The Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup in 1967-68 and apparently, that championship Habs club made quite an impression on Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock.
He just wishes that the same were true for his players.
Slow starts have plagued the Wings all season long and as they prepared for Thursday’s game at Joe Louis Arena against the Columbus Blue Jackets, the message from Babcock to his players was again about getting out of the gate with pace and purpose.
“The one thing that I would say to you is we come in here and try to make everyone look like the ’68 Montreal Canadiens (to the players),… Babcock said. “It doesn’t matter what their record is. That’s what we try to do. But they don’t believe us.
“So the bottom like is we know we’ve got to get better. We aren’t, I would say, firing on all cylinders right now like we were two weeks ago, so it’s time to get our game back. You go in ebbs and flows during the season but we’re working on getting our game back, and that’s what we’re going to try and do today.…
Exactly what is the cause of Detroit’s early-game malaise is an enigma the team has sought to solve all season long.
“That’s a good question,… Detroit forward Drew Miller said. “If we had the answer, I think we’d be changing it.
“I think every team comes out wanting to be hard and grab that momentum right away. For whatever reason we’re allowing other teams to get that initial momentum.
“We want to be in their zone wearing on their D from the first shift, trying to get that momentum going shift after shift, every line going out there and playing in their zone.
“I think lately we’ve been letting them get in our zone and that kind of gets momentum going for them. We’ve got to turn the tides on that and change things up.…
Amazingly, in a league where the lead is considered as valuable as a cache of rare diamonds, falling behind isn’t always fatal to the Wings. Detroit actually owns a winning record (14-8-10) when trailing after one period of play and has come back to win nine times when entering the third period behind on the scoreboard.
On the other hand, Columbus is 4-21-2 when trailing after one period and 2-27-1 when down after two frames.
“We sometimes find it a little late and it works for us and sometimes it doesn’t,… Miller said. “So we’ve got to find a way to do it for 60 minutes.…
Helm Uncertain The Wings held an optional skate Thursday morning, but it wasn’t optional for forward Darren Helm, still to determine whether he’ll be opting back into the lineup for Detroit’s weekend games at Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
Helm definitely won’t go Thursday, the fifth straight game he’ll miss due to an oblique injury and the chances that he’ll play on the weekend also remain up in the air.
“It’s always a possibility,… Helm said. “I don’t know if I’ve been green lighted yet, but if I feel good tomorrow, then there’s a chance.
“If not, then we just keep waiting.…
As to what is lacking from his game as he seeks to regain his health, Helm is still somewhat prohibited in doing one very vital activity.
“Skating,… the normally speedy Helm said. “There’s not a lot of power there yet.
“I feel l need to skate to be able to play and be effective, so I’ve got to wait until I’m able to do that.…
As to what caused his injury, Helm is mystified.
“I have no idea,… Helm said. “There was a little speculation that I got hit and kind of twisted and it could have been on one of those plays, but I can’t recall feeling sore after a hit.
“It just kind of gradually came on and got worse and worse each shift to a point where I couldn’t skate or play.…
Babcock indicated there would be no lineup changes from the team that beat Edmonton 5-2 on Monday. Jimmy Howard starts again in goal.
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