How being fully healthy affects Detroit Red Wings on the power play
Daniel Sprong kneeled as he watched one half of the ice Friday during Detroit Red Wings practice, then turned his head and watched the other.
It's a sign of the Wings' good health that a player with Sprong's offensive skills has been rotating in on the second power-play unit as an extra. The Wings (26-18-6) will have all 13 forwards and seven defensemen available Saturday when they emerge from an extended break to host the Vancouver Canucks (1 p.m., Bally Sports Detroit Extra).
"We've worked in 11 guys for 10 power play spots the last two days," coach Derek Lalonde said after Friday's practice. "Those aren't easy decisions, but we welcome those decisions.
"In my two years here, I've been trying to find five guys for a power play at times last year. The added depth having 11 guys, that's a good problem to have."
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Sprong, fourth on the team in scoring with 32 points, and seventh with eight power-play points, was the 11th man in practice. The first unit featured Dylan Larkin. J.T. Compher, Robby Fabbri, David Perron and Shayne Gostisbehere; they went through repetitions at one end of the ice while Patrick Kane, Alex DeBrincat, Lucas Raymond, Joe Veleno and Moritz Seider were at the other end. Sprong rotated in a couple times in place of Raymond.
Veleno (20 points in 48 games) doesn't have the offensive pizzazz the others have, but he makes the cut because he plays the net-front role, and can take draws.
"You're trying to get some hands to match up on the power play there, with him being a lefty and his ability to take a faceoff," Lalonde said. "He's made some plays on the power play. And it's spreading out some minutes. We ask a lot of some other guys in penalty killing minutes and it just gets Joe's minutes a little more with power-play time."
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Sprong plays on the fourth line, so he's in the same boat as Veleno: The power play is a way to boost minutes.
"He can play probably every spot on the power play, so that's a huge positive," Lalonde said of Sprong.
The Wings are trying to shore up a playoff position, having gained a foothold on an Eastern Conference wild-card spot on the strength of going 9-2-2 in January. Now they gain Kane (and, on the back end, Ben Chiarot) just in time to strengthen the team for the stretch run.
"It's huge," Larkin said. "Hopefully we can really build chemistry and start to click offensively again. It was good to get a couple days of practice, but it has to translate to games. Whoever is out there, you get power plays at key moments, and you have to do the job."
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her @helenestjames. 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.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: How being fully healthy affects Detroit Red Wings on power plays
