Notes: Jared Coreau could get next start near home

TAYLOR, MICH. - Jared Coreau's next start could be close to home.
Coreau is from Perth, Ontario, which is about 40 minutes from Ottawa, which is where the Red Wings play Thursday night.

"I think it would be pretty cool," Coreau said. "Whether I start or not, I've got family that's going to be there which will be big. My grandmother's going to be there which is big, she's 92, and I've got some buddies coming so either way it's going to be a neat experience. It's the rink I used to go watch NHL games growing up."
Coreau said his grandmother, Patricia, remains very active.
"She's pretty occupied with knitting and going somewhere important on her motorized scooter," Coreau said. "She likes to keep up on things. She's got a lot of grandchildren. I'm hoping I'm one of her favorites."
Coreau has skated at Canadian Tire Centre when he attended goaltending camps there as a kid. But he doesn't consider himself a Senators fan.
"I really didn't have a favorite team, just favorite goalies," Coreau said. "I liked going to Sens games especially when they had those good years, the year they went to the finals, things like that, it was exciting to watch, but just overall favorite goalies."
Coreau got his first NHL victory last Friday night in Florida, making 31 saves in a shootout in just his second career start.
"I guess when you start winning, for me I started winning down in the AHL, and I kept winning, you just go into every game with a confidence to win," Coreau said. "The win in the NHL against Florida was just a step in the right direction towards that confidence to go into each game to be a winner. You watch the best goalies that have winning records over their career, they just play every game, they just come in, they don't look jumpy, they don't look out of sorts so I think it's just a step towards that ultimate goal of just being comfortable every game and playing my best every night."
HITTING THE ROAD: Although they started the season 0-2 on the road, the Wings have actually played better away from home.
They are 8-6-1 on the road and 7-10-3 at home this season.
This could be a pivotal stretch as the next seven games are on the road, starting Thursday in Ottawa.
"Our process hasn't been a ton different," Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. "We've got results on the road. I can't say the process has been way different but sometimes maybe just some minor differences matter. I thought the one stretch at home when we got the LA and Arizona game, I thought that was the one time we were tight. Sometimes that happens at home a little bit. But other than that I thought we played good against Columbus, I thought we played good against Philadelphia, I thought we played good last night. We haven't gotten results at home. We've gotten them on the road."
Captain Henrik Zetterberg said on the road, the team doesn't have the last change so they might be less worried about match-ups.
"We just go out and play," Zetterberg said. "We put out the line we think we should have out there and the other team's got to match up against us. When we do that it's a little easier to get momentum going. You get one, two, three, four lines, everyone is going from the hop. So as I said I don't see it as a bad thing that we go on the road."
POWER PLAY HOPES: When Thomas Vanek scored on the power play at 6:33 of the third period Tuesday night against the Buffalo Sabres, it snapped an 0-for-28 skid with the man advantage.
Although they did not score on the power play Friday in Florida, Blashill said he thought the power play showed positive signs.
"I think part of that is getting one and then getting another one and building momentum off of it," Blashill said. "We went through a stretch on the penalty kill where it had struggled and one kill at a time all of a sudden we put together a really, really good stretch. Now we've kind of gone the other way. Same can work on the power play where if you put a game together where you score and then maybe the next night you score and all of a sudden you get rolling and you create momentum.
"There's no doubt scoring creates confidence but we've just gotta make sure we go out and make sure our process is real good on the PP tomorrow. We gotta try to find a way to draw more penalties so that we can get a little more opportunities on it and then we gotta make sure we go … I thought our process against Florida on the power play was very good and we didn't get rewarded. But that happens on the power play. The best power play in the league I think can't be more than 25 percent. That means you fail three out of four times. We need a real good process but certainly the more we score the more confidence we gain."
Niklas Kronwall said he hopes the power play is about to heat up.
"That's one reason why we're at where we're at," Kronwall said. "I don't know how many games you can say, but if you get a goal or two on the power play the outcome could be a whole lot different. It's got to be a difference maker in a good way and not a negative way."
GREEN UPDATE: Defenseman Mike Green has missed the last three games with an upper-body injury.
A hit by Anaheim's Ryan Kesler late in the third period Dec. 17 aggravated something. Green said it was a clean hit.
"He just got me good," Green said. "It's something that's been lingering for a long time, sort of got exposed and unfortunately I have to take some time off."
Green said he skated before the team practiced at the Taylor Sportsplex Wednesday.
"I'm still able to skate, stay in shape," Green said. "I'm going to continue to do that and do the off-ice stuff as much as I can."
Green has seven goals and 11 assists, tied for third on the team in points with Frans Nielsen and Gustav Nyquist.
Zetterberg leads the team with 24 points and Vanek is second with 19.
"I don't want to be out," Green said. "Obviously wish this wasn't the case, but it is and unfortunately you got to take the right protocol."
BERTUZZI, LASHOFF TO GRIFFINS: Tyler Bertuzzi, who has missed the last 13 games with an ankle injury, is heading back to the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins.
"Basically Bert has to go down and get playing down and hopefully get him to a spot where he's ready to take somebody's job by how good he plays down there," Blashill said. "He's going to have to take a guy's job who's a skilled player. We could use muscle if he can come in and prove that he's good enough. But it doesn't make much sense for a guy who hasn't played much in the NHL to just pop right back in and expect him to do that. Let's give him a chance to get playing and get confident."
Bertuzzi played in seven games before getting hurt Nov. 26 against Montreal.
Brian Lashoff, who played in five games, is also heading back to Grand Rapids.