Notes: Wings gain confidence during winning streak

DETROIT -- Life is definitely sweeter when you're winning.
The Red Wings have won four in a row and seven of their last eight, which helps everything.

"Certainly I think around the team it's more fun to come to the rink when you've won," Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. "There's no doubt about it. I think the biggest thing that you have to do is understand that our focus is the same focus it was when we weren't winning and that's getting better here today and focusing on tomorrow. Whatever's happened, winning or losing, it's over and let's keep moving forward here. It's a relentless league and if you take your foot off the gas for a second, the second period last night can happen.
"I don't know that my mood's adjusted a whole bunch, I've always been a process-oriented person, but when you go home, you feel a little bit better about yourself and certainly when these guys come to the rink, they feel better about themselves. Confidence is a great thing, I think it's the No. 1 factor in success and failure in this league right now more than ever before because of how close everybody is, that if one group gets confident, they can get rolling. If one group isn't confident, it can go the wrong way in a hurry. So I think it's a positive thing that we've won because of the confidence."
One thing that helps confidence both as a team and as individuals is scoring.
Anthony Mantha scored on his first shot of the game Tuesday night, giving his team a 1-0 lead and giving him three goals in two periods of play.

"Obviously it's again and again, confidence level," Mantha said after Wednesday's practice at the BELFOR Training Center. "As soon as you get one, maybe the touch is a little bit easier around the net and then you got a two-goal game. Obviously that helps a lot and then first shot yesterday went in. I just need to keep shooting and hoping for the best."
In each of the three games since returning from a lower-body injury, Andreas Athanasiou has a goal and an assist.
"I think just some good bounces going our way," Athanasiou said. "The rest of the team is playing really good hockey, so I think when everyone around you is playing good hockey, it's a lot easier to bring yourself up. It was pretty nice to come back when the boys are playing good hockey. That's definitely a good feeling to get those helpers."

Athanasiou now has seven goals, tied with Dylan Larkin for the team lead.
"It's a big thing for scorers when they score," Blashill said. "Just watching Mantha cut across the middle and shoot that puck, that's a confident player as opposed to maybe not cutting to the middle or maybe cutting and trying to pass to a guy that's not open. That's a guy who believes he's going score when he shoots the puck so that's great. Double-A has certainly felt it here the last little bit. We need guys with that ability to keep scoring.
"Scoring makes life easier. I talked to a friend of mine in coaching and his team's struggling to score and you can do tons of great stuff, if you don't score, it's hard to win. It's good to have those guys playing well because we need them to score."
Mantha has often said that he aims to take at least five shots in every game. His teammates and coaches would like nothing better.
"He's got such a great shot, it's a matter of just getting in the right spot to shoot," Mike Green said. "I think that's the key now is he's getting in those areas where he can get quality shots and because he does have such a lethal shot, it's tough for the goalie to see it."
It's not lost on the veteran Wings that the young players are the ones leading the charge.
In addition to Mantha and Athanasiou, rookies Dennis Cholowski and Michael Rasmussen both scored against the Coyotes.
"It's been good to see," Frans Nielsen said. "They've been stepping up here and finding ways for us to score some big goals. It's been fun to see and you can see they've been getting some confidence and hopefully we can keep riding that."
When individual players gain confidence, they play better and the team benefits.
"Confidence comes from not only winning but guys playing well individually, and when guys play well individually, their confidence grows," Niklas Kronwall said. "They score some goals and for whatever reason, the game gets a lot easier. The confidence is good in the room right now, no doubt about it. Life in general is a lot easier when you win."
MAKING IT TOUGH ON GOALIES: When Cholowski fired the puck toward the Arizona net Tuesday night, Justin Abdelkader was parked right in front of goaltender Darcy Kuemper.
Kuemper couldn't see the puck and it found the back of the net.

Although the Coyotes challenged that Abdelkader interfered with Kuemper, the goal stood.
It also stood as an example for the Red Wings of the importance of net presence.
"I think the best one so far was Abby last night," Mantha said. "It was a close call, it went our way but the goalie didn't even have a chance on Cholowski's goal."
The emphasis on getting to the net and staying there is nothing new.
"I think it's something that in camp was focused on and implemented right away," Green said. "I think guys have really bought into it. Ras (Rasmussen) has done a good job as a young guy getting his big body in front. Mo (Mantha) and Abby (Abdelkader) and a whole bunch of guys are standing in front now. I think causes a lot of confusion for not only the goalie but defensemen and forwards coming back to get pucks. We're getting a lot of chances."
Rasmussen was net-front when he scored his power-play goal from his knees after getting knocked down by Coyotes defenseman Jason Demers.

"I think we've done a way better job and I don't know that that's necessarily resulted in tons more goals but certainly the second one last night, we've had a number of those opportunities where I think our net presence has gotten way better," Blashill said. "I think we're finding ways to get in front of the goalies' eyes, I think we're staying in front of the goalies' eyes, Larkin's bought into it, Double-A's bought into it. Sometimes young, skilled players don't understand that and it's something we want to keep pushing within our organization that everybody should take their turn standing in front of the net. I think that's one area that we've gotten better at."
INJURY UPDATES: After taking part in the team's optional morning skate Tuesday, defenseman Jonathan Ericsson (lower body) and forwards Thomas Vanek (lower body) and Jacob de la Rose (upper body) did not practice with the team Wednesday.

"Vanek and Ericsson are still out, I would put it day to day, but they're out tomorrow and I would rule them out Saturday and we'll move on from there," Blashill said.
Blashill has said that de la Rose is the closest of the three to returning.
"de la Rose will not play tomorrow," Blashill said. "Questionable for Saturday, hoping to get him into a practice Friday."