Down 2-0 to the Tampa Bay Lightning in their Stanley Cup opening-round series, Detroit coach Jeff Blashill will juggle his lines and his lineup as the series switches to Joe Louis Arena for Game 3 Sunday night.
Petr Mrazek will make his first start of the series, taking over in goal for Jimmy Howard.
“I'm confident,… said Mrazek, who struggled the last two months of the season and lost his No. 1 job to Howard. “It's a new game, new series, new season pretty much.
“I don't look back in the past at what happened.…
The move is a calculated gamble considering how poorly Mrazek played down the stretch, but it’s also one worth taking. Mrazek is talented enough to steal a game for the Wings and waiting until Game 4 to change things up would be too late.
“Last year he did a real good job against Tampa (in the playoffs), so we made the decision to put Petr in,… Blashill said.
“Jimmy’s done a good job through two games, so it certainly isn’t a matter of him doing a good enough job. We’ve got a really good goalie as well in Petr Mrazek, who’s had a history of success.…
Defense First Along the blue line, Brendan Smith is in after being a healthy scratch for Games 1 and 2.
“I went through it last year, sitting the first two games,… Smith said. “I thought I responded well by coming in and playing really good hockey. Arguably some of my best hockey was last series (against the Lightning), so I think I’m built for the playoffs and that’s the kind of competitive nature I have in myself and I think I’ll do well just by playing my game and trying to make sure I do my job and do it effectively. “That’s what I’m looking forward to; to go out there and play.…
As to who is the odd man out on defense, that remains a mystery. Alexey Marchenko indicated he would be paired with Danny DeKeyser. Niklas Kronwall skated with Jonathan Ericsson and Smith was in tandem with Mike Green, evidently leaving Kyle Quincey in he press box, though Blashill declined to confirm this.
“We’ll make all those decisions after warmups, but Smith is in,… Blashill said.
Forward March To the beat of a different drummer, you could say.
Though the same 12 forwards were in the mix, the Wings skated Sunday morning with entirely different line combinations than were utilized in Games 1 and 2.
Henrik Zetterberg worked with Gustav Nyquist and Dylan Larkin, Pavel Datsyuk was with Brad Richards and Darren Helm, Riley Sheahan worked alongside Justin Abdelkader and Luke Glendening and Tomas Tatar skated with Andreas Athanasiou and Joakim Andersson.
Blashill might be planning to deploy Sheahan, Abdelkader and Glendening as a checking unit to counteract the Tyler Johnson-Alex Killorn-Nikita Kucherov line that’s scored seven of Tampa Bay’s eight goals in the series.
“I think it’s just the coach’s decision,… Sheahan said. “Obviously we lost the first two, so we want to switch something up.
“Who knows how long it will last? I think it’s good to switch things up and try to get a few different looks at different lines.…
Tough Guy Larkin The Wings need Larkin to create, not create havoc, but two games into his NHL playoff career, Larkin is tied for the team lead in goals (one) and second on the club in penalty minutes (16).
“I think a lot of people were tweeting on me and stuff, calling me a wuss or whatever,… said Larkin, who responded physically after being roughed up by the Lightning in Game 1.
Larkin, 19, is the first teenager to score a playoff goal for the Wings since Keith Primeau on April 8, 1991 against St. Louis.
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