It may be viewed as merely a case of the law of averages evening things out, but the Detroit Red Wings recognize that the reason they’ve enjoyed a much more injury-free campaign isn’t as simply explained as that.
After enduring a damaging 421 man-games lost last season, the Wings undertook a complete study and overhaul of the way they approached both preventative and rehabilitation measures in order to discover ways to improve the overall health of the hockey club.
This season, through 68 games, the club has lost just 167 man-games.
The result is a team that barely made the playoffs the past two seasons while enduring a rash of injuries has up until recently been challenging for top spot in the NHL’s Eastern Conference.
“I think it’s been a key factor for us this year,… Detroit defenseman Jonathan Ericsson said. “We’ve put more working into off-ice workouts.
“The trainers have done a better job - not saying they haven’t done a good job before - but I think they’ve done a better job of really getting guys on top of things early and not having injuries escalate by taking care of it sooner than later.
“We know that we’ve been at the top of man-games lost the last few years and it’s been hurting us.
“I think just seeing the different guys that we’re bringing in for acupuncture and chiropractors and how we do things in our rehab with our physical trainer, everything is a part of it. It’s definitely been a change this year.…
Limited to 48 games last season, due to broken ribs, a shoulder separation and a broken finger that required surgery, Ericsson was just one of many Wings who were idled. Captain Henrik Zetterberg was limited to 45 games by back surgery and a nagging knee problem also held Pavel Datsyuk to 45 games. A variety of ailments cost Darren Helm 40 games and a sports hernia injury led to surgery for Stephen Weiss and checked him out for the season after 26 games.
The difference this season is evident the number of iron men of the Detroit roster. Eight Red Wings – forwards Drew Miller, Gustav Nyquist, Tomas Tatar, Luke Glendening, Riley Sheahan and defensemen Ericsson, Niklas Kronwall and Marek Zidlicky, recently acquired from New Jersey, have appeared in every game this season.
To get a better gauge on how remarkable that is, the last time the Red Wings saw eight players skate in every regular-season game was in 1956-57 when Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay, Earl (Dutch) Reibel, Red Kelly, Lorne Ferguson, Metro Prystai, Marcel Pronovost and Glenn Hall each played all 70 games.
“I think that’s good for our team,… Miller said. “You see the success we’ve had throughout the season. A lot of that has to do with us having our full lineup or as close as we can to it.
“We’re not playing without Zetterberg for a long extended period of time. Datsyuk’s been out a little bit, but not like he has been in the past.
“That’s huge for our team.…
It’s not just the games the players are out of the lineup that is damaging, the amount of time and effort required to get back to speed once healed up also impacts the overall team performance.
“I think it’s bigger than everyone thinks it is,… Ericsson said. “You’re in the flow for the whole season and if you get injured you have to start all over again. It takes awhile to get back into it and your confidence isn’t going to be up there.…
Like all teams, the Wings have endured some serious injuries, such as the concussion that currently has forward Johan Franzen on the sideline and the dislocated shoulder that shelved back-up goalie Jonas Gustavsson for 37 games.
What they’ve avoided are the soft-tissue injuries such as groins and hamstrings that looked to have the team hamstrung the past two seasons.
“It’s a mixture of things,… said goalie Jimmy Howard, one of the few Wings to miss time with a groin issue this season. “I’m a lot smarter about things this year compared to being (back) out on the ice and in the dressing room (too quickly last season), and I think we’ve finally found a good balance of that.…
A different stretching program and more clearer and honest communication between players and the training and medical staff is also worked to lessen the load on sick bay.
“We’re doing different exercises and guys are trying to feel their bodies more and letting the trainers know when something isn’t right,… Ericsson said. “This way the trainers may have a different approach. They’re specific with everything and doing everything they can do.
“When we go off-ice and train (athletic therapist Piet Van Zant) knows who’s got problems with what, and he’s adapting workouts for that.
“It’s just paying dividends for us in keeping guys healthy.…
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