It’s a sure sign of how quickly Tyler Bertuzzi has developed into a key Detroit Red Wing that there was concern and consternation Thursday when the rookie left-winger was absent from practice.

Take a deep breath and relax. Wings coach Jeff Blashill assured everyone that there was nothing to fret about. It was merely a maintenance day for Bertuzzi - and captain Henrik Zetterberg, who also had the day off - and both would be in the lineup Saturday when the Wings play host to the Carolina Hurricanes at Little Caesars Arena.

Switched from Zetterberg’s line to a unit with Dylan Larkin and Andreas Athanasiou, Bertuzzi scored his first NHL goal and added an assist in Sunday’s 4-0 road win over the Chicago Blackhawks. He followed that up with a pair of assists in Tuesday’s 4-2 home-ice loss to the Dallas Stars.

It was the third multi-point game since his recall from AHL Grand Rapids and Bertuzzi has five points in Detroit’s last four games. He shows 1-7-8 totals in 11 games this season.

Bertuzzi, who was the MVP of the AHL playoffs last spring as the Grand Rapids Griffins won the Calder Cup, has rapidly evolved into a valuable Red Wing due to his ability to get in on the forecheck and apply pressure to the opposition defense, disrupting their ability to move the puck out of the zone.

“The one thing with Bert is again, against a team that defends well, that protects the ice well, that makes it hard to get to their net, you need guys like him and that’s why he’s always been a good playoff performer,” Blashill told Detroitredwings.com. “I think when a game’s wide open, you don’t notice him as much. But when the game’s a hard grind, you notice him more, and certainly he makes tons of little plays.

“He’s just got real good hockey smarts and poise with a real hard approach and that’s, I think, a special combination and a combination that’s transferable to successful hockey.”

Bertuzzi’s approach to successful hockey is a simple combination of work ethic and dogged determination.

“Just get on the forecheck as hard as I can and try to create stalls and create space for my linemates and obviously, turn over the puck and try to create offense,” Bertuzzi said.

“If you don’t get on in them and you make their job easy, then their D can beat you up the ice. That’s how they get odd-man rushes and create offense, so if you can get on the forecheck early, it disrupts everything.”

Bertuzzi also displayed a flash of high-end skill against the Stars, hitting Athanasiou with a tape-to-tape pass from the Detroit end to just outside the Dallas blue line, sending Athanasiou in alone for a breakaway goal.

“I know that he’s gone every time there,” Bertuzzi said. “If I can give it to him, he’s going to get a chance and it’s most likely going to go in.”

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