Back from a five-day rest over the NHL All-Star break, the Detroit Red Wings returned to the ice and then packed up and prepared for another long stretch away from Joe Louis Arena. Detroit will play 11 of its next 14 on the road, including a six-game trek to end the month of February.

“It’s always a challenge to go on the road, but you’ve got to stick with what you do,” Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. “We had a lot of games on the road just after Christmas and I thought we did a fairly good job of sticking with it.

“We’ve got to get back to work here and do the right things.”

A successful 4-2-0 trip earlier this month sends the Wings to Florida (Tuesday) and Tampa Bay (Thursday) this week buoyed with the knowledge that they’ve enjoyed success away from home.
“We did a lot of good things that road trip,” Kronwall said. “We didn’t just win games. I thought that even the two games we lost, we played really good hockey.

“I think that is very encouraging. We know when we do it right we’re a really good team. We’ve just got to keep it going here.”

Rink Rust
The Wings certainly felt the effects of their absence from chasing pucks over the past five days as they tuned up at the Taylor, Mich. Sportsplex prior to boarding a plane for Florida.

“Anytime you’ve been off as long as we have, it’s a grind out there,” Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. “It doesn’t matter if you rode the bike or ran on the treadmill, you didn’t play hockey, so taking care of the puck your first game is the key to success.

“You don’t want to be chasing the game. So that’ll be a priority for us.”

Kronwall admitted that he could feel a noticeable difference in his gait as he took the ice Monday.
“It’s quite a bit (rusty) to be honest with you,” Kronwall said. “It does feel a little bit weird putting the skates on and starting to skate again.

“Five days without skating, that’s a long time but it’s the same thing for everybody. We’ve got to make sure that we’re dialled in tomorrow.”

Whither Jurco?
Babcock believes forward Tomas Jurco, who has missed the past seven games due to a back disc ailment, is good to go Tuesday against the Panthers.

“I think Jurcs is available , so now he’s got to get up to speed,” Babcock said. “(Grand Rapids call-up Teemu) Pulkkinen’s playing in the (AHL) All-Star Game, so someone’s got play (here).”

Jurco, who practiced Monday, isn’t so sure that will be him.

“Actually I don’t know yet,” Jurco admitted. “It was my first practice with a 40-mintue skate. We’ll see how I feel tonight, tomorrow. We’ll see.

“I felt good. It wasn’t too hard, but it’s different in a game. Way different. I need to make sure I’m ready. Then I can go.”

If Jurco isn’t able to answer the bell, expect Daniel Cleary to fill his spot in the lineup.

Howard Takes Ice
Goaltender Jimmy Howard (groin) skated for the first time since being injured Jan. 10 against Washington.

“It’s been two weeks since the injury,” Howard said. “It was nice to be able to get out there, even though it was only for 15-20 minutes.”

Howard wasn’t even about to hazard a guess as to when he might be ready to play again.

“No, I don’t want to say anything just yet,” Howard said. “We don’t know what’s going to happen in the near future. We’re just going to keep following the timetable we have, 3-4 weeks and hopefully it just keeps getting better.”

Due to the nature of his position, erring on the side of caution makes the most sense, since a healthy groin is the bread and butter of successful netminding.

“Yeah, it is, it’s everything,” Howard said. “We want to be cautious but at the same time we want to get back out there as quickly as possible.”

Great Outdoors
The Wings were thrilled to learn that they’d be part of the 2016 NHL Stadium Series and even more excited that their Feb. 27, 2016 outdoor game is at Coors Field against their old rivals the Colorado Avalanche.

“It’s always fun and exciting with those outdoor games,” forward Justin Abdelkader said. “My first one was last season. I’ll look forward to Colorado-Detroit, it’s a rivalry that I think will be forever with that’s happened in the late 90s and early 2000s.

“It’ll be real exciting and obviously it’s going to be real cold in Denver, usually a lot of snow and you kind of hope for that in an outdoor game. That’s a little ways into the future but it’s exciting for the fans and the organization.”

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