The Free Press’s Helene St. James posted an article which discusses the Red Wings youngsters’ performances over the course of the team’s 3-2 win over the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night, noting that Simon Edvinsson and Albert Johansson (among others) played large roles in the team’s victories of late:
If not quite excellence, the Wings (30-22-6) are displaying resiliency and depth as they work towards securing a spot in the playoff picture. They head into a huge two-game series against the Columbus Blue Jackets having banked five of six points since emerging from the 4 Nations Face-Off break – and the most recent victory didn’t include scoring from any of the usual suspects.
Edvinsson was in the spotlight after Tuesday’s game at Xcel Energy Center because he had scored the tying and winning goal in the 3-2 final over the Minnesota Wild.
“He’s obviously a very, very talented player,” coach Todd McLellan said. “He’s got great legs. He anticipates well. He’s got a tremendous shot. His stamina and his energy is very strong. He took a lot of pride in defending, too, and when you defend well, you often get rewarded at the other end. Terrific night for him and his partner.”
The partner is Albert Johansson, 24, who is a rookie. Edvinsson, 22, technically is not, but this is his first full year with the Wings. The other guy involved in the winning-goal play was Elmer Söderblom, who only joined the team in January. That’s how the Wings are rolling right now: No hesitancy in playing guys with light resumes.
“One, we don’t have a choice because we have a lot of young guys, and they’re very capable of playing,” McLellan said. “We don’t hesitate to put them out there. We feel comfortable with the job they can do and they’re gaining valuable experience.
“And then secondly, the veterans appreciate them. It’s a two-way street – there’s nothing worse than having an old and a young team divided. I think we have a good mixture of just being a Red Wings team. We don’t talk about a lot about young and old, veteran and rookie.”
Continued; Elmer Soderblom registered 7 hits last night; Marco Kasper was strong as usual on the Dylan Larkin line, Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond have been tremendous as “more established” young players, etc. etc.
