A Frans Nielsen shootout goal yielded a 2-1 win for the White Team at the Red vs. White Game in Traverse City on Sunday, and after the game, several players and coach Jeff Blashill spoke with the media (for the record, Dylan Larkin, Mike Green and Darren Helm were sidelined with “tweaks,” and Andreas Athanasiou had to leave the game after the first period with another “tweak”–at this point it sounds like the preventative measures are just that, however).
Erne was well-spoken and thoughtful as he discussed what he needs to do to earn a top-nine role in Detroit. He felt somewhat stagnated in Tampa Bay, and the 24-year-old believes that he’ll work his way into a bigger role here:
Filip Zadina was somewhat demurring during his interview, suggesting that he will find a way to score more goals while playing a more complete game regardless of whether he plays in Grand Rapids or Detroit. He was coy about his confidence level, insisting that it would be shown over the course of the exhibition season:
Coach Blashill addressed his team’s minor injuries, discussed the pace of play in the Red vs. White Game, he spoke about Erne, Zadina, Justin Abdelkader and Michael Rasmussen, among others, and he announced his retirement from playing in alumni games after pitching a shutout last night in the Alumni and Celebrity Game:
