Bert must earn more goals

There’s been a lot to like about the way Tyler Bertuzzi plays the game since the Detroit Red Wings brought the left-winger up to the NHL for good in late December. His hockey smarts are off the charts. He’s goes to the tough areas, is willing to get his nose dirty and recognizes that often, the simple play is the smart play. “Tyler is a good example of a guy who grabs the minutes,… Detroit coach Jeff Blashill told Detroitredwings.com. “You’re rarely given minutes in this league and he certainly came in and when we traded Tats (Tomas Tatar) he had played well enough in my mind, had given me tons of confidence to use him that I was excited to put him up in those spots. He’s been excellent. Player minutes are all about earning the coach’s confidence, the more you earn the more you play.… At the same time, there’s a glaring concern where Bertuzzi is involved, one that he shares will several Red Wings - he just plain can’t score. “He’s not perfect, but nobody is,… Blashill said of Bertuzzi. “I think certainly Bert has been really really good in that role. So I think there’s definitely been some steps.… Bertuzzi tallied a beauty in Saturday’s 4-3 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, getting his stick on a Danny DeKeyser point shot to deflect the puck past Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen. “That’s the type of player he is, greasy,… Wings goalie Jimmy Howard said. “He’s out there, he’s got the hair flying around, cleaning the ice sometimes but he’s a hard worker, he’s got a great hockey IQ. He finds ways to get it done.… The Wings believe Bertuzzi has the tools to be a top-six forward in the NHL, and that’s where they’ve played him for quite some time, alongside Henrik Zetterberg and Gustav Nyquist on Detroit’s top forward unit. But he can’t remain in that role scoring at the pace he currently exhibits. Saturday’s marker was Bertuzzi’s first since Jan. 22. That’s a span of 27 games without a goal. He’s tallied three times in 41 games, a six-goal pace over an 82-game NHL regular-season campaign. Two-thirds of Detroit’s fourth line - Luke Glendening (nine) and Martin Frk (11) - already have significantly outscored that output. When a forward is assigned a top-six role, getting chances isn’t enough. Finishing chances is mandatory. “I thought he’d had a lot of looks since he came up and played a little more,… Zetterberg said. “It was good to see that he got rewarded with a goal. There’s a good chance he could have a few more.… He’ll need to get more than a few more if Bertuzzi wants to prove he’s more than a third- or fourth-line performer. Bertuzzi understands this to be so, and realizes results for him must come, or his time with the top line will eventually come to a halt. “I think those are the type of goals I’m going to get,… Bertuzzi said. “I’ve just gotta keep going there.… Follow me on Twitter @asktheduffer