Perhaps hidden in the disappointment of another defeat, Saturday’s 4-3 loss to the Oilers at Edmonton, one of the rewarding factor in the latest setback for the Detroit Red Wings was the almost immediate renewal of the chemistry between the forward line of Henrik Zetterberg, Anthony Mantha and Gus Nyquist.
Back from his six-game NHL suspension for high sticking, Nyquist was reunited with Zetterberg and Mantha and that trio scored Detroit’s opening goal when Mantha tallied with an assist from Zetterberg.
The goal was Mantha’s first in six games, while Zetterberg extended his point streak to six games.
“Yeah we played for a little stretch before the suspension and I thought we had a pretty good thing going,” Nyquist said.
Coupled with Detroit’s bye week, Nyquist ended up sitting out nearly a month. His previous game action was Feb. 12.
“With the break, the bye week there, it turned into a little longer in between games than I expected but I’m just excited to get in there,” Nyquist said.
Detroit coach Jeff Blashill outlined what Nyquist must do on the ice to be a successful player.
“When Nyquie plays his best hockey he wins battles, he skates,” Blashill said. “I think the No. 1 thing with Nyquie is if he’s skating from the tops of the circles to the tops of the circles (at the other end of the rink), he’s a real effective player. When he doesn’t move his feet from the tops of circles to the top of circles he’s not quite as effective.
“That’s going to be a big key for him.”
The Wings were hopeful that getting Nyquist back in the fold gives them more depth of skill up front.
“It gives us another option, even more talent, a guy that can really put the puck in the net,” defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. “Not just a sniper but also a guy that can pass the puck really well and open up seams and plays for other guys.”
Sproul Spilled When Brendan Smith was dealt to the New York Rangers, it appeared that opportunity would knock for Ryan Sproul but the Detroit defenseman was sidelined by a knock he received when drilled right over the boards and into the Wings bench by a bodycheck from Edmonton’s Matt Hendricks.
Sproul did not return to the game.
“He’ll be out,” Blashill said. “He’ll get re-evaluated when we get home but it looks like lower body, sprained knee, so how serious it is, I’m not sure yet.”
The Wings will recall a defenseman from AHL Grand Rapids before their next game Tuseday at Toronto but were forced to play with just five defenseman in their second game in as many nights.
“It’s easier when you have six but I didn’t think that was a big issue,” Blashill said. “I just thought we needed to be better.”
Stopping A Shot Blashill used to be a goalie and he got a reminder of what life was once like in the first period. Blashill was struck in the head by an errant puck while working the bench and required two stitches to repair the damage.
I’m fine,” Blashill said. “It’s unfortunate. I just didn’t see it coming.”
Howard Returns Jimmy Howard turned in a 31-save performance in a 5-2 victory over the Texas Stars for the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins in the first game of what is expected to be a two-game conditioning stint.
Howard is rehabbing from a knee injury that has kept him on the sideline since Dec. 21. He’s expected to play a second game for Grand Rapids on Tuesday against the San Antonio Rampage.
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