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Nobody expects
the Red Wings to sustain their frenetic pace on the power play, but its success
through two games has been very satisfying in light of the changes that had
to be made.
Two power-play staples, Sergei Fedorov and Igor Larionov, left the team over the summer, but who can tell? The Wings have five power-play goals in 15 attempts, every one of them scored by someone different.
"I think it's a matter of taking the shots at the right time, having guys
in front and really getting the puck to the net, maybe not make that extra pass,
instead take the shot and then get the puck to the net," defenseman Nicklas
Lidstrom said Tuesday.
Lidstrom, one of the five scorers, is a mainstay on the left point. He has adjusted
seamlessly to being paired with Mathieu Schneider or Ray Whitney after losing
his longtime partner, Fedorov. NFL Tickets
Schneider "has got a great shot, good one-timer, and Whitney is really
good with the puck, making plays out there, jumping up at the right time or
just being out on the point," Lidstrom said. "It's been working out
well."
Lidstrom spends much of his power-play time on the team's umbrella unit, which
has Brendan Shanahan set up in the left circle, Tomas Holmstrom hovering near
the net and Steve Yzerman as the rover. The more slot-oriented unit has Brett
Hull in the middle with Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk on the half-boards,
and some combination of Lidstrom, Schneider, Whitney and Derian Hatcher on the
back ends.
Associate coach Barry Smith said that while adjustments had gone fairly smoothly,
"losing Sergei bringing the puck up the ice is difficult to lose because
of his speed and his ability to back off the defense." NFL Tickets
Few players can match Fedorov's talent, but Schneider has looked good bringing
the puck up the ice, and Whitney, Smith said, "is very smart, he's crafty
with the puck, and he makes good plays."
AN ASSIST: After practice Lidstrom went to the Jack Adams Arena in Detroit to
help hand out 100 sets of hockey equipment to underprivileged children. The
$40,000 project was paid for by the players association's Goals and Dreams fund,
which was set up four years ago to help grass-roots hockey programs all over
the world.
"It's a great feeling that players can do this to help out," Lidstrom
said.
Lidstrom took advantage of the program to help needy Swedish children -- who
knew they even existed? -- by requesting funding for a rink. Long before Lidstrom
made Norris Trophy acceptance speeches an annual tradition, he was a 7-year-old
playing in used equipment given to him by his uncle, on an outdoor rink for
his hometown team Avesta Skogsbo. NFL Tickets
"I helped them out with some donations and I asked the PA as well, the
Goals and Dreams fund, if they could contribute and they did," Lidstrom
said. "It's been working out great."