For a guy who hadn’t played in a month, Brad Richards isn’t displaying any signs of rust.
Returning from a back injury, Richards played solidly on a line with Pavel Datsyuk and Teemu Pulkkinen on the weekend in wins over the Los Angeles Kings and St. Louis Blues.
“Well, it as a pretty big test,… Richards admitted. “Probably not the smartest week to come back, playing back-to-back against those teams.
“I had to jump in and play and to feel the way I do today after two pretty heavy teams is a good sign.…
Richards admitted that skating on the same line with Datsyuk was a bonus as he came back from injury.
“You get excited playing with players like that,… Richards said. “I think for never being on the ice with him before we made some plays and found each other and created some things.…
Like Richards, Datsyuk only recently returned to action following off-season ankle surgery.
“Obviously he’s probably still feeling like he’s getting back into it and I was probably not as patient as I will be as I get going,… Richards said. “Also everything felt a little quicker than normal because I’ve been out so long. Hopefully we can build off that.…
While putting two such skilled passers as Richards and Datsyuk together with a finisher such as Pulkkinen makes perfect sense on paper, it doesn’t always play out that way on the ice.
“You never know how chemistry works,… Richards said. “I’ve played with tons of different people. Sometimes it works and sometimes you expect something to work and it doesn’t but something random works. You never know.
“Pulkky had some good chances, too so hopefully we get some confidence off the other night, helping the team win offensively and get on a roll.…
The biggest adjustment Richards faced was playing on Datsyuk’s wing even though he’s a natural center.
“I’m smart enough to figure out he’s playing center so he’s probably getting the puck a little more, or have the puck a little more than I would if I were center,… Richards said. “A center, they usually want the puck more so as a winger you don’t have it as much. You get used to that. I’ve got to be ready to shoot a little more than I would at center because I’m going to get pucks that normally I wouldn’t.
“He made some plays the other night that didn’t surprise me but still they are different than a lot of players make. He does see stuff that you don’t expect. You’ve got to be ready and if you’re shooting you can get some real good chances.…
Detroit coach Jeff Blashill admitted that he expected an offensive boost by placing Datsyuk and Richards together.
“It’s a factor for sure,… Blashill said. They’re both guys who’ve been elite players in this league.
“If you look at their numbers, they’re amazing.…
He also thought they could both help each other as they go through the process of getting back up to full speed from their ailments and saw evidence of that emerging in Saturday’s win at St. Louis.
“I thought that was Pav’s best game,… Blashill said. “I think he’s gotten better and better each game. Obviously being out all summer and missing training camp it’s a hard thing, so I thought his impact was huge the other night and I thought Richie playing with him – Richie’s got elite smarts and a really good stick and they seem to play well together.
“It gave us another real powerful line, I thought.…
No. 8 The Wings came in eighth place on the annual Forbes list of the NHL’s most valuable franchises.
Forbes listed the Wings’ value to be $600 million, up from $570 million a year ago.
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