The Red Wings shook up their lines on Friday, with Pius Suter centering the top line between Tyler Bertuzzi and Lucas Raymond. After practice, coach Jeff Blashill explained his rationale for doing so to MLive’s Ansar Khan…
“He’s our most experienced center right now,” Blashill said. “He did a good job last year playing with Patrick Kane and good players (in Chicago), so we just thought potentially the make-up of that line gives him some beef a little bit with the strength of Bertuzzi, and potentially it gives the other line a little bit of beef as well.”
Joe Veleno centered the second line in practice with Fabbri and Filip Zadina. The Red Wings have scored only one goal the past two games and have registered only 26 shots on goal in their past five periods.
“One by one, each guy has to find a way to bring it to another level,” Blashill said. “If it takes a little bit of line juggling, then it takes a little bit of line juggling. We don’t want to do that too much, but it gives opportunities for new looks and maybe it’ll spark somebody. I hope it sparks the whole lineup.”
With Raymond (five goals, 10 points) and Bertuzzi (six goals, nine points) driving the offense, this is a good opportunity for Suter, who played on the same junior team as Bertuzzi (OHL Guelph) for two seasons.
“You got to be close, because he’s going to win those battles and those pucks back to you,” Suter said. “If you are in position once he gets it, you can make a play. Get open so you can create some offense right away or get to the net.”
To Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen…
What we know for sure is that the Red Wings’ offense needs a boost, and it needs more production from Suter. The Red Wings have been outscored 8-1 in their last two road games.
“I think he’s a good playmaker and he can score around the net…,” Blashill said. “But we need more guys going at a high level.”
Fabbri has one point in the four-game losing streak. Rasmussen hasn’t scored this season. Zadina has one shot on goal over the past two games.
“Each guy has to find a way to take it to another level,” Blashill said. “If it takes a little bit of line juggling, then it takes a little bit of line juggling. We don’t want to do that too much, but it gives an opportunity for new looks and maybe it sparks someone. I hope it sparks the whole lineup to be honest with you.”
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The Red Wings seem to be at a crossroads: Are they going to show themselves to be an improved team or are they going to be the same team they were last season. With Larkin missing now and Bertuzzi out when the team plays in Canada, it is starting to feel like last season.
The only way to right the ship is to get more consistent scoring.
“I think it’s just taking advantage of the chances sometimes,” Suter said. “If you look at some games when we didn’t score a lot, we kind of had the same chances, same positions, just didn’t put it in.”
And to the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan:
Suter was between Bertuzzi and Lucas Raymond, while Joe Veleno centered Robby Fabbri and Filip Zadina. Mitchell Stephens was between Vladislav Namestnikov and Sam Gagner on the third line. Michael Rasmussen centered Givani Smith and Adam Erne on the fourth line.
Suter has one goal and one assist in 11 games. Not the production envisioned when he signed as an unrestricted free agent last summer. But the Wings are hopeful Suter will benefit from playing with Bertuzzi and Raymond.
“He’s our most experienced center right now,” Blashill said. “He did a good job last year playing with Patrick Kane (in Chicago), with good players, and we thought, potentially, the makeup of that line gives him some beef.
“We have to find ways for guys to bring it to another level. And if takes a little bit of line juggling, then it takes a little bit of line juggling. It gives opportunities for new looks and maybe it’ll spark somebody.”
Suter is excited about the chance to play with Bertuzzi (a junior linemate at Guelph) and the exciting rookie, Raymond. But also about the chance to turn things around.
“Production hasn’t been what I would like it to be,” Suter said. “The chances have been there.”
