Whenever the Montreal Canadiens provide the opposition at Joe Louis Arena, there’s always an extra buzz in the rink, but as much as the Wings respect the tradition that exists, they are more concerned about the present.
“Obviously there is a history,… said Detroit defenseman Mike Green, whose club will meet the Habs Thursday.
Of more significance is that the Canadiens sit atop the NHL’s Atlantic Division, six points ahead of the second-place Red Wings.
“Montreal is a great team that competes hard and we want to make sure we meet their push,… Green said. “We’ve got to make sure we come out, especially in our building, and make a push real fast.…
The Canadiens are also a team that is hurting, minus Hart and Vezina Trophy-winning goal Carey Price, as well as forwards Brendan Gallagher, Torrey Mitchell and Devante Smith-Pelley.
“To be honest this is the first time I hear that,… Detroit left-winger Tomas Tatar said. “I haven’t checked their lineup. I’m just trying to get ready no matter who is playing.
“Obviously we will check the lines and talk about guys right before the game.…
Others in the Detroit room were more up on the status of the Montreal roster.
“We’re aware of that, so we’ve got to make sure we take advantage of our situation,… Green said.
The Canadiens have lost three straight and show just one win in five games, so perhaps they could be ripe for the picking.
Detroit coach Jeff Blashill felt it was far more important that his players are going than it was to be concerned about who wasn’t going for Montreal.
“I guess I'd let them talk about that,… Blashill said. “For us, we just focus on ourselves.
“Obviously we still think they're a really good hockey team. I watched them play last night (in a 3-1 loss to Boston) and I thought for two periods they controlled lots of the game, had lots of opportunities to maybe make it 2-0, 3-0. (Boston goalie Tuukka) Rask was real good and then the game just kind of went away from them at the end.
“We know they're a real good hockey team and we're going to focus on us playing as well as we possibly can every single night to give us our best chance to win.…
Cutting Edge Tomas Jurco was sporting a five-stitch cut from a high stick on his lip and a sense that maybe he’d turned a corner when he scored a goal in Tuesday’s loss at Washington.
Jurco began that game skating on the fourth line but was playing alongside Pavel Datsyuk and Brad Richards by the second period.
“I felt good on the ice last game … I just feel good,… Jurco said. “I’m trying to do maybe a little more than I used to and I’m happy it worked last game.…
Blashill felt Jurco was doing the things he needs to be successful at in order to earn a regular spot in the lineup with what he did in Washington.
“When Jurcs is the most effective is when he's using his speed,… Blashill said. “He can skate really well for a guy that's 6-foot-2. When he's tenacious on the puck both from a forecheck standpoint and a tracking standpoint, that's when I think he's at his best.
“He's got real good hands, he's got ability to score goals. When he gets pucks in the O-zone, he can make real good passes and he can score. But in order to get those pucks, he's got to make sure his skating on the puck is really good.…
The only change from the lineup that faced the Capitals will see Petr Mrazek get the nod in goal.
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