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Waging a battle with themselves |
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If you want to win the game, first of all, it’s all about winning the battles. And the Detroit Red Wings are finishing second in far too many battles of late.
That’s why coach Jeff Blashill placed the emphasis on winning battles during practice Monday as the Wings prepared for Tuesday’s home date with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
“We need to win some more one-on-one battles,” Detroit forward Luke Glendening said. “Every guy in this room can be a little better and it starts with one-on-one battles.
“You’ve got to be better than the guy across from you.”
The Wings certainly weren’t better than anyone across from them as they were humbled 5-0 Saturday by the Montreal Canadiens, and that didn’t sit well with the players or coach Jeff Blashill.
“We got slapped in the face,” Blashill said. “We’ve talked about identity and talked about being relentless and we’ve talked about being fast and we’ve talked about being competitive.
“You can’t win in this league if you’re not highly, highly, highly competitive and I thought in the game in Montreal we got out-competed and we can’t get out-competed.”
Glendening felt Sunday’s break after the lopsided loss was exactly what the Wings needed to readjust their sights and also to take a long, hard look at themselves before returning to the ice.
“It’s never fun to get beat 5-0,” Glendening said. “I think we’ve had a lot of time to reflect, especially with a day off. I think everyone had time to look in the mirror and see how they can be better come tomorrow.
“Hopefully everyone will be ready. I thought we had a good day in practice today and got back to work.”
Vanek Update
Injured forward Thomas Vanek (hip flexor) believes he is on schedule to return to action for Sunday’s home game against the Calgary Flames.
“As far as skating and stuff I feel real good,” said Vanek, who has missed Detroit’s last nine games. “The adjustment is always it’s a fast game we play. I try to assimilate that as much as I can in practice so hopefully it won’t take me to get back in the swing of it.”
Kronwall Out
The Wings gave defenseman Niklas Kronwall Monday off and confirmed that the veteran defenseman, who only recent returned from a chronic knee ailment, would not suit up Tuesday against the Lightning.
“We’re going to give Kronner tomorrow off,” Blashill confirmed. “That gives us a space of Sunday-Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday (off) and he’ll be available for practice Thursday.”
Blashill intends to monitor Kronwall’s workload all season long in order to keep him healthy enough to play with as much frequency as possible.
“I want him to play as many healthy games where he feels as good as possible. You’ve got to look at the schedule, and certainly opponents, but more importantly, when can you get real breaks?
“This is a four-day break that’s hard to get during the year. He’s only going to miss one game. It’s something we’ve got to make sure do a good job managing.”
New Linemates
Glendening skated on a unit with Dylan Larkin and Frans Nielsen in practice Monday, all part of the winning more battles objective.
“We’ve got to get to the other net better, we’ve got to get more forecheck pressure and we’ve got to win more puck battles,” Blashill explained. “He does all those things and it frees you up on the wing a little bit to get in on the forecheck, win puck battles, get to the net.
“It allows more space for Nielsen and Larkin potentially, so it’s something we’re looking at.”
Normally on the fourth line, Glendening didn’t see where playing with more skilled talent would impact his style of play.
“I don’t think it really changes my role,” Glendening said. “I’ve got to be hard; I’ve got to go get pucks, be physical, be good defensively.”
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