The numbers don’t look pretty next to goaltender Petr Mrazek’s name of late but Detroit Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill doesn’t see it as a cause for concern.
For the third time in six games, Mrazek surrendered five goals as the Wings fell 5-2 to the Chicago Blackhawks Wednesday at Joe Louis Arena.
Since a 6-5 win over the Boston Bruins on Feb. 14, Mrazek has gone 3-2-1 with a 3.53 goals-against average and an .876 save percentage.
That’s compared to the month of January, when Mrazek owned the crease, going 7-1-1 with a 1.32 GAA and .952 save percentage.
“The one thing I'd say first is the stretch he went through in January is not sustainable,… Blashill said. “He was at .952 save percentage, you don't do that for a season, there's no way.
“To me, it's just the natural ebb and flow of the season. You're going to have some stretches like he had during January and you're going to have some stretches like recently.…
Mrazek also wasn’t fretting over his recent stretch of rough outings.
“Well, every game is different,… Mrazek said. “Those games, sometimes you know, you try to battle hard and pucks go in. “You just have to battle hard and don’t worry about the five goals, the game is over.
“You have to look forward.…
World Cup Seven Red Wings were announced as part of team rosters when the original lists for next fall’s World Cup of Hockey were revealed Wednesday.
Captain Henrik Zetterberg and defenseman Niklas Kronwall will play for Sweden, while forward Pavel Datsyuk was selected to Russia’s squad. Mrazek is part of the Czech Republic roster, forward Justin Abdelkader was selected to Team USA, forward Tomas Tatar is with Team Europe and forward Dylan Larkin will play for the North American team.
“It's going to be a great tournament,… Mrazek said. “Lots of guys know each other from the same teams and we play against each other in the season, so it's going to be a fun tournament.…
Tatar wasn’t surprised in the least to be named to the European squad. He crunched the numbers and realized his odds were good.
“We don’t have as many NHL players anymore so it would be hard to compete against other teams like Canada or U.S.,… he said of his native Slovakia. “I’m really excited. This team might have a big chance to win.
“There’s many great players from different countries so it’s going to be interesting in the locker room.…
Although an American, Larkin is part of what’s also been tabbed the young stars team, as every player on the roster is 23 or younger.
“It’ll be weird to see across and play against the Americans,… Larkin said. “It’s going to be an exciting thing to watch.…
Mr. 900 Zetterberg became the 11th player to skate in 900 games as a Red Wing when he took the ice for his first shift Wednesday.
Datsyuk surpassed that barrier earlier this season, joining Gordie Howe, Nicklas Lidstrom, Alex Delvecchio, Steve Yzerman, Kris Draper, Tomas Holmstrom, Marcel Pronovost, Sergei Fedorov and Kirk Maltby.
“Both of them came into the league a little bit later than a lot of guys come into the league,… Blashill said of Zetterberg and Datsyuk. “I’d say they’ve been impact players the whole time.
“I’d say the same thing about Z that I say about Pav a lot, both of them could have more points if they were players that cheated a little bit. They’ve been two of the best two-way players in the world for a long, long time.
“The fact they’re still doing it as two-way players is a testament to their everyday will and their everyday approach.…
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