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Stephen Weiss remained the center of attention for the Detroit Red Wings, but he is coming to really enjoy winging it.
Weiss picked up a goal and two assists, giving him 4-5-9 totals in seven games, as Detroit dumped the struggling Dallas Stars 5-2 Thursday at Joe Louis Arena.
A center for the first 12 seasons of his NHL career, Weiss has moved to right wing since he returned to the Detroit lineup after missing much of the early part of the season due to a groin injury and most of last season after sports hernia surgery. After initial trepidation, he’s come to embrace his new role.
“Center has been my position my whole life, but I’m really, really starting to like playing the wing,” Weiss said. “It’s been a nice change. I wasn’t sure how it would go really. I’m starting to get used to it and like the right side.”
One big bonus he’s discovering is at the age of 31, there’s a lot less wear and tear on his body involved with patrolling the wing.
“Not having to take faceoffs is a nice change for me,” Weiss said. “I’ve been beating my wrists up pretty good. I’ve blown some tendons off the bone so maybe that will help me out and let me play a little longer.”
Without the puck, Weiss is also finding that there are fringe benefits while a winger.
“The first thing that sticks out is it’s a lot less work in your D-zone,” Weiss said. “You don’t have to put in those hard miles down low below your goal line. That’s the toughest thing about being a centre, is having to play at both ends of the ice behind the goal lines against some pretty big centers.
“I just feel more fresh without having to do that.”
On The Rebound
Coming off a dismal performance in a 4-3 loss Tuesday against the Florida Panthers, the Wings started on time and took it to the Stars, winners of just six of their last 19 games.
“We weren’t happy with the game on Tuesday but the season is long, there’s going to be lots of really good games for us and there’s some bad games,” Detroit right-winger Tomas Jurco said.
“We just try to stay positive and we came back good.”
Powering Up
Detroit scored a power-play goal for the sixth consecutive game and the 12th time in 14 games. The Wings were five-for-46 with the man advantage in their first 13 games (10.8 per cent), but are 19-for-58 (32.7 per cent) in 13 games since.
“Our power play is pretty good lately,” Jurco said. “We were pretty good in the beginning, too, but we couldn’t score for some reason, so it’s good it’s going in for us.
“We have lots of really good offensive guys. That helps a little, too.”
Detroit has scored 27 goals in its last six games, netting at least three goals in eight of its last nine contests.
“I think for the most part everybody is healthy,” Detroit forward Darren Helm explained as to the offensive outburst. “It’s the first time in a long time we can say that.
“We’ve got guys clicking together. We’ve got good chemistry out there and I think we’re confident.”
Quincey Registers
In fact, things are going so well for the Wings that everyone is contributing. Defenseman Kyle Quincey netted his first goal since March 7, ending a 40-game drought, but don’t expect in-depth analysis of the play from him.
“No idea,” Quincey said when asked how his point shot made it past Dallas goalie Jussi Rynnas. “I closed my eyes.”
Quincey also picked up an assist to record his first multi-point game as a Red Wing and his first anywhere since Jan. 21, 2012, when he was a member of the Colorado Avalanche.
“It was good to finally see them go in,” Quincey said.
Longtime Buds
Weiss and Dallas center Jason Spezza have been rivals since they were kids growing up in Toronto, but that hasn’t prevented them from forging a friendship.
“Spezza and I have known each other for a long time,” Weiss said. “We played against each other in the MTHL. He was with the Marlies and I was with the Nats. And then all the way up through junior when he was in Mississauga and Windsor (and Weiss was with Plymouth) and now throughout the NHL.
“Spezza’s a good guy, a classy guy. He gave me a tap on the shin pads tonight and said, ‘It’s nice to see you back.’ That means a lot to me when you get that type of support from other guys on other teams.
“That was real classy of Spezza.”
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