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Jurco in; Smith and Bertuzzi out

November 28, 2016, 7:25 PM ET [0 Comments]
Bob Duff
Detroit Red Wings Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
The sitting and waiting was the hardest part for Tomas Jurco, both while he was playing for the Detroit Red Wings, and while he was out following off-season back surgery.

“It’s been – you saw I could still play with it but it was just – the worst for me was sitting on the bench all the time,” Jurco explained. “Sometimes I’d have to get up and walk. Sometimes I’d stretch it. It was bad and I’ve been sitting a lot for the last couple of years on the bench.

“It was really tough but I’m glad it’s gone and I’m excited for a fresh start.”

That’s exactly how Jurco is viewing his season debut Tuesday against the Dallas Stars at Joe Louis Arena – as a new beginning for him.

“I look at it as a fresh start, mostly because of the surgery,” Jurco said. “It’s way better now, it’s way better than it was before. For me it is kind of a new, fresh start.

“I’m excited to play, excited that there’s no more pain. I can’t wait for tomorrow.”

It’s been a rough couple of years for Jurco, who scored four goals in 44 games last season after netting three in 63 games in 2014-15.

Jurco believes the combination of the surgery and a new workout regimen will help improve upon those totals.

“The last couple of years I was trying to get bigger, stronger but I felt a little tired on the ice,” Jurco said. “I felt like I was not as quick as I used to be, so this summer I decided to do more cardio work. I lost a few pounds.”

The 6-2 Jurco is down to 192 pounds.

“We’ll see how it’s going to be like but now I feel like it’s a good thing for me and I feel better,” Jurco said. “I want to bring some speed. I’m going to try to bring some speed and some physicality. I’ve been working hard and I think I’m ready for it. I feel quick out there and I feel full of energy.

“So that’s what I’m going to try to bring tomorrow.”

He’s prepared to do almost anything to garner regular duty with the Wings.

“Whatever I need to do to keep myself in the team, in this league, I’m going to do,” Jurco said. “So if it’s going to take a fourth line role, as I was for the last couple of years, I’m going to do it. I’m going to make sure I’m going to be really good at it.

“Obviously I have more fun playing top six, top nine but like I said if I’m going to have to be a fourth liner, I’m going to be a fourth liner. And I’m going to make sure I’m going to be a good fourth liner.”

On The Outs
While it’s happy times for Jurco, the first day of a long road back began Monday for forward Tyler Bertuzzi and defenseman Brendan Smith, both who suffered leg injuries in Saturday’s loss to Montreal.

Bertuzzi incurred a high ankle sprain when his left leg bent under him as he fell into the boards when check by Canadiens defenseman Alexei Emelin.

“We both tried to get body position and I was going in at an awkward angle,” Bertuzzi said. “He hit me and I fell into the boards weird.

You can blame Emelin if you want but know that Bertuzzi doesn’t.

“It wasn’t a dirty hit,” Bertuzzi said. “It was just the way I went in it went bad.”

Smith suffered MCL damage to his right knee from a knee-on-knee collision with Canadiens forward Philip Danault.

“It looks like it’s going to be a few weeks,” Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said. “I’d say 3 to 5 weeks is what it looks like for both of them. Obviously, you never know for sure. Neither one of them are surgical.

“It’s just a matter of how they recover. If it happens faster, it happens faster. If it happens slower, it happens slower.”

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