Whether or not Pavel Datsyuk will play for the Detroit Red Wings Tuesday in Columbus against the Blue Jackets is something that will ultimately be determined later in the day.
“We anticipate him playing but we’ll make that final decision later on today,… Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said.
As Datsyuk continues his recovery from the illness that kept him out of Sunday’s 4-1 loss at Chicago, he also pondered some solutions for what ails Detroit’s flagging power play.
“Last year we be more on the same page, which is shooting, follow puck and rebound,… Datsyuk explained. “We play with lots of confidence. Where does the puck go, we know exactly.
“Now with the change, we need to come back to our style, shoot, delivery of puck. Of course we need to be fast around net, follow rebound. Sometimes we no have second chance. But it's now every goalie's big, so we need second chance.…
Datsyuk believes that because Detroit’s power play was so effective last season – third in the NHL at 26.6 per cent – opposing teams make extra effort to break down ways to prevent it from succeeding this season.
“From last season, lots of teams didn't know we were good and they play more in detail for us now,… Datsyuk said. “From our side, we don't score many rebound goals. We need to just be more quicker and follow puck.
“I think it's more, of course lots of teams block shots. We need to make it happen to deliver it to net and see what happens. Break them, how they play.…
With off-season rule changes, Datsyuk also is of the opinion that going hard to the net is another option that’s been taken off the table for power-play units.
“Sometimes you can but now it's coach's challenge so you need to be careful with this one,… Datsyuk said.
Block Party Perhaps the aspect of today’s game that Datsyuk finds most distasteful is the number of blocked shots per night.
“It's shocking when they show team blocked shots and they say after almost 60 games, we have 1000 blocked shots,… Datsyuk said. “It's not like hockey anymore, it's like volleyball with blocked shots or something.
“We'll see where it goes. Maybe it’s (for) fans not exciting, looking to block shots. We should be looking to score or something.…
Another Opinion Datsyuk wasn’t the only Wing busy dissecting Detroit’s moribund power play, 24th in the NHL at 17.2 per cent.
Defenseman Niklas Kronwall insists the key element is maximizing their shot opportunities when they present themselves.
“Whether that’s me or from the flanks, we’ve got to make sure that any time we have that lane to the net, we’ve got to make sure the puck gets in there,… Kronwall said. “Abby’s (Justin Abdelkader) doing a great job in front of the net and so is (Tomas) Jurco or whether it’s Jurco or somebody else on the other line.
“They’re in front and we’ve got to make sure that the puck gets there. And if we just get it there, and everyone knows that it’s coming, it’s a lot easier to play that way.…
Blashill believes there are a couple of areas where the power play can be more effective – zone entries and puck support.
“I thought we had entries (against Chicago) where we should have been in the zone and didn’t have good enough support, so we want to make sure we have proper support,… Blashill explained. “And two, doing a good job in terms of pressure, being able to retrieve pucks and not just retrieve them and maintain possession but attack off of that.
The Wings recognize that minus a consistent power play, making the playoffs will be a far more challenging battle.
“There’s been nights it’s been good, there’s been nights it hasn’t been as good,… Blashill said. “I always look at the process of it but in the end we have to get more results off it.…
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