their Western Canada trip.
After traveling Sunday and quickly getting readjusted to the time difference, they will need a similar energetic effort Monday against the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins at Joe Louis Arena.
The Red Wings often are tired and sluggish in their first game after a trip to the West Coast. They lost 6-0 at the New York Islanders on Jan. 12 and dropped a 4-3 shootout decision in St. Louis on Feb. 9.
They hope staying overnight in Vancouver rather than flying home after the game will make a difference.
"Usually when we (fly after the game), we get home around 7:30 in the morning,'' captain Nicklas Lidstrom said. "It's hard to sleep on that flight, and all the sudden you feel like you have to sleep all day to catch up. I think it's easier to spend the night and then have a travel day.''
Red Wings coach Mike Babcock added: "It's a long travel day. Time changes are tough. It's going to be a hard game, but we have to be mentally prepared.''
Focus shouldn't be an issue playing against Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and the Penguins. They edged Detroit 2-1 in a shootout in Pittsburgh on Jan. 31. The teams have met in the past two Stanley Cup finals.
"I don't think it really matters who we play,'' Zetterberg said. "This time of the season we have to play really hard every game. Coming home (from the West Coast) is tough for us. We just have to deal with it.''
They dealt well with their depleted depth at forward, missing Patrick Eaves (head injury) and Dan Cleary (groin injury), who are listed as day-to-day. It helped that Zetterberg turned in one of his best games of the season, registering nine shots on goal and a plus-3 rating to go along with a goal and an assist.
He had good chemistry with Valtteri Filppula (goal, two assists), his linemate for the past five games.
"(Zetterberg) has been a lot better since he started playing with Fil,'' Babcock said. "He seems to have turned the corner. He's feeling better about his game. All athletes, I don't care how good you are, confidence is fleeting. It's great to have it back.''
Said Lidstrom: "I thought (Zetterberg) was dominant throughout the game. He was hanging onto the puck. It's tough to get the puck away from him when he's playing like that.''
Todd Bertuzzi replaced Cleary on Zetterberg's line and played his best game in several weeks. He had five shots on goal, crashed the net and was engaged physically. He ended his 19-game goal-scoring drought with his first goal since Jan. 23.
"I didn't like the two turnovers on one shift four-on-four, but I thought he had a good night,'' Babcock said. "He was at the net, that's the key for us. If he's going to play with good players he has to be at the net.''
Bertuzzi and Pavel Datsyuk scored five seconds apart in the second period, matching the franchise record for the fastest two goals (Tomas Holmstrom and Datsyuk on Nov. 24, 2007, vs. Columbus).
"All goal scorers are the same. When they haven't scored in a long time it sucks the life out of you,'' Babcock said. "You get one, the chance of getting a few more is there.''
Bertuzzi does not view himself as a net-front presence but realizes that is what the team needs, especially in Cleary's absence.
"It's up to me to get there (to the net) and create some room for those two,'' Bertuzzi said. "Sometimes, I just got to think about it a little more because I get wandering a little bit and get a little excited to get there (away from the net) and touch the puck. Overall, it makes a difference being there.''
Bertuzzi also had gotten away from shooting the puck. He had only six shots in his previous eight games.
"It seems every time we get 40-plus shots we end up winning,'' Bertuzzi said. "Until we get it through our heads and continue to do it, we're going to have struggles. But when we play games like that and shoot the puck and get to the net, we're going to get two points.''
The Detroit Red Wings were a bundle of energy Saturday despite playing their second game in as many nights and being two forwards short because of injuries.
They outskated the Vancouver Canucks for most of the game, fired a season-high 54 shots on Roberto Luongo and won 4-3 on Henrik Zetterberg's goal with 0.3 seconds remaining in overtime. It earned them five of a possible six points on their Western Canada trip.
After traveling Sunday and quickly getting readjusted to the time difference, they will need a similar energetic effort Monday against the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins at Joe Louis Arena.
The Red Wings often are tired and sluggish in their first game after a trip to the West Coast. They lost 6-0 at the New York Islanders on Jan. 12 and dropped a 4-3 shootout decision in St. Louis on Feb. 9.
They hope staying overnight in Vancouver rather than flying home after the game will make a difference.
"Usually when we (fly after the game), we get home around 7:30 in the morning,'' captain Nicklas Lidstrom said. "It's hard to sleep on that flight, and all the sudden you feel like you have to sleep all day to catch up. I think it's easier to spend the night and then have a travel day.''
Red Wings coach Mike Babcock added: "It's a long travel day. Time changes are tough. It's going to be a hard game, but we have to be mentally prepared.''
Focus shouldn't be an issue playing against Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and the Penguins. They edged Detroit 2-1 in a shootout in Pittsburgh on Jan. 31. The teams have met in the past two Stanley Cup finals.
"I don't think it really matters who we play,'' Zetterberg said. "This time of the season we have to play really hard every game. Coming home (from the West Coast) is tough for us. We just have to deal with it.''
They dealt well with their depleted depth at forward, missing Patrick Eaves (head injury) and Dan Cleary (groin injury), who are listed as day-to-day. It helped that Zetterberg turned in one of his best games of the season, registering nine shots on goal and a plus-3 rating to go along with a goal and an assist.
He had good chemistry with Valtteri Filppula (goal, two assists), his linemate for the past five games.
"(Zetterberg) has been a lot better since he started playing with Fil,'' Babcock said. "He seems to have turned the corner. He's feeling better about his game. All athletes, I don't care how good you are, confidence is fleeting. It's great to have it back.''
Said Lidstrom: "I thought (Zetterberg) was dominant throughout the game. He was hanging onto the puck. It's tough to get the puck away from him when he's playing like that.''
Todd Bertuzzi replaced Cleary on Zetterberg's line and played his best game in several weeks. He had five shots on goal, crashed the net and was engaged physically. He ended his 19-game goal-scoring drought with his first goal since Jan. 23.
"I didn't like the two turnovers on one shift four-on-four, but I thought he had a good night,'' Babcock said. "He was at the net, that's the key for us. If he's going to play with good players he has to be at the net.''
Bertuzzi and Pavel Datsyuk scored five seconds apart in the second period, matching the franchise record for the fastest two goals (Tomas Holmstrom and Datsyuk on Nov. 24, 2007, vs. Columbus).
"All goal scorers are the same. When they haven't scored in a long time it sucks the life out of you,'' Babcock said. "You get one, the chance of getting a few more is there.''
Bertuzzi does not view himself as a net-front presence but realizes that is what the team needs, especially in Cleary's absence.
"It's up to me to get there (to the net) and create some room for those two,'' Bertuzzi said. "Sometimes, I just got to think about it a little more because I get wandering a little bit and get a little excited to get there (away from the net) and touch the puck. Overall, it makes a difference being there.''
Bertuzzi also had gotten away from shooting the puck. He had only six shots in his previous eight games.
"It seems every time we get 40-plus shots we end up winning,'' Bertuzzi said. "Until we get it through our heads and continue to do it, we're going to have struggles. But when we play games like that and shoot the puck and get to the net, we're going to get two points.''
