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Looking to bust out of a five-game losing streak that has seen them score just five goals over that span, the Detroit Red Wings will reunite captain Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk on the same forward line for Sunday’s game at Joe Louis Arena against the Colorado Avalanche.
"I don't know if that's an ace move,” said Detroit coach Mike Babcock, who generally prefers to skate his two most talented forwards on different lines. “We're not winning. We're not finding a way to win so let's try something else.
“We've tried lots of things and we'll see what happens.”
Babcock’s players, however, embraced the notion of putting both aces in the same unit.
“It’s a stacked line for sure,” Detroit left-winger Tomas Tatar said. “I would not like to play against them, that’s for sure. They’re two really good players.
“We’ll see. I guess we’re trying to make some lines that can score goals and try to get everybody going.”
Datsyuk, who has gone five games without a goal, embraced the idea of reuniting with Zetterberg.
“I like to play with him,” Datsyuk said. “It’s like of my wishes for Christmas.
“When they put us together it’s a good thing.”
The Wings will also put the unit of Riley Sheahan between Tatar and Tomas Jurco back together for Sunday’s game, a group that was productive for the team last season and also played together in the AHL in Grand Rapids.
“Yeah, we didn’t play much together (so far this season),” Tatar said. “It’s nice to be reunited this way. We’ll see how it goes.”
Pucks To The Net
The familiar refrain of frustrated offenses was being uttered throughout the Detroit dressing room. They need to go to the net. They need to be harder on the puck. They need to get to the dirty areas to score goals.
“We need more shooting and more scores,” Datsyuk said. “The last few games we not score much. It’s hard to win when you score one like last night. We start being a little more casual maybe. We need more shoot, follow rebounds. Trying to make a better play for a shot just doesn’t work.
“It’s a little bit of tough time, frustrated, but we need to stick together and keep playing.”
Howard Out
With goaltender Jimmy Howard sidelined by a lower-body injury suffered in Friday’s 2-1 loss to the New York Islanders, Tom McCollum was summoned from Grand Rapids and defenseman Xavier Ouellet was optioned there to make room for him on the 23-player roster.
McCollum will back-up Petr Mrazek Sunday against the Avalanche, which will mark the first time since March 23, 1998 that Detroit has suited up two rookie goalies. In that game, both Kevin Hodson and Norm Maracle saw action in a 5-5 tie with the Chicago Blackhawks at Joe Louis Arena.
The Wings feel they can count on Mrazek, who has shown plenty of promise from his 16 games of NHL work.
“Every team in the league is hoping you’re backup’s going to win you games,” Babcock said. “Petr’s done a good job for us.”
Weiss Not Ready
The Wings had held out hope that forward Stephen Weiss (shoulder) might be ready for Sunday’s game, but that’s not in the cards.
“I'm trying to shoot for Tuesday (against Buffalo), I think,” Weiss said. "It feels OK. Not like it did before, but when you get these types of shoulder things, they'll linger for a long time.”
Weiss has utilized teammate Justin Abdelkader, just back in the lineup from a shoulder injury himself, as a sounding board during his recovery process.
“Abby's been in the last two games,” Weiss said. “Talking to him, it's probably still a little bit sore for sure. It's something that'll be nagging for a while but once you can take a hit, you're good to go.”
Howe Improved
The health of Red Wings legend Gordie Howe has dramatically improved following experimental stem cell treatment in San Diego conducted by Dr. Maynard Howe (CEO) and Dave McGuigan (VP) of Stemedica Cell Technologies.
On Dec. 8, Howe, who has dementia, recently suffered a major and several minor strokes, underwent a two-day, non-surgical treatment at Novastem’s medical facility. The treatment included neural stem cells injected into the spinal canal on Day 1 and mesenchymal stem cells by intravenous infusion on Day 2.
“His response was truly miraculous,” the Howe family said in a statement. “At the end of Day 1 he was walking with minimal effort for the first time since his stroke. By Day 2 he was conversing comfortably with family and staff at the clinic.
“On the third day, he walked to his seat on the plane under his own power. By Day 5 he was walking unaided and taking part in helping out with daily household chores. When tested, his ability to name items has gone from less than 25 percent before the procedure to 85 percent today. His physical therapists have been astonished.
“Although his short-term memory, strength, endurance and coordination have plenty of room for improvement, we are hopeful that he will continue to improve in the months to come.”
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