The captain spoke and his team responded.
So did he.
Detroit Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg scored the game winner, his first goal in 13 games and his first point in eight games, as the Wings downed the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-1 Thursday at Nationwide Arena to leapfrog the idle Philadelphia Flyers back into the final Eastern Conference wildcard playoff position.
Zetterberg’s teammates talked afterward about how he’d spoke to them before the game about how their previous two efforts – regulation losses to the Toronto Maple Leafs and Flyers – simply weren’t good enough.
“He’s been kind of talking the last few games about how good of a team we really are and how we’ve got to rise to the occasion, find ways to win, get to the playoffs and see what can happen there,… Detroit forward Darren Helm said of Zetterberg. “It’s so nice getting into the playoffs. Anything can happen there.
“If we don’t dig in and find ways to win right now, then that’s not going to happen.…
Asked about the tone of his pre-game talk, Zetterberg invoked the rules of fight club.
“Whatever is said in the locker room stays here in the locker room,… Zetterberg said. “I think everyone knows the importance of the game and the importance of the two points.
“I think we just have to realize where we are. We have to play with more urgency. We did that in the first, we didn’t do that in the second, but in the third we got back to playing the way we should.…
Detroit coach Jeff Blashill also downplayed Zetterberg’s pre-game speech.
“He’s a great leader,… Blashil said. “That’s what I’ve said all year long, these guys are winners in our locker room and he’s at the top of that list.
“Talk is cheap and he does it by example first but when he does talk it means a lot and I’m sure it meant a lot to the guys.…
Jim Dandy When Petr Mrazek was unable to answer the bell due to illness, Jimmy Howard stepped in and stepped up, making 28 saves and coming within one minute of posting a shutout.
“You cherish those moments as a player, as a competitor,… Howard said. “You just want to go out there and you just want to play.
“I think everyone in here just needed to take a deep breath, relax a little bit, regroup and just get back to paying attention to details and being smart.…
Lucky Luke Luke Glendening opened the scoring with his fifth of the season when Riley Sheahan’s shot banked off his leg and into the Blue Jackets net.
“It was good for a team to get off to a start and play with a lead,… Glendening said. “We haven’t done that for a while.
“Doubles (Andreas Athanasiou) made a great play there (to gain the zone and feed Sheahan) and I was just standing in front and I think maybe it hit my shin pad or something. None of mine are pretty, so I’ll take them any way I can get them.…
Sick And Sicker The last few games, Helm has either been sick, or his play has been, well, sick.
After scoring twice in Saturday’s win over the New York Rangers, Helm missed Sunday’s loss to Toronto with illness and still under the weather, was used sparingly against the Flyers on Tuesday.
Thursday he was back in form and scored Detroit’s third goal.
“It definitely helps late in the game when you’re up three instead of two,… Helm said. “Obviously any lead is nice but the higher the better. They get that one late on the power play and anything can happen if it’s still a one-goal game.
“Its definitely huge that Hank scored (to make it 2-0) and obviously the extra cushion felt nice as well. We’ve got to find ways to keep throwing pucks at the net and scoring goals.…
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