Should this be looked upon as an indication of how well Tyler Bertuzzi is playing, or is it a referendum on how desperate these times are for the Detroit Red Wings? At practice Thursday in preparation for Friday’s game at Little Caesars Arena against the New York Rangers, left-winger Bertuzzi, recalled from AHL Grand Rapids two games ago when forward Luke Glendening was lost to a hand injury, was inserted into one of Detroit’s top two forward lines alongside captain Henrik Zetterberg and right-winger Gus Nyquist. “Just trying to tweak a little bit,… Detroit coach Jeff Blashill told Mlive.com. “We’ve tried to keep some pairs together as much as we can. At home it’s a little bit different in terms of matchups. “He’s a hard player, he’s smart and has skill. I just think he’s a good package. He can be a good piece to a puzzle and I’m hoping he can be a good piece on that line.… Blashill was of the opinion that with Bertuzzi still learning some of the ins and outs of the Wings’ forechecking systems, it wasn’t a wise decision to play him on their shutdown forward unit with Frans Nielsen and Darren Helm. “Although I think Tyler’s a real complete player, he’s still getting used to the system, so to go out and expect him to match up against the other team’s top line would be a lot to ask until he gets himself a little more familiarized, and it gives Hank a little bit of a forecheck on that line,… Blashill explained. Bertuzzi, who garnered his first NHL point in Wednesday’s 3-1 loss at New Jersey when he set up Justin Abdelkader’s goal, wasn’t about to take his new lot in hockey life for granted. “Those were the lines at practice today,… Bertuzzi said. “I don’t know what it’s going to be like tomorrow. If that’s the case, obviously it’s an honor playing with Zetterberg, and then Gus is always on his line for a reason. “They have good chemistry and hopefully I can bring energy to the line. I can keep it simple with them and just try to create space for them, work hard down low and get to the net.… Power Play Bertuzzi also replaced the struggling Anthony Mantha as the net-front presence on Detroit’s first power-play unit. “We wanted to get him some looks at it today,… Blashill said. “It’s one of those spots we got to make sure we have a net presence. Mantha’s done a good job at points with it, but certainly Bert is somebody who can compete for that job, so we gave him an opportunity to compete for it today.… Bertuzzi is third in Grand Rapids this season with four power-play goals. “I think in a lot of ways he can be a natural net-front guy because he likes to go there and he’s got good hands around the net and he’s got a pretty good ability to screen, so we’ll see,… Blashill said.
Detroit's power play was oh-for-five in the loss to the Devils. Follow me on Twitter @asktheduffer