Notes: Blashill pleased with Red Wings' response

DETROIT --It has been three days since Tuesday's 8-1 debacle the Red Wings suffered at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens at Little Caesars Arena.
And in that time, the Wings had a day off Wednesday to clear their minds of their worst home performance of the season, and two high-energy and spirited practices to regain their confidence as they head onto the road for most of the month of March.

After calling Tuesday's game a "joke," Wings coach Jeff Blashill had turned the page on Friday when he addressed the media after practice at the BELFOR Training Center.
"For the most part, our guys work extremely, extremely hard in practice. Yesterday they worked and they answered the bell and they didn't complain. They knew why and what was coming," Blashill said. "Today I thought the energy level was real good given how hard yesterday's practice was. Now we got to go execute. I think one of the biggest things that you have to do when you're in a spot we've been where you haven't won enough and you kind of go through the trade deadline and you move a couple guys is you got to keep the puck out of your net. It's such a momentum killer.
"I can't emphasize that enough. So, you can't give away easy goals, you got to make the other team earn it and you gotta do a real good job keeping the puck out of your net so you're in the game and the longer you're in the game, the longer you believe you're going to win the hockey game.
"A night like the other night, I don't think we came out and had no effort off the bat. But when the puck goes in the net, puck goes in the net, puck goes in the net, your shoulders slump a little bit. I don't care who you are. We certainly want to be as resilient as we can be in those situations but we got to make sure we keep the puck out of our net."
When he was asked about the Wings' lack of a pushback, especially in the third period when the Canadiens extended their lead from 6-1 to the final score of 8-1, Blashill was a little more empathetic towards his team than he was on Tuesday.
"We scored and then they scored and then they scored again, right? Is that how it happened? It was 4-0, 4-1, 5-1, 6-1. So that's like you got punched in the gut eight times and you get punched twice in the chin right after you get back up," Blashill said. "At some point, it takes its toll. That's why you have to keep the puck out of your net. Honestly, I'd compare it to a fighter. You get back up but when you keep getting punched, it's harder to get back up. So, let's keep the puck out of our net, keep those punches away."

While Blashill has moved on by focusing his attention on the Wings' two-game road trip Saturday at Arizona and next Tuesday in Colorado, Dylan Larkin has not completely shaken off the lingering effects of the Montreal massacre.
"We got to figure it out," Larkin said. "We got to play hard and we're just excited to get back into game action after a couple hard practices. After a game like that it's a time where you want to get back on the ice as soon as you can and prove yourself. We're excited to get out against a good Arizona team."
Larkin missed Thursday's practice but was back on the ice on Friday and proclaimed he's ready to go on Saturday.
"I just needed a day to recover and get ready for the upcoming games on this road trip," he said.
But you could see the anguish on his face and hear the disappointment in his voice as he again addressed letting his hometown down on Tuesday.
"Every guy in here recognizes it, we're all a part of the community and we've all spent time with not only just the hockey fans but the people in the city. We want to win for them," Larkin said. "Everyone loves the Red Wings here and everyone loves hockey in Detroit and the state of Michigan. We all know we need to be better. The city and the state, we deserve a pro sports team that gives them a sense of pride and what we had against Montreal wasn't nearly enough.
"It's an 82-game season, you're not going to have it every night. Unfortunately, it happened at home, it happened against a divisional rival, but it's a long season, a lot of games, a lot of skating, you can't make excuses but you're not going to have your 'A' game every night. You just have to find a way to find some energy, make it a hard game for the other team, especially at home with matching up. We just got to find ways to consistently make it harder for the other team."
Many have speculated Larkin will be Detroit's next captain when the organization decides to award the 'C,' whether it's next season or a few years from now. The 22-year-old made it clear on Friday if something needs to said, he won't hesitate to speak up in the room.
"There's a time and a place for everything. The kind of person I am, I want to play hockey, I want to play well, I want to win," Larkin said. "Everyone in here wants to win. Everyone is competitive and everyone wants to play well. If there's a time and place to say something, I got no problem saying it. I just want to play well and win for the guys in this room."
After he received his roughing minor and 10-minute misconduct at the 14:59 mark of the third period, an extremely agitated Larkin slammed his helmet down once he reached the Red Wings bench.
Some have read into Larkin's outburst as a lashing out at the Wings coaching staff or his teammates as it appeared he was directing his screaming towards his bench.
"It was just frustration. I was looking at the bench, but I wasn't staring anyone down in particular," he said. "It was just in the moment and (I) was frustrated with how it was going. I just overreacted. So, there was no staring down or staring down anyone in particular."

HOWARD ON TRADE DEADLINE AND RECENT WOES: At this stage in his career, veteran goalie Jimmy Howard has pretty much witnessed it all.
So he wasn't sweating it out on trade deadline day and though he was disappointed with being pulled in three consecutive starts, he has studied the video and has made a slight correction to his positioning on the ice.
When asked if he ever felt at any point he was going to be moved, Howard was nonchalant.
"I really didn't get the feeling because there was really nothing set in stone," Howard said. "There was nothing really that I knew about that had any truth to it, I guess you could say."
You weren't nervous at all?
"No. Not at all."
Howard was then asked about his recent troubles in net and he indicated he saw a slight error in his positioning.
"To be honest, going through the video, it (his position) was just being off by a fraction, not having the correct angle and when you don't have that in this league as a goalie, guys can put the puck in a pretty tight areas. That's what's happened," Howard said. "You can tell. You can tell when it's going on. You think you're in the right position but then when you look up the screen you can see just by looking at it. For me, it was just being a fraction off on the blocker side."
He and his fellow netminder, Jonathan Bernier, are both eager to get back in the net and Howard hopes the road will be an elixir for the sliding Wings.
"Obviously, you want to go out there and play well for your fans. It hasn't happened for us really all that much the last several years," Howard said. "It'll be nice to go out to Arizona and Colorado and be with the guys and focus on hockey.
"I think at the end of the day, it comes (down) to consistency, it's just about going out there and doing it the right way every single time. It's one thing for the coaches to set up the X's and O's, it's another for us to go out there and execute it."

INJURY UPDATE: Blashill confirmed Larkin just needed a maintenance day on Thursday and is fine and will play at Arizona on Saturday.
Mike Green, who missed Thursday's practice, should also be ready for Saturday.
"I think Greener's going to be ready to play. I think Dales (Trevor Daley) will be out, I would suspect (Thomas) Vanek's out. (Anthony) Mantha's got the flu today so I don't know what his readiness is yet," Blashill said.
Daley told reporters he's shooting for Tuesday's game against Colorado for his return to the lineup.
"I think there's a potential for it," Blashill said. "I just don't know for sure, we'll see how he reacts today, I'll have a better feel on that Monday."
If Mantha is unable to play, the Wings would call up a forward from the Grand Rapids Griffins.
"I got to go sit down with Ken (Holland) here quick," Blashill said. "If we did something, it would probably be on an emergency recall based on Mantha and if Mantha was fine, we would send that player back. Like to stay in that emergency recall if we can."