Jeff Blashill: Young players have to make Red Wings “significantly better” to be on roster
Detroit Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill, Oct. 7, 2021.
Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press
The Detroit Red Wings didn’t get much of a test in their penultimate exhibition game, but they welcomed back a teammate for the first time in nine months.
Tyler Bertuzzi mixed it up like old times Thursday at Little Caesars Arena as the Wings faced a Pittsburgh Penguins team lacking in star power. Joe Veleno scored on a one-timer with 4:32 to play in the third period and Bertuzzi added an empty-net goal to secure a 4-2 victory.
It was the second goal for Veleno, a first-round pick from 2018. Moritz Seider picked up his second preseason assist on the play. Pius Suter and Filip Hronek also had goals. Drew O’Connor and Derek Simon beat Red Wings goalie Thomas Greiss.
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Half a grain of salt
Exhibition games are useful evaluation tools, albeit some more than others. Thursday’s wasn’t, because the Penguins’ lineup had just enough veteran pros to meet the NHL’s requirements, while the Wings’ lineup had a dozen players — including veterans and young players — who will be on the roster. Suter scored at 17:22 — two seconds after a power play had expired — when he knocked in a loose puck that Veleno had popped into the crease.
Bertuzzi makes impression
Bertuzzi played for the first time since being sidelined by back pain Jan. 30. He buzzed around the net within a few shifts, and looked comfortable playing with Suter and Lucas Raymond. That’s not the line he’s expected to be on when the Wings open next Thursday, because the plan is to play him with Dylan Larkin (who wasn’t in the lineup). Raymond is certainly making a case to be on the line, but so is Filip Zadina.
Bertuzzi got in some power play time; he had a chance down low during a 5-on-3 early in the second period. When scrums broke out, he threw an arm around a foe just like old times. He earned a goal with 29 seconds left on the clock.
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Hronek looking good
Hronek scored his first goal of the preseason when he took a feed from Sam Gagner in Pittsburgh’s zone and took off on a breakaway, putting the puck behind Casey DeSmith. Hronek also hit a post in the third period. Hronek has had a good exhibition season, mostly paired with veteran Danny DeKeyser. The two played well together a couple seasons ago, but DeKeyser missed most of the 2019-20 season after undergoing back surgery and has had a slow path back to form. Hronek ran one of the power play units Thursday, but he has also looked in place as a flanker when Nick Leddy has run the unit.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her book, The Big 50: The Detroit Red Wings is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.