They may be fourth on the depth chart, but the fourth line of the Detroit Red Wings is often foremost in the mind of coach Mike Babcock.
The unit of Luke Glendening between Drew Miller and either Joakim Andersson or Daniel Cleary – Andersson will draw back in for Wednesday’s game at Joe Louis Arena after Cleary suited up for Sunday’s win at Carolina – is among the more solid and reliable fourth forward lines in the NHL.
“They’re good,… Babcock said. “If you look at the analytics part, they’re no good, but when you look at coaching and winning games, they’re good.
“I like them, so I play them. They’re trustworthy, they play hard, they drag our other guys into battle, they know how to play.…
Tenacious checkers and penalty killers, lately they’ve chipped occasionally on the offensive side of the ledger as well. Glendening scored in Saturday’s win over the New York Rangers. Miller tallied a game winner against New Jersey.
“It’s just simple hockey,“ Glendening said of their formula for success. “Go and work hard and that’s what we’re looking to do here.…
Another lineup change for Wednesday will see Jakub Kindl back on defense in place of Brian Lashoff. Jimmy Howard gets the start in goal.
Leaf Life The Wings have been on fire since dropping a 4-1 decision Nov. 22 at Toronto, going 7-1 and tallying 33 goals.
“We didn’t play that well in that game,“ Detroit forward Gustav Nyquist said. “We had way too many turnovers, but after that we’ve kind of found a way to win games.
“That’s what this team has done lately. It hasn’t looked pretty every night, but I think we know we’re a good team when we play at a level that we can. We find ways to win games and that has a lot to do with goaltending and team defense has been good, I think, so hopefully we can keep doing the same things tonight.…
Babcock didn’t put much stock in that Toronto game serving as a wake-up call for the Wings. “We didn’t play good,“ Babcock said flatly. “It’s like anything, sometimes you don’t play good. What we have tried to do is try to get better each and every day.
“We had a tough one against Florida here the other night (4-3 loss). You try to let your ups be longer than your downs. It doesn’t matter what you do, sometimes you’re not as good as you want to be or are capable of being, so you try to refocus and get your group to play better.
“Obviously, the good teams play better most nights.…
Toronto Memories While Toronto-Detroit games are always a big deal to the fans, for some of the Red Wings players, it’s a chance to suit up against the team they worshipped as a child.
“I was a huge Leafs fan growing up, so it’s always fun getting a chance to play them,… said Red Wings defenceman Kyle Quincey, who was born in Kitchener, about an hour west of Toronto.
“Now being in their division, it’s always a meaningful game. It’s always an exciting game and it’s always fun getting up for it.…
The rivalry will be renewed this week with two games – Wednesday at Joe Louis Arena and Saturday at the Air Canada Centre.
“It’s pretty much back to back,… Quincey said, though the Wings do have a home game Friday versus the Florida Panthers in between the two Toronto games.
“It’s always fun to play at ACC for sure. I always look forward to it. It’s one of my favourite rinks to play in.…
Born and raised in the Toronto area, Detroit forward Stephen Weiss relishes his trips to the city to play and remembers like most Canadian youngsters, being glued to the television set to watch the Leafs on Hockey Night In Canada
“Absolutely,… Weiss said. “Every Saturday.…
“Anytime you go there to play, especially for the hometown guys, it’s pretty special. Growing up and watching that team, it’s always fun going to the Air Canada Centre to play the Leafs, especially now as I’m getting a little bit older and you start to appreciate it a little bit more.…
Being immersed in the midst of the Detroit-Toronto rivalry only adds fuel to that fire.
“It’s awesome,… Weiss said. “Those are fun games to play in. You get a lot of Toronto fans who come down obviously, and me being from that area it’s always fun to play against them.
“You know a lot of family and friends are watching, and obviously when you mix in the Original Six and the tradition and the history of both teams, it’s much better.…
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