For as long as the Detroit Red Wings have been winning, it seems as if the prevailing wisdom among hockey people and the cause for concern among the faithful is that the Wings aren’t tough enough.

To this, the Wings offer a simple response: Go ahead, try and rough them up.

See where that gets you.

“I think sometimes teams think we’re kind of a pushover and the way to get at us is to hit us or take cheap shots,” Detroit defenseman Brendan Smith said. “But sometimes you wake up guys like Pavel Datsyuk and that’s not a good thing.”

Embarking upon a six-game road trip that commences with visits to Buffalo (Saturday) and New Jersey (Monday), two teams that have sought to run roughshod over the Wings in earlier meetings this season, Detroit figures to get its mettle tested again.

New Jersey defensemen Damon Severson and John Moore both took runs at Wings rookie forward Dylan Larkin when they last met. Earlier in the month when Buffalo’s Evander Kane got set to tangle with Detroit captain Henrik Zetterberg. In each case, someone has been there to step up and step in.

For Larkin, it was forward Justin Abdelkader, while in the instance with Zetterberg, Smith jumped into the fray to ensure Kane wouldn’t have his way with his captain.

“I can’t necessarily speak for what other teams think, but what I can say is I want us to continue to stick up for each other,” Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said. “I think that’s an important part of a team, making sure you have a little bit of that pack mentality where you’re looking after each other.

“We want to continue that.”

It’s no coincidence that in the 14 games since he went after Kane, Smith has been an ever-present in the Detroit lineup. He’d been in and out of the 18 skaters who suit up each night prior to that and on the bubble in terms of becoming a regular.

“He’s got a toughness and an edge to him,” Blashill said of Smith. “He punches back when people try to punch you. I think that’s an important part of the team.”

It’s also the only way Smith knows how to play the game, and the way he was taught to play hockey since he was a youngster.

“You just do it,” Smith said of sticking up for a teammate. “It’s kind of just ingrained in myself and I think a lot of players.

“I’ll always do it. I’ll always get in there and I’ll always help because that’s kind of the mentality that I’ve always been brought up with and I think that’s the mentality that we want in the room, to protect each other.”

It’s also what winning teams do. Team toughness isn’t measured by how many times you fight, but in the method via which a team fights back when physically challenged by the opposition.

“To be honest, I want somebody to jump in for me, too,” Smith said. “It just shows that everybody’s got each other’s back. And that’s the biggest thing. That’s how you become a Stanley Cup team, is when everybody’s got each other’s back.

“For sure I would want somebody to do it for me and I think that’s the mentality we want in the room.”

When Mike Babcock was coaching Detroit he was never a fan of the enforcer role and Blashill believes it’s a facet of hockey whose time has passed.

“The NHL’s changed a lot from where it was,” Blashill said. “In the past there was I’d say more guys designated to fight. There’s way less of that then there has been.

“I think stars in today’s world have to look after themselves much more than they did 20 years ago. It’s just a different world that way.”

Blashill envisions no cause for concern that his team is one that can be bullied by others.

“I haven’t seen anything like that,” Blashill said. “What I have seen is I’ve seen our guys stick up for each other and that’s what I’m concerned about.

“I’m not concerned about what the other team is doing.”

Follow me on Twitter @asktheduffer

Join the Discussion: » 0 Comments » Post New Comment

» Five of Last Six First Rounders To Start Season In AHL

» Zadina, Veleno sent down

» Opening-Night Roster Not Set In Stone

» Back Where Pro Hockey Started

» Abdelkader Looking To Bounce Back