Red Wings talk Bruins budding rivalry, Nestrasil debut, more
By @SKubus –
On Day 1, Detroit will have its chance to exact revenge on the team that eliminated them from the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs last season, as the Red Wings host the Boston Bruins at Joe Louis Arena Thursday night.
The Red Wings open the season on home ice for the second consecutive year, while Boston won its season opener at home Wednesday night, defeating Philadelphia by a 2-1 final. Detroit will face the Bruins again next Wednesday in its third game of the season.
Defenseman Brendan Smith said he’s getting used to seeing his younger brother and Boston forward Reilly quite a bit as not only their own sibling rivalry grows, but the rivalry between the Original Six and Atlantic Division teams also grows.
“We’ve been playing against each other for 23 of his years, and I’ve been used to this matchup, but it’s been fun playing against him,” Smith said. “My family comes in. It’s a good time, either way.
“Even beyond just my brother, us playing against each other, is the rivalry we’re creating with Boston. Playing them during the regular season, I think we had the upper hand, but obviously they took it to us in playoffs. We’ve got a little score to set with that one.”
The Red Wings are happy to have Jonathan Ericsson – coming off a hip flexor injury – back on the blue line. He echoed his fellow defenseman’s thoughts on a team he is becoming quite familiar with.
“We played them twice in the exhibition games, and also played them in the playoffs; they haven’t changed much of their team, so we should know what we get from them,” Ericsson said.
Head coach Mike Babcock said he watched the Bruins’ season opener against Philadelphia last night and was nothing but complimentary toward the perennial Eastern Conference powerhouse.
“I think the Bruins play right. When I watch them play, I like how they play; they’re organized, they’ve got good players, they play hard. What’s interesting is Philly is probably playing last night what they think is a pretty good game. Good teams always find a way to win the game. They won it 2-1, and they don’t even think anything about it… That’s what good teams do: they find a way to win games.”
It’s no secret Boston plays with a physical edge in its game, and though the window on the enforcer in hockey is closing, big men who can both play and fight have developed into hot commodities as a result. Boston has one of the best in the league in Milan Lucic.
“As a big man who is a hell of a player, puts up a lot of points, but then yet is one of the toughest guys in the league, as well, he will stand up for his team and that makes his team tougher in that sense,” Smith said of Lucic.
“If you’ve got a big guy that can play and can do that, it’s a power forward kind of thing, so it’s good to have that.”
Feeling-out process
Babcock emphasized that the first set of games will truly dictate the blueprint he and the coaching staff lay out for his team. The preseason allowed him to see players he had heard of, but had never seen play at the NHL level – he cited Nick Jensen as one player that he’s definitely aware of now. But with points on the line from this moment forward, Babcock said this is where he really gets to see just what he has.
“We have to figure out a blueprint so that these guys know exactly how we play to be successful, and our line is going to be a lot finer,” Babcock said. “As much as we have this great plan coming in, when we see them play head-to-head against real teams with real bullets flying, we’re going to find out more about our guys here, and then we’re going to put them in the best situation to be successful.
“Who can be a real player every single day, and what do we have to do to maximize the group, as a coaching staff, to put them in the right situations? That’s the process we’re in now.”
Detroit certainly doesn’t boast the star power it formerly had, but through patient drafting, it became a deeper club. Babcock said he expects the younger players that stepped up last year continue to grow.
“When training camp came to an end, there were too many guys for the number of chairs left, which is great,” Babcock said. “That wasn’t the case as much in the past. We didn’t have as much depth. We have two ‘D’ in the minors that we think are ready to play, we have a goalie there that’s ready to play. We’ve replaced six forwards off our team with kids over time here, so I like that we’re getting to be a deeper team… We have good depth, and we’re hopeful that those kids are going to turn themselves into real players.”
Nestrasil debuts
With Pavel Datsyuk out (shoulder), 23-year-old Andrej Nestrasil confirmed he will make his NHL debut following Thursday’s morning skate. Detroit’s third-round choice in 2009 had 36 points in 70 AHL games last season for Grand Rapids, which doesn’t sound overwhelming, but a slow start can do that to a player. Nestrasil went on a Gustav Nyquist-like tear down the stretch, recording 22 points in his last 22 games of the season.
Most recently, he tallied two goals and two assists for the Red Wings in five preseason appearances; Detroit went 3-1-1 in those tilts.
“When you go to the East Coast (Hockey League) your first year and I’ve been there for two years almost, I really, really appreciate the opportunity I’m getting here,” Nestrasil said. “I feel like sometimes the guys that get to the NHL right away, and they don’t know how it goes in the East Coast and how it goes in the AHL, and they don’t appreciate it as much. I think I’m going to be real happy my first shift and I might be smiling the whole game tonight.”
Nestrasil credits Tomas Jurco – his roommate last season in Grand Rapids – and Tomas Tatar for especially helping him adjust to the North American style, both on and off the ice. He said he met Tatar on draft day in 2009 (60th overall) when they were both chosen by Detroit, and oddly enough, it was his job to translate Tatar’s responses to English since Tatar had not known much English yet.
“These guys have helped me a ton, and I’m really glad they’re here,” Nestrasil said.
Nestrasil said his phone battery died within two hours of turning it on the other day due to all the congratulatory text messages from friends and family. He added that his family will be watching via NHL GameCenter back home in the Czech Republic.
“Today, I’m turning off my phone, and I just want to get a rest and focus on the game,” Nestrasil said with a laugh.
Babcock said he’s excited for ‘Nesty’ to make his NHL debut, and that he has fully earned this opportunity.
“It’s pretty exciting for him. You want to share that with the people you love and the people that helped you along the way. I thought Nesty played well. We’re in a situation without Pavel, that we need another body. He played well, and he earned the right to start here today.”