MLive’s Ansar Khan and the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan both profiled Red Wings forward Givani Smith on Friday afternoon. Smith hasn’t been at his best thus far, and so Khan discusses Smith’s struggles in terms of establishing a physical presence…
“He’s a big body that has talent that we’re going to keep working with to help him become a good player here,” coach Jeff Blashill said.
Smith has played 12 games and is the only Red Wing without a point, averaging less ice time than anyone else (8:00). He logged less than six minutes in each of the past two games.
The Red Wings (7-6-2) host Montreal (4-10-1) on Saturday (7 p.m., Bally Sports Detroit Plus). The struggling Canadiens won the first two games between the clubs, 6-1 and 3-0 in Montreal. This is their final meeting. If all of their forwards are available, Blashill could opt to sit Smith and dress Carter Rowney.
Smith showed flashes of his potential last season, most notably in a 4-1 victory at Florida on Feb. 7, when he recorded a “Gordie Howe Hat Trick” – a goal, an assist, and a fighting major.
“I think there were moments last year,” Blashill said. “I wouldn’t say it was the whole time he was up. He kind of worked his way from a really good game and then became a healthy scratch at some point. It’s something that he’s still learning.
“Unfortunately for him, early in the season he took a penalty a game, and I ended up sitting him. You don’t want to go to the box, and he’s maybe playing a little more careful. Obviously, Givani can’t do that either, so he’s got to find a balance of being able to play really hard, get underneath other guys’ skin without taking penalties. That’s a hard balance at times. As a young player he’s learning that.
“Now he’s got to work to earn a little bit more trust from me, so that he gets more ice time. Right now, he’s not on either specialty team, and he doesn’t get a whole lot of ice time.”
And the Detroit News’s Kulfan offers a similar take:
Wings fans on social media have been wanting to see Smith be more assertive, more of a physical force. That’s the way he played in a brief stay with the Wings last season.
Smith has been in one fight this season, with Calgary’s Milan Lucic. But again, the lack of playing time has resulted in Smith not being able to be physical.
“If you said to me why hasn’t had a bigger physical impact on a game to game basis, I would say it was because he hasn’t had the ice time,” Blashill said. “That’s hard to do when you haven’t had the ice time.”
The Wings want Smith to play hard.
“Whistle to whistle and get out of the scrums,” Blashill said. He was in a lot of scrums and ended up taking penalties. We want him to stay away from the hooking and holding — those aren’t intimidating penalties.”
