Pius Suter plans to do a little reading on the Detroit Red Wings’ rivalry with the Colorado Avalanche, maybe on the plane ride to Denver. First, the Wings are challenged with improving their road record when they face the St. Louis Blues.
There are the usual questions regarding who will be available — Filip Hronek did not practice Wednesday because he’s a bit banged up, but Moritz Seider, who left Tuesday’s game after being hit into the glass, is good to go. Gustav Lindstrom (lower body) and Tyler Bertuzzi and Marc Staal (both COVID-19 protocol) are unavailable.
The Wings (12-10-3) had a five-game winning streak nipped by the Predators, whose relentless physicality threw the Wings off their game and off their puck management. Suter managed to pick up an assist in the 5-2 loss, extending his point streak to five games. Suter was one of general manager Steve Yzerman’s shrewd off-season moves: He picked him off the free-agent pile for two years, $6.5 million after Suter was discarded by the Chicago Blackhawks even though he posted 14 goals and 13 assists in 55 games in his rookie season. At 25, Suter fits with the core rebuilding age group, and bolsters the second line. For Suter, it’s a chance to cement his footing in the NHL.
“I played one year so you want to get your whole foot in the door, or your whole body,” Suter said. “With the age group, that’s what I was looking for, too – we are all the same age, so there’s opportunities to play well, get good ice time, and kind of show that you can be a part of the future.”
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Suter had an easier time meshing with the Wings than the Blackhawks because unlike last season’s pandemic-hurried schedule, this year there was training camp and exhibition season. Suter has played mostly with Robby Fabbri and Filip Zadina, though with Bertuzzi sidelined by the coronavirus, Joe Veleno has played in Fabbri’s spot.
Suter has five goals and eight assists after 26 games, averaging 16 minutes per game. He’s not physically imposing at 5-feet-11 and 174 pounds, but his hard-nosed play has earned him time on both special teams.
“With a guy who’s been in the league one year, I wasn’t totally certain how good he was going to be,” Blashill said. “I knew he’d played good hockey against us last year. I think to start the year, he played well, and then I thought he dipped on that Canadian road trip into Boston and Buffalo, and then since then, I think he’s played really good hockey. He’s made good decisions with the puck, he’s smart, he’s good defensively, in a smart way. I think he’s definitely met the expectations. His line hasn’t had quite as much offensive success as I think they have created, and I think over time, whoever is with him, I think they’ve got an opportunity to create more.”
Blashill noted Suter “is around opponents’ nets. He’s very good in those areas with his stick, that’s where he scores all his goals.”
Suter has a good shot mentality (fourth on the team with 56) and he, along with teammates, need to get back to doing more of that if the Wings are to bolster their 4-7-1 record on the road. They beat the Blues, 4-2, on Thanksgiving Eve, but that was in the comforts of Little Caesars Arena, where the Wings are 9-3-2. The Wings go straight from St. Louis to face the Avalanche, and Suter can be forgiven if he’s fuzzy on the history: Suter, born May 24, 1996 in Switzerland, was five days old when Claude Lemieux’s cheap shot hit on Kris Draper in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals ignited the rivalry. (Trivia tidbit: Suter and Draper share a birthday, 25 years apart.)
Suter laughed when asked what he knows about it, replying, “probably not as much as I should. I guess I should read up on it.”
RELIVE THE GLORY: How to order new Free Press book commemorating the Wings’ 1997 Stanley Cup title
The rivalry dissipated over the years, and with the Wings moving to the Eastern Conference in 2013, there’s only two meetings a season now. What today’s Avalanche represent, as do the Blues, is a chance for the Wings to show how quickly they can re-gain swagger.
“We haven’t had tons of success on the road and we get to go play two really good opponents,” Blashill said. “Every time you go out there, there’s a measuring stick. Against St. Louis, on the road, it’ll be a good measuring stick – and it’ll be a good measuring stick the next night against Colorado. They’re games for us to look in the mirror and say, where’s our progress been?”
On the subject of Wings history: Need a gift?
What: “The Big 50: The Detroit Red Wings.”
Author: Helene St. James, who has covered the Red Wings at the Detroit Free Press since 1996. Foreword by Chris Osgood, winner of three Stanley Cups as a Wings goaltender.
Publisher: Triumph Books.
Pages: 336 pages (paperback).
Price: $16.95.
Availability: Available in leading bookstores and online from booksellers, including Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
About the book: “The Big 50” brings to life the men and moments that made the Red Wings such a dynamic and iconic franchise for nearly a century. The book features never-before-told stories about the greats such as Howe, Yzerman, Lidstrom and Lindsay, the near-greats beloved by fans and the great memories of Fight Night, the Fabulous Fifties, the Team for the Ages, the Grind Line, The Joe and much more.
Get it signed! For a personalized copy of “The Big 50,” contact St. James at hstjames@freepress.com
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.