As they scrap and claw for a playoff spot in the NHL’s Eastern Conference, one element the Detroit Red Wings could count on fairly regularly this season has deserted them.

Their No. 1 goalie has gone south.

Petr Mrazek, an absolute brick wall in January, is suddenly leaking like a poorly constructed dam.

Mrazek went through a 13-game stretch earlier this year where he was virtually unbeatable, going 10-2-1 with a 1.31 goals-against average and a .951 save percentage. He led the league in GAA (1.94) and save percentage (.934) entering a Feb. 12 game at Joe Louis Arena against the Colorado Avalanche.

Since Feb. 12, Mrazek is 6-6-2 with a 3.30 GAA and .888 save percentage. He's been pulled four times during that stretch, including Saturday’s 7-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“I think Petr’s got to be better than that,” Detroit coach Jeff Blashill acknowledged, but he wasn’t about to lay all of his team’s difficulties in keeping the puck out of their net at the feet of his netminders.

“Our team hasn't been good enough defensively, so we've got to be better for them,” Blashill said. “I've always felt that goaltending follows team defense, so we'll take responsibility for that. We've got to be better defensively and then I think, to a man, we've got to execute at a higher level than we did (Saturday), period.

“Whether it's the coach, whether it's the players, we’ve all got to execute at a higher level than we did tonight and we got to do that come Monday (at home against the Buffalo Sabres).”

Then again, Blashill wasn’t about to let them off the hook, either.

“We've scored enough lately,” he pointed out. “We've got to keep pucks out of our net. So we've got to keep pucks out of our net by playing better defensively, we've got to keep pucks out of our net by managing the puck better, we've got to keep pucks out of our net with real good goaltending.

“That's how we've got to keep pucks out of our net.”

Playing fewer games against the Penguins would probably help with that matter, in both the case of the Wings and Mrazek.

During his NHL career, Mrazek has been pulled three times from starts versus Pittsburgh. Lifetime, he’s allowed 18 goals in five games against the Penguins, for a 4.52 GAA and .884 save percentage.

This season, Mrazek is 0-3 against the Penguins, with a 5.61 GAA and .863 save percentage.

“They’re a good offensive team,” Mrazek said of Pittsburgh. “They can shoot the puck, they can score.

“Three times in two years I’ve got pulled, that’s the first time I heard that.”

Granato To Wisconsin?
Several college hockey sources are reporting that Red Wings assistant coach Tony Granato will soon be named the new coach of the NCAA’s Wisconsin Badgers.

If so, Granato, 51, a player at Wisconsin from 1983-87, would replace Mike Eaves, the father of former Wings forward Patrick Eaves and the man who coached Detroit defenseman Brendan Smith with the Badgers.

Mike Eaves was fired earlier this month.

Milestone Man
When Pavel Datsyuk collected an assist in Saturday’s loss to Pittsburgh, it was the 600th of his NHL career.

He became the fifth player to collect 600 helpers in a Detroit uniform, joining Steve Yzerman (1,063), Gordie Howe (1,023), Nicklas Lidstrom (878) and Alex Delvecchio (825).

This Would Be The Last Time
The Wings haven’t missed the playoffs since the 1989-90 season and the team that officially put the final nail in their coffin is in town Monday, exactly 26 years and one day after it happened.

On March 27, 1990 at Joe Louis Arena, the Sabres edged the Wings 6-5 and Detroit was officially eliminated from playoff contention.

Gerard Gallant (two), Yzerman, Randy McKay and Shawn Burr scored for the Wings.

“I really thought we still had a chance,” Burr said after the game. “You're out there towards the end, battling and you really don't notice how tired you are.


“Then, the buzzer goes and it's like something just seeped all of the energy out of you. It's scary stuff, like when you used to get your exams back in school.”

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