Jeff Blashill met with his defenseman during practice Thursday and the message from the Detroit Red Wings coach to his defenders was that they shouldn’t be surprised if things change for Friday’s game at Calgary against the Flames.
“We’re not sure what we’re doing tomorrow with the D corps so I wanted to explain that to them,… Blashill said. “We’re not sure about the pairings yet. I just wanted to make sure they knew that.…
Blashill put his pairings into a blender in the second period of Wednesday’s 3-1 loss to the Oilers at Edmonton, something Mike Babcock rarely did with his top four defenders when coached the Wings. Besides the three pairings that began the game, Blashill sent six other sets over the boards. Jonathan Ericsson was glued to the bench for the final seven minutes of the game.
It’s quite possible the pairings deployed against the Flames will have an all-new look and feel to them, perhaps even with the reintroduction of Brendan Smith into the lineup.
“That’s up in the air right now,… Blashill said. “We’re certainly thinking about how we can best get guys in the right spot.…
Might things change then?
“Yes,… Blashill said. “The answer’s yes.
“I just think as a team we’ve got to be better and as a D corps we’ve got to be better.…
He got no argument from the senior member of his blue-line crew.
“Yeah, I think so,… agreed Niklas Kronwall. “Just all in all we need to get better, is the biggest one. I think if we do then the opportunities to jump up will be (be there).…
That’s one element Blashill wants more of from his defenseman. He’d like to see them getting more involved in the offense and thinks the lack of that element in their attack has played a role in Detroit’s three-game losing streak.
“I do think our D can do a better job of being a little more proactive and getting up in the play,… Blashill said. “I think we can do a better job of putting other teams on their heels. We worked on that a little bit today.
Kronwall believes as a crew they need to pick up the tempo of their play.
“I don’t think we’ve played quick enough on defense, where we created those opportunities,… Kronwall said. “You just can’t put yourself in those positions.…
Injury Updates There’s not much positive news to tell regarding the two injured Red Wings, forwards Johan Franzen (post-concussion syndrome) and Pavel Datsyuk (ankle surgery).
“I just exchanged a text with him two days ago and he said he wasn’t feeling great,… Detroit GM Ken Holland said of Franzen.
Datsyuk is skating on his own in Detroit and the gameplan still seems to be a mid-November return to action for him.
“I don’t know if he’s joining us Monday (for practice) or if it’s a week from Monday but he is skating on his own,… Holland said. “He’s working out hard on his own. I think he’s on schedule. There’s been no setbacks.
“Obviously when he trusts his ankle and feels good about his ankle he’ll then join us for practice. Then it’s about practicing every day and getting his timing, his conditioning and all those things ramped up. I still think – I’m guessing – he’s probably three, four weeks away, maybe two.
“He’s going to skate every day this week on his own. We’ll see what he tells us when we get home on Monday.…
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