Jordin Tootoo’s style of game once again doesn’t translate to playoff playing time

DETROIT – Jordin Tootoo experienced this year’s playoffs like he did last season while with the Nashville Predators, mainly from the pressbox.

Tootoo played in just one of the Wings’ 14 playoff games this year, being a healthy scratch the other 13.

“Playoff hockey is very intense and that’s my kind of game,” Tootoo said after cleaning out his locker at Joe Louis Arena on Friday. “Obviously you’ve got to make sure what you think is the right combination of guys in the lineup to win, and obviously I wasn’t part of that combination. But you never know, guys go down, things happen, there are a lot of ups and downs. Mentally, physically, I was prepared to be thrown into the battle.”

Tootoo played in Detroit’s series opener with Anaheim, totaling just a little over six minutes of ice time in a 3-1 defeat.

“I thought Toots was great for us,” Wings coach Mike Babcock said. “He did everything we wanted. He was physical, he gave us energy. The type of player he is, he gets way more opportunity early in the season when it’s being silly and then he doesn’t in the end. But I thought he was fantastic for us. We’re thrilled with him. Maybe if you’re on the outside looking it, you say Toots never played, but I thought he was great.”

In his only appearance in the postseason with the Wings he recorded their first penalty of the series for a crosscheck that the Ducks promptly scored on just four seconds into the man advantage.

“There are no penalties in the playoffs, you just can’t take a penalty in the playoffs,” Babcock said when asked why Tootoo didn’t play in the postseason. “There’s not as much stuff after the whistle, there’s mauling each other but there’s not that stuff. So you look at Chicago, where’s (Brandon) Bollig and (Jamal) Mayers and where were all their guys? Same, place Toots was. That just seems to be the way it is.”

Tootoo played in just three of the Predators’ playoff games a year ago after coming off a career-high 12 postseason appearances where he registered a career-high six points.

“Obviously, coming in here with all of the excitement and coming to a new team that I was looking forward to all lockout,” Tootoo said. “I thought with the guys that we have here, we did all we can do. Fortunately I was able to help the guys in the regular season win a few big games. As far as playoffs, every guy wants to play, but at the same time you have to make sure that you pay your dues, put in your time and wait for your call. For me I was ready to go in the first round, second round, it was just waiting for that opportunity. It was pretty much one day at a time.”

The Wings signed Tootoo this past offseason to a three-year deal worth $1.9 million a year.

He played in 42 of Detroit’s regular season games, registering three goals and five assists to go along with a team-high 78 penalty minutes.

“You come in with the right mindset knowing that you’re going to have a chance to play every night,” Tootoo said. “I kind of went through this last year with Nashville in the playoffs, not being able to play, but you know, you’ve got to go with what’s put in front of you. Obviously when you’re told that you’re not going to be in the lineup, I’m sure every hockey player can attest to this, it’s not a good feeling. We’re born to be competitive and play with our hearts out, and when you’re told that you’re not going to play it’s tough to swallow. But as a professional you have to be able to handle those situations.”

A move to the Eastern Conference, which is believed to be a more physical league, could open up more playing time for Tootoo next season.

“They know what I bring night in and night out, and obviously next year we’re moving over to the East so there’s going to be a lot of differences,” Tootoo said. “I’ve only played in the Western Conference my whole career, it’ll be interesting to see what happens.

“For me, it’s making sure that I’m physically and mentally prepared for training camp and the beginning of the season,” Tootoo added. “I let the business side deal with itself, and I’ve just got to make sure that I’m ready.”

Tootoo led the Wings with eight fighting majors, which was six behind the league leader this season, Tampa Bay’s B.J. Crombeen.

Despite this being a lockout-shortened 48-game regular season, Tootoo registered high most fighting majors since totaling 10 in the 2008-09 season with Nashville.

Defenseman Ian White knows his time in Detroit is pretty much over … “We wish him luck,” Babcock says

DETROIT – With how the season went for defenseman Ian White, it’s a safe bet that he won’t be returning to the Detroit Red Wings next season.

And Wings coach Mike Babcock made that quite clear Friday as the team gathered for the end-of-year picture and locker clean out at Joe Louis Arena.

“It didn’t go the way Whitey wanted it,” Babcock said. “Whitey’s a real good person, a real good man. We wish him luck.”

What a difference a year made for the blue liner as he went from a top-four defenseman, paired with Nicklas Lidstrom many nights, to a healthy scratch late in the season.

“I don’t know (what happened),” White said. “I thought I was playing pretty well. I played seven games in a row the last time I played and I was on the ice for one goal against in seven games. I scored a goal too and thought I was playing pretty well. Obviously not letting goals in is what I’m paid to do, so for whatever reason I wasn’t in the mix and sometimes that’s how it goes.”

In 77 regular season games last year, White had seven goals and 25 assists. He was also a plus-22.

He dipped to 25 games played in his lockout-shortened season, scoring two goals to go with two assists and was a plus-4.

“I spoke with them a few times,” White said. “The only thing I can think of is I’m a small defenseman and I’ve been hearing that my whole life, you’ve got to be big to play and all that. They decided to go with their big defensemen and that didn’t include me.”

White missed five games early in the season after suffering deep leg laceration, but once healthy he was back in the lineup.

Then on Feb. 27, White found himself a healthy scratch. That continued on for six consecutive games.

Babcock said at the time it was because he was having difficulty getting the puck out of his zone. And once Brendan Smith and Kyle Quincey returned from injury, White was benched.

“It’s extremely disappointing,” White said. “I know that I can help this team out and help it win. My game fits well with some of the guys here, the puck-possession game and we have some real skilled forwards who have to have the puck in their hands and I can deliver that.

“It’s real disappointing to have it end this way,” White continued. “When I came here, and after last year, I thought I might be able to have a long future here, but we’ll see how everything goes in the next month.”

His last regular season game with the Wings was April 7 and he did not play in the playoffs.

“I assumed I wasn’t going to play (in the playoffs),” White said. “I hadn’t played in a month before that. Why all of a sudden I get in the playoffs when we had real crucial games down the stretch too where I wasn’t out there. I didn’t think I’d be the first one in the playoffs that’s for sure.”

Bouncing from team-to-team is nothing new for White, who signed a two-year deal worth $5.75 million to replace Brian Rafalski on the blue line after the 2010-2011 season.

In his first six seasons in the league, White was traded three times. In one season he was dealt twice.

“I have no idea,” White said when asked about his future. “You start having decisions with your agent and talk to Ken (Holland). I love it here. I love playing here and it’s unfortunate that I didn’t get to play this year. It’s probably somewhat doubtful that you bring back some guy that you’re not going to play. The most unfortunate part of our business is moving around all of the time and switching teams, but that’s the nature of the game. We’ll see how it plays out.”

With the addition of Danny DeKeyser during the season and the emergence of Brian Lashoff, Detroit’s blue line is pretty crowded.

The defense also includes Niklas Kronwall, Jonathan Ericsson, Kyle Quincey, Jakub Kindl, Brendan Smith and Carlo Colaiacovo, who has one-year left on a two-year deal.

Smith and Kindl are both restricted free agents.

White severed a tendon in his left knee after the heel of Jimmy Howard’s sliced through the top of his knee in the third game of the season. He was sidelined two weeks and missed five games.

“It could have been a lot worse,” White said at the time. “You have a tendon going right over your knee cap. It just missed it. I guess if I would have cut that I might have been the season. Lucky, if you will.”

Wings will face Kings … if they get by Blackhawks

DETROIT — The NHL released the schedule for the Western Conference finals and if the Wings do advance to face the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings they’ll open the best-of-seven series Friday at 9 p.m. at the Staples Center.

Game 2 would be Sunday at 8 p.m.

Games 3 and 4 will be at Joe Louis Arena, Tuesday and Thursday. Both games will start at 8 p.m.

The Kings, who are 7-0 at home this postseason, reached the finals after beating the San Jose Sharks, 2-1, in Game 7 on Tuesday.

Los Angeles has won 14 in a row at home, which includes the regular season.

Here is the entire schedule if the Wings’ beat Chicago in Game 7 tonight.

Game 1: Friday at Los Angeles, 9 p.m. (NBCSN)

Game 2: Sunday at Los Angeles, 8 p.m. (NBCSN)

Game 3: Tuesday, June 4 at Detroit, 8 p.m. (NBCSN)

Game 4: June 6 at Detroit, 8 p.m. (NBCSN, CBC)

x-Game 5: June 8 at Los Angeles, 8 p.m. (NBC, CBC)

x-Game 6: Monday, June 10 at Detroit, 8 p.m. (NBCSN, CBC)

x-Game 7: Wednesday, June 12 at Los Angeles, TBD (NBCSN, CBC)

x-if necessary

Here’s the schedule if the Blackhawks beat Detroit.

Game 1: Saturday at Chicago, 5 p.m. (NBCSN)

Game 2: Sunday at Chicago, 8 p.m. (NBCSN)

Game 3: Tuesday at Los Angeles, 9 p.m. (NBCSN)

Game 4: Thursday, June 6 at Los Angeles, 9 p.m. (NBCSN, CBC)

x-Game 5: Saturday, June 8 at Chicago, 8 p.m. (NBC, CBC)

x-Game 6: Monday, June 10 at Los Angeles, 9 p.m. (NBCSN, CBC)

x-Game 7: Wednesday, June 12 at Chicago, TBD (NBCSN, CBC)

x-if necessary

Rolling Stones’ show may cause for some bad ice at United Center

DETROIT — There’s a chance the ice may not be at its finest at the United Center after the Rolling Stones performed there Tuesday night.

“It’s a busy building,” captain Jonathan Toews said. “Some nights are tough. That’s the way it is. It’s the same for both teams. We can’t really worry about that too much. If it’s chippy a little bit, we’ll just have to play a simple game. You can’t make too many pretty plays. It’s very similar in most buildings.”

The Blackhawks also share the arena with the Chicago Bulls.

The Red Wings do not share Joe Louis Arena with another team, although the venue hosts an occasional concert.

“It’s same for both teams,” Chicago’s Niklas Hjalmarsson said. “Usually when we go to Joe Louis, it’s one of the best ice surfaces in the league, I’d say. I guess it’s tougher here for the guys to have the ice in top shape with so many different events here. You’ve got the basketball, concerts – I understand it’s tough to keep the ice in great shape but it’s the same for both teams so you can’t really complain about it.”

Toews, who’s a Rolling Stones fan, won’t be at the show.

“We’ve got bigger fish to fry right now,” Toews said.

Third-period breakdown costs Wings and forces a Game 7 back in Chicago

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings’ inability to play a full 60 minutes this postseason reared its ugly head again and it came at the most inopportune time.

Clinging to a 2-1 to begin the third, the Chicago Blackhawks scored three unanswered goals before the midway point of the period as they skated by the Wings, 4-3, Monday night at Joe Louis Arena to force a winner-take-all Game 7.

“We put ourselves in this situation,” Niklas Kronwall said. “If someone would have said we were going to seven games before the series I think everyone would have taken it. We have another chance coming up here on Wednesday.”

Michal Handzus, Bryan Bickell and Michael Frolik scored in a span of eight minutes and 52 seconds apart in the third to lead the Chicago onslaught. Marian Hossa also scored and Corey Crawford made 35 saves.

Patrick Eaves, Joakim Andersson and Damien Bruner had goals for Detroit, while Jimmy Howard stopped 24 shots.

Game 7 is Wednesday at 8 p.m. at the United Center.

“We lost our composure there for a bit and made some mistakes and the puck ended up in the back of our net,” Kronwall said. “Over 60 minutes we made some mistakes, but we made a lot of good things happen out there. Sure we made some mistakes and it cost us, but that’s the way the game is played sometimes, stick with it and stay positive.”

The Wings have now surrendered a league-high 20 goals in the third period this postseason.

Chicago, which began the year 21-0-3 and won the Presidents’ Trophy with the league’s best record, has now won two straight in the series, after dropping three in a row.

The other series in the Western Conference between San Jose and Los Angeles also will be decided in Game 7, which takes play Tuesday in Los Angeles.

“It’s not like they came in here and squashed us,” Wings coach Mike Babcock said. “They got what we gave them. If I would’ve told Detroit and Michigan we would play in Chicago in Game 7, I think everybody would be excited about that.
“I love Game 7s,” Babcock continued. “We’ve got a chance to push them out of the playoffs. It should be a lot of fun.”

It’s the second series in a row the Wings will go to the limit of games. They won Game 7 in Anaheim in the first round.

“I thought we did a pretty good job against Anaheim and now we’re back on the road playing a Game 7,” Kronwall said. “We’ve been there before now we just have to do it again.

“Early in the Anaheim series we were up a few goals as well, but I thought we got better as we went along in that series,” Kronwall added. “We weren’t on our toes at the beginning of the third and we let the game slip away.”

Just 51 seconds into the third period, Handzus tied things up having all day to pick his corner after a feed from Niklas Hjalmarsson down low. Handzus all alone after Brendan Smith over pursed the play.

Bickell put Chicago back in front, freeing himself enough from Smith to bat home the rebound off a shot by Jonathan Toews.

“We just realized it was a do-or-die situation,” Toews said. “We weren’t playing our best hockey and we were very conscious of that and it was the toughest game of the series, especially when they went up 2-1. They were flying and got the crowd going but credit to our guys for not getting fazed by that. A huge third period.”

Then, Frolik was awarded a penalty shot he made good on, going backhand to beat Howard high over his glove. Frolik broke in alone after blocking a shot of Carlo Colaiacovo and then was slashed by the Wings defenseman to get awarded the penalty shot.

“I didn’t have anything to lose,” Frolik said. “I was happy it went in. I have a few moves and this is one of them, and I tried some moves on Jimmy Howard before and they didn’t work out. This one I didn’t try, so I said, let’s give it a shot, and it worked out.”

“Doesn’t matter what I think,” Kronwall said when asked if he thought it was a penalty shot of not. “The ref made a call and that’s what it is.”

With the goalie pulled, Brunner made it a one-goal game scoring with 51.7 seconds left in the third period.
The Wings got back-to-back faceoffs with Howard pulled but could not get equalizer.

Andersson gave the Wings the lead just past the halfway point of the game with a well-placed knuckler off a pretty fed from Jakub Kindl just outside the Blackhawks’ end of the rink.

The Wings rookie forward took two strides over the blue line and sent a shot just over Brent Seabrook’s stick that Crawford whiffed on as it floated over his glove.

It took Chicago all of nine seconds to score on its first power play.

With Jakub Kindl in the box for interference, Toews drove to the side of the Wing’ goal and soon after the puck squirted off to the right of Howard where Hossa rushed in back just got a piece of it with his backhand before four minutes had elapsed in the opening period.

The goal was reviewed because the net was dislodged in the process, but the ruling on the ice stood.

The power play goal was the Blackhawks’ third in two games and Hossa’s first since Game 1 of the series.

The Wings’ fourth line tied things up with 1:09 left in the first period.

Smith started things with a nice touch pass off the boards to Drew Miller, whose immediate shot was stopped by Crawford. However, Eaves was there to grab the rebound and stuff it in short side before Crawford could get his left skate on the post.

Chicago is now 5-0 when scoring a PP goal and Detroit drops to 2-6 when allowing a PP goal.

Wings first chance at eliminating Blackhawks ends in 4-1 win for Chicago

CHICAGO – The Detroit Red Wings had three chances to win one in their best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Their margin for error is now one less game.

Chicago scored two power play goals in the second period, one of which came from the much-maligned Jonathan Toews, and skated by the Wings, 4-1 Saturday night at the United Center.

“We’re foolish to think that they’re just going to give us that fourth game,” defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo said. “We know we can be better and we are going to be better. They’re a really good team. They deserved it more than we did.”

Detroit still holds a 3-2 in the series, which shifts back to Joe Louis Arena for Game 6, Monday at 8 p.m.

“It’s up to us,” forward Henrik Zetterberg said. “We can talk about momentum here or momentum there, it’s up to the players to decide who has the momentum going into the game. We’ve been there before, been through this, so we just have to go out and play a good game.”

The Blackhawks, who also beat Detroit 4-1 in Game 1, came in losers of three straight for the first time all season, being outscored 9-2 in the process.

Chicago, which began the year 21-0-3, had just three two-game losing streaks during the regular season.

Andrew Shaw netted a pair and Bryan Bickell added the other goal for Chicago, while Corey Crawford made 25 saves.

Daniel Cleary scored the Wings’ only goal and Jimmy Howard stopped 41 of the 45 shots he faced.

“They’re a good team,” Zetterberg said. “They’re here for a reason and they showed it. We just have to play the way we want. Go back to playing like we did in the past three games. We all know that, now we just have to go back and do it.

“We don’t get too high, we don’t get too low, we just stay with it,” Zetterberg added. “We know we can play good hockey if we do all the little things right. We just have to go back to doing that. We’re confident too. I think it’s going to two confident teams playing in Game 6.”

Trailing 1-0 after one period, Cleary evened things up just before the midway point of the game.

With both teams down a man, Zetterberg began the rush up ice and flung a backhand shot on goal with Brendan Smith and Cleary both driving hard to the net. The puck found its way to Cleary and from an impossible angle he shot one off Crawford’s right toe.

The tie game didn’t last long as the Blackhawks struck on the power play, taking advantage of Pavel Datsyuk breaking his stick early in the penalty kill. A shot from the point from Duncan Keith was redirected by Shaw past Howard.

The power play goal was Chicago’s second of the series, snapping an 0-for-12 streak after scoring on its first man advantage of the series.

“I’m not frustrated at all,” Cleary said. “We came in, we said let it go. You gotta forget about a game like that. We just didn’t play well. We weren’t hard enough on the puck, weren’t hard enough on their defense, we didn’t play like we’ve been playing.”

Less than three minutes later, an alert Marian Hossa found Toews camped out to the left of the Wings goal and the Blackhawks’ captain did the rest, banking his shot off Howard’s mask and into the mesh behind the Wings netminder.

“The good thing about hockey is you get a second chance,” defenseman Kyle Quincey said. “You get to play in two days. (We’re) looking forward to redeeming ourselves.

“They wanted it more than us, they had a little more jump,” Quincey added. “That score kind of shows how the game went. They were better than us. We didn’t match it.”

The goal was the first for Toews, who was whistled for three straight penalties in Game 4 that led to a Wings goal, this postseason.

“Both times (we had a chance to clear the puck) for sure,” Wings coach Mike Babcock said. “The one time you broke your stick, what are you going to do. The other one, our guy fell down and someone else tried to do his job and next you’re digging it out of the back of your net.

“Our first penalty kill of the night we did a good job, I don’t think they got a shot, so we did a good job on that one,” Babcock continued. “Bottom line is the last game we scored a power play goal and they didn’t and they scored two power play goals (tonight) and we didn’t and that’s the difference, back-to-back games (came down to) specialty teams.”

Earlier in the period, the Wings looked like they were heading to their second power play of the game after Datsyuk was tripped, but Justin Abdelkader was also sent off for unsportsmanlike conduct after the play to put both teams down a man.

During the four-on-four play, Datsyuk rang a wrist shot off the post to the right of Crawford.

“I think we ended up in the box too much, but still all the way up until they got their second one we were right in the game,” Zetterberg said. “After we scored our first one we were doing a lot of good things and had something going there and up until they scored their second one. But after the third one they took over again and then 4-1, game over.
Bickell opened the scoring late in the second period taking advantage of a Jonathan Ericsson turnover just inside the Wings’ blue line.

That led to a flurry of action in Detroit’s zone and after saves by Howard on Bickell and Patrick Kane, soon five Wings got caught on one side of the ice and left Bickell wide open for the easy goal.

Toews’ second period meltdown puts Wings on brink of eliminating Blackhawks

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings finally figured out how to score a power play goal on the Chicago Blackhawks this postseason.

And that success could not have come at a better time.

Jakub Kindl scored the power play goal midway through the game and it proved to be the game winner as the Wings grabbed a 3-1 strangle hold of their best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series with Chicago after the 2-0 win Thursday night at Joe Louis Arena.

“That was huge for all of us,” Kindl said. “We knew we had to pick it up on our power play. They’ve been playing so good as a team on the PK. That was a huge goal for us.”

The Wings can end the series Saturday at 8 p.m. at the United Center in Chicago.

“This was the biggest game of my life so far and the biggest goal I’ve had,” Kindl said. “The series is not over yet. We’re happy with those two games we’ve played here. But they’re a great team and they’re not going to give. It’s going to be tough going back to play in their building. We’re just going to try and play the same way we did last two games, play on our toes and play tight in our neutral zone.”

Daniel Cleary added an empty-net goal with 38.2 seconds left and Jimmy Howard made 28 saves for his second career shutout in the playoffs.

Corey Crawford made 25 saves for the Blackhawks.

Chicago’s Jonathan Toews picked the wrong time to have a meltdown.

Toews was sent off for three consecutive penalties in the middle frame, the second of which led to a Wings goal.

Pavel Datsyuk dug the puck out from behind Chicago’s goal and fed it to Johan Franzen, who quickly got it to Carlo Colaiacovo at the point. After Colaiacovo pulled off a shot he found Kindl and his shot beat Crawford with a second left in the Wings’ power play.

Chicago had been successful killing off 30 consecutive power play chances by the opposition to begin the postseason.
Toews was sent off at 5:20 for hooking and then he was assessed back-to-back high sticking penalties at 8:04 and 10:54.

“I’m not going to say anything about the officiating,” Toews said. “Obviously, I disagree with the calls but it’s in the heat of the moment. They see what they see. I’ve got to be careful of my stick. That doesn’t help my team, but I still think we played hard through it, found a way to stay in the game, killed off two big penalties.”

After scoring a goal on their first power-place chance in the series, Chicago has gone 0-for-11 with the man advantage, including 0-for-3 in Game 4.

“Everyone’s a little pissed off,” Crawford said. “I thought we played well again. It just seems like we can’t get bounces. Three off the post and they get one off the post and in. That pretty much sums it up for the last couple of nights for us.”

After dropping Game 1 in the series, the Wings have won the last three in a row by a combined score of 9-2.

This is the Blackhawks’ first three-game losing streak this season. They had just three two-game losing streaks during the regular season.

Chicago began the season 21-0-3.

“We’re getting chances, going to the net hard and doing a lot of good things,” Crawford said. “I think there’s times when you’re just not getting bounces and doing a lot of things right. I just can’t explain it. It’s another thing if you’re not playing hard and you’re not battling. That’s not the case with our team right now.”

And the Wings didn’t sit back like they did in Game 3 where they had a two-goal lead and it led to a number of scoring chances for both teams.

Crawford stoned Brendan Smith midway through the third period after he took a drop pass from Gustav Nyquist.

Chicago had the net two best scoring chances. The first came on a 2-on-1 where Howard sprawled to make a right pad save to stop Dave Bolland. Then, Michal Handzus hit the post to the right of Howard.

In the second periods, Nick Leddy hit the post to the right of Howard with a floater.

“(Howard) made some big saves and we hit some posts,” Chicago’s Patrick Sharp said. “We knew he was a good goalie coming into the playoffs and nothing has changed.”

Just past the three-minute mark of the first period, Toews found himself open on a 2-on-1 and elected to shoot, but was denied by Howard’s right pad.

With less than five minutes to go in the opening period, Patrick Sharp got behind the Wings’ defense at their blue line, but Howard got a blocker on the shot.

That chance led to the Wings’ best scoring opportunity in the first 20 minutes when Daniel Cleary had a good look in the slot after taking a pass from Pavel Datsyuk, but couldn’t be Crawford.

Chicago got the first power play of the game after Niklas Kronwall hooked Toews. The penalty was caused when Kronwall’s clearing attempt got right on the stick of Toews.

Brendan Smith left the game with 3:22 left in the first period after getting hit on his right knee cap from a shot by Dave Bolland. Smith needed to be helped off the ice. He missed just one shift.

It was the second straight game the teams were scoreless after one period.

Wings know importance of being up 3-1 or tied 2-2 with Blackhawks

DETROIT – Quick update from the Detroit Red Wings’ morning skate prior to Game 4 tonight against the Chicago Blackhawks at Joe Louis Arena.

The Wings will try and do something tonight that no other team has been able to do this season and that’s win three in a row against the Blackhawks.

“We have to play the same way, but they were hungry last game and had some good chances,” forward Cory Emmerton said. “We expect them to be even more amped up. It’s the playoffs and we expect everything to be thrown at us.”

After dropping Game 1 in the series, the Wings have won the last two in a row by a combined score of 7-2.

Chicago had just three two-game losing streaks during the regular season.

“We have to ready and play the same way,” Emmerton said. “If we do have a lead and we play like we did in the third (in Game 3) and just sit back we just have to keep going at them, but at the same time be responsible defensively.”

Chicago began the season 21-0-3.

“I don’t think we should talk too much about standings, but it’s still home-ice advantage,” forward Damien Brunner said. “If we can win in front of our fans again then it’ll put us in a really good spot.”

Game 5 is Saturday at 8 p.m. at the United Center in Chicago.

“We’re in a good spot, but on the other side of things we haven’t done anything,” Brunner said. “It’s good for a young group of guys to know that you can win some games so that definitely helps.”

The Wings will go with the same lineup they’ve used during their current two-game winning streak.

“The regular season is a wash,” Emmerton said. “Everything starts new. You find that out some way or another. This year I don’t think it’s been really any different as far as the playoffs are concerned. I think the season aspect of it, teams didn’t get the whole season to get playing their best hockey. They come on, playing strong at the end, and they just squeak into the playoffs. I can’t really tell you where we would have finished had we played 82 games. Maybe we would have been higher. You just don’t know. We don’t really think about that ever. We just focus on the now.”

Wings will look to create “chaos” in front of Blackhawks’ goal while on the power play

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings had six power play goals in their opening round series with the Anaheim Ducks.

Through three games of their best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series against the Chicago Blackhawks, they have yet to record a goal with the man advantage.

At practice Wednesday, Wings coach Mike Babcock tinkered with his forward units, keeping his top two lines during 5-on-5 play intact on the power play.

“We went through every single scoring chance we had on the power play in this series this morning,” Babcock said. “We talked a lot about our power play. We had a run through and let the guys see what’s going on and we tried to make adjustments. We’ve had some real good looks, but we haven’t scored yet. Sometimes when you get real good looks and you haven’t scored you stop shooting.”

If things remain the same from practice, Justin Abdelkader will be added to the power play, skating alongside Pavel Datsyuk and Johan Franzen.

“I don’t know, we’ll see, it was just one practice,” Abdelkader said when asked if he will see power play time in Game 4 Thursday at 8 p.m. at Joe Louis Arena. “If I get the opportunity I’m just going to do what I do, go to the net, retrieve pucks and be hard on the puck.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Abdelkader added. “Things are constantly changing, constantly trying different things. If my name gets called I will be ready.”

The Wings are 0-for-12 on the power play this series, registering 16 shots on goal.

“Chicago does a good job blocking shots,” Abdelkader said. “We just have to find ways to get the pucks on the net, create second and third chances by getting pucks back. They’re a good penalty killing team and any team that’s that good on the penalty kill for that long is doing a lot of good things. I think just commitment to their system is why it’s working. We have to find a way.”

Chicago has not allowed a power-play goal this entire postseason, killing off 29 straight penalties.

“We need good net front presence, let’s pound the puck, let’s get it back, let’s throw it in there and create some chaos,” Babcock said. “We’ll get one. We’ll loosen up and get going. Right now our power play has to be a bigger factor than it has been in this series.”

Henrik Zetterberg, Valtteri Filppula and Daniel Cleary made up the other unit up front, while the blue line parings remained the same – Damien Brunner/Niklas Kronwall and Carlo Colaiacovo/Jakub Kindl.

Colaiacovo agrees with his coach about creating more chaos in front of the Blackhawks goal.

“Get pucks through, traffic in front of the goalie and create chaos in front on their net,” Colaiacovo said. “It’s not like we’re not getting chances. The pucks don’t go in and sometimes those things happen. We’re confident in the groups we put out there. When they’re out there they’re going to get a goal or create momentum for us. That’s what a power play is for. You want to take advantage of the extra man, but you also want to make sure the momentum that comes off it stays on your side.

“Sometimes the best thing is to just get it down there, whether it’s on net or not on net, you just want to get it down there and create some chaos with their killers,” Colaiacovo continued. “When you’re retrieving pucks off rebounds or during chaos that’s when the penalty killers move and things open up.”

Through three games of the series, the first power play unit was made up of Zetterberg, Datsyuk and Franzen, while Filppula, Cleary and Gustav Nyquist was the second unit.

“We have to find a way to get through their layers of players that they present when we decide to take the shot,” Kronwall said. “We have to get the pucks in there. We haven’t done a good enough job of that. We have guys in front that are doing a great job and we have to make sure we get the puck in there.”

Zetterberg feels the Wings are generating more chances early in games with the man advantage, but once they have to lead it changes.

“Later in games when we have the lead and we get the chance on the power play we’re a little too cautious,” Zetterberg said. “We just got to be on our toes, keep playing, go for the next goal. We’ve been better on 5-on-5 and now we’ve just got to do it when we get a power play, too.

“It shows that they’re doing something right over there, but it’s a challenge for us to get that first one and hopefully it will come (Thursday),” Zetterberg added.

There are just two teams – San Jose and New York Rangers – out of those that are still in the playoffs that have been penalized less than Chicago.

“When you’ve had some success it’s an ongoing challenge,” Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. “They’re always looking for ways of doing different things and there’s probably going to be something we haven’t seen moving forward. So, it’s a changing of looks and making sure that you adapt. But commend the guys from the goalie on out on the job that they’re doing, but that’s always a work in progress.”

There’s getting caught out on a long shift and then there’s getting caught out on a long shift

DETROIT – There’s getting caught out on a long shift and then there’s getting caught out on a long shift.

Drew Miller and his fellow penalty killers experienced just that in Game 3 Monday night at Joe Louis Arena.

Niklas Kronwall had a shift length of two minutes and 46 seconds and Patrick Eaves was out there for 2:15.

But both of those shift lengths paled in comparison to the ones Miller and Jonathan Ericsson had to endure with Brendan Smith in the penalty box for holding. The stopwatch wasn’t clicked off on their shifts until it read 3:15.

“Three minutes, that must have been some sort of record,” Ericsson smiled after the game. “I was kind of standing still there in front of the net for a little while so I was able to catch some big breaths. I wasn’t as tired after three minutes as I was after two I think.”

Normal shift length for forwards is roughly 45 seconds and a bit longer for defensemen.

Penalty kill shifts tend to be shorter, as teams try to get quick changes as soon as possible.

“I’d like to forget that one,” Miller said. “It was a long one. When you get stuck on the penalty kill there it’s tough to get off. You try and stay tight, guys were blocking shots and Jimmy (Howard) made some big saves for us. The key is to just to survive it and get off the ice as fast as you can when you can. You have to fight through long shifts like that.”

Not helping matters was the fact that Smith’s penalty occurred in the second period, which meant the Wings had to cross center ice to get a shift change.

“We were pretty tired, we got caught out there and we couldn’t get the puck out,” Eaves said. “They had a lot of skill on the ice and had the puck. We just tried to keep them to the outside.”

Miller was playing in just his second game back after breaking his right hand on April 20 in Vancouver.

“That’s one of those shifts you don’t want to have but you try to get through it,” Miller said. “I felt like my legs were a lot better (Monday). You’re on the penalty kill trying to kill it off and you get stuck out there. From there it’s just desperation, you try and get through it and get the puck out.”

Miller blocked three shots on the three-minute plus shift, finishing with four total to go along with three hits.

“He does all the little things right, blocking shots, getting in on the forecheck, penalty kill and just working hard,” Howard said. “That (penalty kill) was huge. I think (Miller) blocked about five shots on the penalty kill. He’s such a key player for us. He does his job so well.”

Once Smith was released from the box, he joined the play giving the Wings three defenseman on the ice and two forwards.

It took another 1:15 until Detroit could finally get a clear long enough to get a change.

“They had some good chances,” Henrik Zetterberg said. “(Chicago) held onto the puck for a long time there. We stayed composed and Howie was there when we needed him.”

The Wings killed off all four of the Blackhawks’ power plays in Game 3.

“The biggest improvement we’ve seen with him in the lineup is our penalty kill,” Carlo Colaiacovo said. “(That) shift there in the second period I think he blocked five shots in a row. It was huge for that line to get a goal as well. Millsie is a guy who skates real well, blocks shots, plays with that edge, finishes checks and he’s been really key to us since he’s been back.”

The kill was huge and it may have been the spark the Wings’ offense needed as Gustav Nyquist scored just under four minutes later and it was followed up 31 seconds later by a goal from Miller.

“And (Miller) got rewarded with a goal, it just shows you that hard work pays off,” Howard said.

After scoring a goal on their first power-place chance in the series, Chicago has gone 0-for-8 with the man advantage.

“We weathered the storm there and then Gus made that great move to score and fortunately our line got out there and caused a little havoc down low,” Eaves said. “We jammed one in. It was a huge second period. You always want to set yourself up for the third period.”

Over half of Miller’s ice time, 6:25, came on the penalty kill.

“I take pride in the penalty kill and I want to get it done and killed off. Scoring a goal is big, too. I’ll take both. How about that?”