Detroit Red Wings, energized by Joe Veleno’s line, hope Tyler Bertuzzi can add extra boost

ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Detroit Red Wings went through a high-energy practice capped by a so-called small-ice game, and will get a further boost for their next game with the return of one of their best scorers.

Coach Derek Lalonde confirmed Tyler Bertuzzi will be back in the lineup Tuesday when the Wings face the Ducks at Honda Center, giving the Wings a shot in the arm as they try to nip a three-game slide. Bertuzzi practiced on a line with Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond, reuniting a trio that has clicked since last season. Getting back Bertuzzi, who has been out since suffering a broken hand in the second game of the season, gives the Wings better options for shaping their lines and creating more potential for scoring.

Lalonde had David Perron practice with Joe Veleno and Jonatan Berggren to see if that’s a grouping that could click. Veleno and Berggren have played together two games since Berggren was called up last week, and in Saturday’s game against the Kings, it was their group that got the Wings going with an energetic shift four minutes into the first period.

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“That’s part of our role, and with every shift that we get, we want to make the most out of it,” Veleno said. The last two games it’s been really good and we just need more of that energy coming.”

Veleno and Berggren have chemistry going back to being teammates with the Grand Rapids Griffins (and, as Veleno likes to tell it, he also served as Berggren and Raymond’s chauffeur while they were all at development camp together in 2021), and part of the energy they provide is from being able to make plays with the puck.

“We want to create as much as we can,” Veleno said. “We talk to each other, we’ve played with each other, I think it makes everything smoother. We’ve been really good with every chance we get, we just want to make the most out of it.”

Berggren set up the goal Veleno scored in their first game, the 8-2 loss to the New York Rangers, and created a scoring chance that led to a power play in Los Angeles, during which Dominik Kubalik scored.

“Berggren and Joe have been creating,” Lalonde said. “They’ve been spending less time in their zone and for a team not producing a ton of offense, those two have. They’re generating offense because they’re working, they’re playing fast, so the look today, was give the two guys that have been playing well and offensive player, see how it looks.”

The other lines had Andrew Copp with Kubalik and Oskar Sundqvist, and Michael Rasmussen with Pius Suter and Adam Erne. Defenseman Gustav Lindstrom is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury, and defenseman Jake Walman could make his season debut after recovering from offseason shoulder surgery.

The Wings spent much of Monday’s practice working on special teams — during this three-game skid, the power play has been at 15.4%, the penalty kill at 57.1% — and wrapped things up by placing both nets facing one another in one zone for some three-on-three battles.

“All of our small-ice games have a purpose to them,” Lalonde said. “It’s a message from an off day to get our energy and compete level up going into tomorrow.”

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 latest book, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.