Filip Zadina credited his puppy; his coach credited Zadina’s hard work during a long layoff.
Call it a split, and call it reinforcement for the Detroit Red Wings as they cling to the hope of rising far enough in the standings to reach the playoffs. They take on the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday on a winning note, using an performance that lived up to their stated identity to topple the Calgary Flames, 2-1. Zadina delivered the winning goal in what was his first game in three months.
“It felt pretty good, and I feel even better than I could help the team to win,” Zadina said. “So yeah. It felt amazing.”
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Zadina’s goal came one game after Tyler Bertuzzi, whose season likewise has been derailed by injuries, scored his second goal of the season, indicating he is regaining his form. If Bertuzzi and Zadina get scoring, maybe the Wings (22-20-8) can rise from sixth in their division. They don’t score easily, but Thursday was a good performance all the way around, from going 1-for-4 on power plays to killing three penalties to getting 35 saves from Ville Husso.
“This was just a great team win,” coach Derek Lalonde said. “It’s been frustrating. We’ve strung together some pretty good hockey and the other night was one of those frustrating ones where it didn’t go our way. For the most part, it was a pretty complete game. That’s how it has to look for us to win.”
It had been a long time since Zadina contributed to a win: He was a healthy scratch the first two games of the season, and had no points and a minus-3 rating in nine games before he suffered a lower-body injury in early November that ended up requiring surgery. Coincidentally, he and his girlfriend adopted a 10-week old Staffordshire Terrier around the same time, which has brought Zadina endless joy. He also changed the curve in his stick, but asked which contributed to his goal, Zadina didn’t hesitate.
“It was puppy, for sure,” he said, smiling.
Teammates were delighted when Zadina took a pass and scored into an open net early in the third period.
“You see him gone for a long time,” Husso said. “You see how hard he works. He went to AHL and played a couple games and was ready to play. It’s so nice for him.” (Zadina, seated next to Husso, replied, “Thank you, Ville.”)
Zadina has struggled to live up to the expectations befitting the No. 6 overall pick in 2018. He was nervous going out for warmups Thursday, but intent on grabbing a chance to show he belongs.
“It felt like the first game of the season for me,” Zadina said. “I want to help the team push for the playoff spot. It’s been a long time and I’ve been waiting for this chance to be on the ice with them. I was just thinking about enjoying the game, playing the right way, and trying to do something on the ice. We had a pretty good chance, two-on-one, as a line we played pretty good, created chances and we didn’t give up much.
“It was a great team win.”
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Lalonde spoke to Zadina’s doggedness in getting back as soon as he did.
“I’m really happy for him,” Lalonde said. “Guys are pros, they work to get back. This one was different for Z. He worked extremely, extremely hard. He kept having little setbacks, and he got what he deserved tonight. He didn’t get a ton of minutes, in that eight-to-nine minute range, but he played well, he managed his game.
“Sometimes his stick is jittery, he turns pucks over. He creates some chaos for himself and his linemates at times. I didn’t see any of that. I can’t think of one turnover he had, and made a play when he had the opportunity, which you want out of a skilled guy. That was lifting for our group.”
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.
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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.