Quote of the day … Mike Babcock

DETROIT — Wings coach Mike Babcock on the travel his squad has to do in the Western Conference playoffs.

“As each series goes and flights go on and you have to travel a long way,” Babcock said. “I talked to (Ottawa Senators coach) Paul MacLean and I don’t know how they got to Montreal, but it takes like two seconds to get there. We go back and forth. This is a marathon of hope here. It could wear you down.”

A few quotes from Pavel Datsyuk

DETROIT — Pavel Datsyuk was asked if he’s learned the value of nutrition and rest. He said, “I learn to rest in summer when I go on vacation. Get good vacation. That’s how I rest up for it.”

When asked about wanting Justin Abdelkader on his line Datsyuk said, “I wanted? I wanted (Mario) Lemieux, (Wayne) Gretzky and everybody else, no, he works for us well. I’m happy with a hard-working guy like him.”

Brian Lashoff: “I’ve been watching plenty of video, so there’s no reason I can’t come in and contribute.”

DETROIT — Defenseman Brian Lashoff will make his playoff debut, replacing an injured Danny DeKeyser (broken right thumb) on the blue line.

“I think Lash will be fine,” Babcock said. “He’s played a lot this year. That’s not a big deal. He’s been a big time player for us. He played well against the Ducks the last time, matched up against the (Teemu) Selanne group which he’ll do again tonight, so it’s perfect. Everything is good for him.”

Lashoff, 23, who last played on April 4 due to the Wings’ depth on the blue line, leapfrogged over veterans Carlo Colaiacovo and Ian White to earn a spot in the lineup.

“I’ve been watching plenty of video, so there’s no reason I can’t come in and contribute,” Lashoff said. “Playing in the playoffs is huge. As the year went along, I got more and more confident and I got into more games, so I’m just excited to play and hopefully contribute.”

He’ll be the sixth Red Wings player, and fourth defenseman, to make their career playoff debuts in this series.

“I’m ready to go,” Lashoff said. “I’ve been itching to get out there.

“The intensity is up a notch or two (in the playoffs),” Lashoff added. “It’s really physical and more competitive, which I like. It’s been fun to watch, but at the same time, I want to be out there.”

Lashoff had one goal, four assists and a minus-10 rating in 31 regular season games this year.

“I can’t make anyone skate like DeKeyser, he’s a world class skater,” Babcock said. “Lash has to play the way Lash does and everyone has to do what they do and you just adjust. Dig in, play hard and let’s go.”

Lashoff will be paired with Kindl to begin the game.

“It’s sad that DK got hurt,” Kindl said. “Lash is a good defenseman. I’m very excited for him. I’m glad I can play with him. He’s a smart player, he can move the puck, he’s solid defensively. I’m sure he’ll be fine, he’s been working his butt off ice and on the ice to stay in shape. I’m sure he’ll play simple, just move the puck ahead all the time and I think he’ll be fine.”

Samuelsson: “I have to play a simple game, that’s priority No. 1.”

DETROIT – Detroit forward Mikael Samuelsson has found his way back in the Red Wings’ lineup.

Samuelsson will replace Todd Bertuzzi on the fourth line for Game 3 Saturday night at Joe Louis Arena.

“I have to play a simple game, that’s priority No. 1,” said Samuelsson, who has been out since suffering a pectoral muscle injury on March 31. “Skate hard and hit guys, that’s where I’m going to start and hopefully I’ll get a feel for the puck.”

Samuelsson, who injured his groin in training camp, has played just four games this season.

“I’m going to fight for every puck, try to hit guys and play hard,” Samuelsson said. “I can play hard around the puck. It doesn’t matter how much you missed.”
Samuelsson will start on the Wings’ fourth line, along with Cory Emmerton and Patrick Eaves.

“He can shoot the puck,” Wings coach Mike Babcock said. “He’s no different than Bert the last game, we’re going to watch him and see what happens. If he plays real good he can play a lot. What happens is when you haven’t played a lot it’s lightning fast. It’s not lightning fast for your legs, it’s lightning fast for your mind. You can’t play the game from behind it’s impossible.”

Bertuzzi played in Game 2 after playing last on Feb. 7.

“I’ve been here before,” Samuelsson added. “Unfortunately, I got injured, but that’s nothing I think about right now. Like everybody else, I come in here really excited about tonight. Playoffs are awesome. That’s what I live and die for. It’s going to be fun.”

This will be Samuelsson’s 100th career playoff game. He has 22 goals, 36 assists and a plus-18 rating over that time.

Samuelsson, who’s a right-handed shot, will also play the point, alongside Jakub Kindl on Detroit’s second power play unit.

“I’ve never played on a line with him so I’m excited,” Eaves said. “He’s a great player and I’ve played against him. I’m glad I’m playing with him tonight. Sometime it’s instant chemistry and sometimes you learn on the fly a guy’s tendencies.”

Eaves feels getting times special teams will help Samuelsson get back mentally quicker just like it did when he returned and got back to killing penalties.

“That’s where we get our minutes,” Eaves said. “He’ll be great on the power play. He’s got a great shot. He’s a righty and that’s what we need out there. I’m excited to see him play. Sometimes it’s limited minutes and sometimes you get more. It’s unpredictable. You just have to be mentally ready for anything. He’s been a pro for a long time so he gets it.”

Samuelsson in for Bertuzzi in Game 3 and will play on second PP unit

DETROIT – Quick update from the Wings’ morning skate at Joe Louis Arena prior to Game 3 tonight against the Anaheim Ducks.

The Wings have two lineup changes.

Forward Mikael Samuelsson will be in the lineup for Todd Bertuzzi, while defenseman Brian Lashoff takes Danny DeKeyser’s spot on the blue line.

Samuelsson last played on March 31 before injuring a pectoral muscle.

“I have to play a simple game, that’s priority No. 1,” Samuelsson said. “Can’t go out there and do what I usually do … no, I’m just kidding. Just play a simple game, skate hard and hit guys. That’s where I’m going to start, and hopefully I’ll get a feel for the puck.”

Samuelsson will play on the fourth line with Cory Emmerton and Patrick Eaves.

“I’m going to fight for every puck, try to hit guys and play hard,” Samuelsson said. “I can play hard around the puck. It doesn’t matter how much you missed.

“I’ve been here before,” Samuelsson added. “Unfortunately, I got injured, but that’s nothing I think about right now. Like everybody else, I come in here really excited about tonight. Playoffs are awesome. That’s what I live and die for. It’s going to be fun.”

Samuelsson will also play the point on the second power play.

“He can shoot the puck,” Wings coach Mike Babcock said. “He’s no different than Bert the last game, we’re going to watch him and see what happens. If he plays real good he can play a lot. What happens is when you haven’t played a lot it’s lightning fast. It’s not lightning fast for your legs, it’s lightning fast for your mind. You can’t play the game from behind it’s impossible.”

Bertuzzi played in Game 2 after playing last on Feb. 7.

“I’ve never played on a line with him so I’m excited,” Eaves said. “He’s a great player and I’ve played against him. I’m glad I’m playing with him tonight. Sometime it’s instant chemistry and sometimes you learn on the fly a guy’s tendencies.”

Eaves feels playing on special teams will help Samuelsson get back mentally quicker just like killing penalties did for himself.

“That’s where we get our minutes,” Eaves said. “He’ll be great on the power play. He’s got a great shot. He’s a righty and that’s what we need out there. I’m excited to see him play. Sometimes it’s limited minutes and sometimes you get more. It’s unpredictable. You just have to be mentally ready for anything. He’s been a pro for a long time so he gets it.”

Lashoff will be making his playoff debut.

“I think Lash will be fine,” Babcock said. “He’s played a lot this year. That’s not a big deal. He’s been a big time player for us. He played well against the Ducks the last time, matched up against the (Teemu) Selanne group which he’ll do again tonight so it’s perfect. Everything is good for him.”

Lashoff replaces DeKeyser, who broke his right thumb in Game 2 and is done for the season.

“I can’t make anyone skate like DeKeyser, he’s a world class skater,” Babcock said. “Lash has to play the way Lash does and everyone has to do what they do and you just adjust. Dig in, play hard and let’s go.”

Quote of the day … Wings coach Mike Babcock

ROMULUS — Wings coach Mike Babcock on Jimmy Howard’s performance Thursday.

“I think Howie picks us up most every night and we picked him up last night,” Babcock said.

Howard made 28 saves.

Rookie wonders

ROMULUS — Gustav Nyquist was the last Wings rookie to score an overtime goal in the playoffs since Shawn Burr scored 4:51 to give Detroit a 4-3 win over Chicago on April 11, 1987.

“Gus has played great for us ever since he came up,” defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. “Creating chances over and over out there, playing real well for us. I’m happy he got the goal and I’m pretty sure the confidence will be there even higher now.”

Nyquist took a pretty pass from Valtteri Filppula and scored a power play goal 1:26 into overtime.

Wings lose DeKeyser for season; Lashoff to step in: Wings coach Mike Babcock, “It’s a big loss. It’s hard to believe a kid out of college would be a big loss, but he is. He’s played real well for us. We just have to keep on going.”

ROMULUS – Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock decided to go with another rookie defenseman to replace the rookie blue liner they lost Thursday night in Anaheim.

Brian Lashoff will replace Danny DeKeyser on defense for Game 3 Saturday night of the Wings’ Western Conference quarterfinal series with the Anaheim Ducks at Joe Louis Arena.

“It’s a big loss,” Babcock said after getting off the plane Friday afternoon. “It’s hard to believe a kid out of college would be a big loss, but he is. He’s played real well for us. We just have to keep on going. That’s the playoffs.”

DeKeyser broke his right thumb on what he believes was a collision with Ducks forward Kyle Palmieri midway through the third period of Thursday’s 5-4 overtime win.

He’ll be sidelined six-to-eight weeks. He may also have to have surgery. That decision will come soon, as early as Saturday.

“I was a little nervous to actually take my glove off and look at it,” DeKeyser said. “I was kind of turning (to my left). I think it was Palmieri, I don’t really remember for sure. (He) kind of came in to hit me and my hand went into him as he hit me, just kind of bent it back and I guess it snapped.”

Babcock elected to go with Lashoff, wo will be making his NHL playoff debut, over veterans Carlo Colaiacovo and Ian White.

“He’s just smart,” Babcock said of Lashoff. “He knows how to play and he competes hard. He makes a good first pass, he’s a good penalty killer and is very competitive.”

Lashoff has been a healthy scratch along Detroit’s crowded blue line for some time. He last played on April 4.

Lashoff, 23, has one goal and four assists in 31 games. He also had a minus-10 rating.

“Just the thought of not being able to play the rest of the playoffs is a bummer for sure,” DeKeyser said. “It’s something I definitely wanted to continue to do here. I’m just going to have to get over it and move on.”

Babcock credited the signing of DeKeyser as the main reason the Wings extended their streak of appearances in the postseason to 22 consecutive seasons.

“It’s been a good month or so for me here,” DeKeyser said. “I just tried to come in and play my game the best I could and just to contribute in the ways I could. I did a pretty good job of doing that.

“I knew coming in that it’s a higher level, obviously, so I was going to have to step up my game and play solid positioning out there and just try to use my feet to skate out of trouble and keep guys to the outside,” DeKeyser added. “So nothing really surprised me too much. I knew the skill level and everything was going to be that much more.”

DeKeyser also earned the respect of all his teammates.

“Danny’s been playing really well ever since he came in, coming from college hockey, going straight into basically playoff hockey,” captain Henrik Zetterberg said. “It’s a tough loss for us. He played a lot of minutes and did really well. Now Lash will get a chance to play again. I think he played well when he’s been in this year so it’s going to be fun to see him back playing with us.”

“First of all, I think Lash is going to come in and play great, just like he has all season,” defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. “Obviously losing DK is going to be a tough challenge. Ever since he came in, he’s been playing great for us, playing more and more minutes, playing in all kinds of situations. He’s been huge for us. In saying that, I think Lash is going to do great. He was playing really well this year and he’s ready for this.

“What he’s been able to do, I don’t know if people really realize how good he’s been for us,” Kronwall continued. “Coming from college, you don’t really expect somebody to come in and play that well for us. He’s going to be here for years and years to come. We’re really happy he chose to come here.”

Just before the injury DeKeyser got under veteran Teemu Selanne’s skin after he finished off a check in the Ducks’ zone. Selanne was assessed a two-minute roughing penalty.

“He had the puck, I was just finishing my hit,” DeKeyser said. “I guess he didn’t like it too much. I thought it was a clean hit. It was 4-1 at that time and I’m sure he was getting frustrated.”