When the bright lights of the spotlight shine, the Big E is no longer the Big Easy.
Detroit Red Wings defenseman Jonathan Ericsson, who missed last spring’s playoffs following surgery to stabilize a fractured finger and repair a damaged tendon, is a solid plus-two through three playoff games and tied for second on the team in scoring with two points, both assists.
As he prepared his team for Game 4 of their opening-round series with the Tampa Bay Lightning Thursday at Joe Louis Arena, Detroit coach Mike Babcock, whose team leads the best-of-seven set 2-1, isn’t surprised.
“In the bigger games he usually is better,… Babcock said. “Intensity sometimes in the regular season isn’t his calling card, so when he’s dialled in, he’s a good player.
Babcock believes the 6-4, 220-pound Ericsson’s game is perfectly suited for playoff hockey.
“He’s a big man, he’s hard to get to the net on, he can make a first pass and he’s a real good skater,… Babcock said. “So it gives you a player to support (Niklas) Kronwall (in the No. 1 defense pairing) and they seem to be better together than apart so he’s an important guy for us.
“Obviously, (Danny) DeKeyser and Kronwall are the guys who lead the way for us on the back end without any question and then the other guys are more in support roles but he’s an important piece.…
Ericsson is just pleased to be a part of it again after missing out on the post-season in last spring’s five-game opening-round loss to Boston.
“You want to be out there and contribute, especially against a big team like Boston, we needed all the big guys we could,… Ericsson said. “They were the better team that series. I was hoping to get into the next series. I knew I wasn’t going to in the first (round).
“All last year was frustrating. It was injuries after injuries and kind of fluke injuries too. It was frustrating for sure and sitting in the stands watching last year’s playoffs was tough.…
Ericsson is hopeful that he can follow in his older brother’s footsteps. Earlier this week forward Jimmie Ericsson helped SKA St. Petersburg win the KHL Gagarin Cup title.
“Yeah, he won it again,… Ericsson said. “Well, he’s been winning a lot lately.
“It’s been really good for him and I’m really happy for him.…
The Ericsson brothers won a silver medal together with Sweden at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Jimmie will suit up for Sweden in the upcoming world championship.
Hitting Their Marks The Wings were a big hit in Game 3, dishing out 48 hits according to the NHL real-time stats from their 3-0 win over the Lightning, but no one in red and white seemed all that impressed.
“Everybody’s talking about hits,… Detroit defenseman Brendan Smith said. “I think that’s every game.
“That’s just what we want to do more tonight. If we can match that or better, that’s what we want. It’s a momentum builder.…
They may have made an impression on the Lightning, but the numbers didn’t impress Babcock.
“At home, and this happens in every building, the people that are watching the game and marking those little check marks, are watching your players because their Red Wings fans,… Babcock said. “When we go to Tampa, the people that are putting those little check marks on the thing are Tampa fans because they watch Tampa, so who gets all the hits?…
Goose Egg Yes, Gustav Nyquist is aware of the zero next to his name in the goals column. In fact, the Detroit right-winger has now gone a dozen playoff games without scoring.
“There’s not a lot of chances out there for anybody, so I’ve created some,… said Nyquist, who has one assist and is minus one. “Obviously it would be nice to score one, so hopefully I can do that tonight.…
Babcock didn’t seem too concerned by the lack of productivity from Nyquist, a 27-goal scorer during the regular season.
“He’s like a lot of players in the series,… Babcock said. “If I’m not mistaken, (rookie defenseman Nikita) Nesterov leads them in scoring (with three points) and Q (defenseman Kyle Quincey) and E (Ericsson) are tied for second on our team in scoring.
“There’s not a lot of room so it’s hard to be the offensive guy people think you are. I thought (Nyquist’s) Game 1 was not very good, I thought his Game 2 was better.
“I thought his Game 3 was his best.…
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