Two key elements for the Detroit Red Wings are still getting up to speed, which has certainly played some role in the team’s slow start.
Darren Helm – often referred to by former Detroit coach Mike Babcock as the best third-line center in the NHL – missed almost all of training camp and the entire the pre-season after suffering a concussion and a shoulder injury in a collision with Jerome Verrier during a drill on the first day of camp.
He’s still looking for a goal 13 games into his season as the Wings ready to play the Senators in Ottawa Monday night but Detroit coach Jeff Blashill believes Helm’s struggles are somewhat understandable.
“The thing with his 13-14 games is most guys got four or five training camp games and he got none, so really you’ve take that out of there, so maybe he’s got eight games played,… Blashill reasoned. “And he hasn’t spent as much time on the power play as he did last year. That’s something we’ll continue to explore.
“His game has been way better in the last 4-5 games. I think he’s been a real impactful player every night. He doesn’t need to score to be impactful, he needs to use his energy to win puck battles and create zone time and I think he’s done that.
“With Helm, (Luke) Glendening and (Riley) Sheahan we think we’ve got a line that can spend lot of time in the O-zone, can be great defensively and can ultimately create offense.…
Helm measures his success ratio based on factors that have nothing to do with point production.
“I generally know by how I’m skating or working, if things are going right or wrong,… Helm said. “Usually I base my play on how I work and how much I skate and getting some o-zone time. The rest will come if I’m doing those things well.
“I think I’m doing a little bit better and there’s always room for improvement and points will come.…
Still, it wouldn’t hurt Helm at all to pot a goal and get that zero out from next to his name.
“I compare him with a lot of guys on our team,… Blashill said. “With production comes confidence. I’m sure it’s frustrating as a guy who wants to produce and help the team win when you don’t (score) but we all have to fight through that frustration.
“It’s part of life and we have to continue to find a way to grind. What you can’t do is start not doing things right. We’ve done things right for the most part over the last number of games.…
It’s a similar situation with center Pavel Datsyuk, who will play just his third game of the season after undergoing off-season ankle surgery.
“I put Pav in a similar boat as Helmer where he didn’t have training camp and on top of that he didn’t have the beginning of the season, and as good as Pav is, he had major surgery he had to recover from,… Blashill said. “I was cautionary on that as Pav came back into the lineup there was thought he was going to jump in and be 100 per cent. He was 100 per cent from a health standpoint but that doesn’t mean you’re 100 per cent when you haven’t played in a whole, so I think Pav will continue to get better and better.
“What makes Pav great is he wants to be great every single day he works as hard as anybody out there. He’s hard on himself. I think he’ll continue to get better every game.…
Lineup Changes Forward Teemu Pulkkinen will be back in the lineup after missing one game due to soreness. Joakim Andersson makes way for him.
The only other change will see Jimmy Howard start in goal.
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