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Richards-Jurco-Tatar line dominates win over Blackhawks |
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Sure it was a pre-season game, and it’s never a good idea to put a lot of stock into what happens on the ice at this time of the year.
Brad Richards was the first to step up and acknowledge that.
“It was nice to be on the ice for some goals and make some plays,” Richards said after his new team, the Detroit Red Wings, beat his old team, the Chicago Blackhawks, by a 4-1 count Wednesday at Joe Louis Arena. “Still it’s nowhere near where it’s going to be in the regular season.”
Regardless, you couldn’t help but be impressed by the performance of Richards and his wingers, Tomas Tatar and Tomas Jurco, who netted three of Detroit’s four goals, all of them deposited into the twine by Tatar.
“I’m just hoping we can save a few of those for the regular season,” joked Tatar, whose new center was impressed by his finishing touch.
“He knows how to score,” Richards, a summer free-agent addition from the Blackhawks, said of Tatar, his current left-winger. “I like that. He finds ways to score.
“One of them was a great shot from the slot and the other one he’s going to the net and he’s in a hard area, even though he’s not the biggest guy.
“To score in this league – he got 29 last year – you can’t just shoot pucks from the perimeter and score anymore. He obviously knows how to get to the net and when he’s there, he knows what to do with it. He’s giving and going. He’s a heady player.”
Although you won’t find his name embedded into the game summary, don’t discount the role right-winger Jurco played on the unit. Added to the trio after Darren Helm was injured in training camp, Jurco utilized his big body to go hard to the net and distract Chicago goalie Corey Crawford while making an opening for Richards to slide a sweet backhand feed to the wide-open Tatar.
“He created the first goal,” Richards said of Jurco. “By driving the net he allowed me and Tats to cross and created that opening. If he doesn’t drive, it’s probably a dead play.
“It’s probably not as glamorous as some of the other stuff you can do but for a line to work some nights someone has to do that. It’s not always about getting goals. That was a big help.”
For Jurco, this could be considered opportunity knocking. He was a big producer in junior hockey and eventually at the AHL level, but after netting a meagre three goals in 63 games last season, he fell all the way to fourth-line duty and occasional press box stints.
“Unfortunately it took Helmer out so it’s not the way I wanted to get into the first couple of lines but you know I’ve just got to try and play my game and try to stay in those top three lines and just play good hockey,” said Jurco, who is trying to erase last season from his memory.
“Let’s not talk about last year and just keep living in the present,” Jurco said. “Don’t think about past.
“I’m going to have a good season and that’s it.”
Detroit coach Jeff Blashill was in charge of AHL Grand Rapids in 2013-14 when Jurco put up 32 points in 32 games, earning his call to Detroit.
“When he left Grand Rapids he was a point-a-game guy in the American League and if you go through the American League there’s not a lot of point a game guys, so he’s a guy who had established himself as a go-to, elite player,” Blashill said. “I hope Jurcs takes great advantage of this.
“The biggest thing we talked about is to make sure he does a good job skating, being on the puck and providing some of the tenacity that Helmer brings to the table. We think he’s got a real good skill set, he’s just going to have to really take advantage of the opportunity.”
Remembering his own experience, Tatar could relate to the chance currently being dangled in front of Jurco.
“I got the same opportunity last year,” Tatar said. “I got the chance to play with Helmer and Pav (Datsyuk) and you just have to grab and hold it.
“Jurky we know he has the great hands and he’s a good forward. He just has to establish himself. He has a great chance to stay with us and hopefully he will battle for his spot.”
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