http://www.detnews.com/article/20091212/SP...0391/1128/rss16
Patrick Eaves earning prominent role with Red Wings
CHRIS MCCOSKY
The Detroit News
Nashville, Tenn. -- Coach Mike Babcock admits he wasn't sure what he had in Patrick Eaves early on this season.
"He was just one of those you kids you sign in the summer that nobody seemed to want," Babcock said Saturday morning. "Jim Nill (assistant general manager) wanted him, had seen something in him. I didn't know what he did. All through training camp, I didn't know what he did. All through exhibition and into the early part of the season, I didn't know. But then he started to find his niche and he's become a real effective player for us."
Eaves' first carved his niche as a grinder on the third line with Darren Helm and Kris Draper. He has been at the center of an improving penalty-kill unit that going into the game here Saturday night had snuffed 25 straight power-play chances.
His plus-6 rating is, with Nick Lidstrom, best on the team.
In the third period Friday he was bumped up to a line with Pavel Datsyuk and Todd Bertuzzi and helped create the game-tying and game-winning goals. He is in the process of expanding his niche into a full-fledged role.
"He started the year out of the lineup, but he came to every pregame warm-up and put his equipment on without being asked," Babcock said. "He comes to every power-play meeting and he's never been asked. He comes to every penalty-kill meeting and he does everything like a pro.
"We are thrilled with him. I haven't ramped him up more because we're thrilled with the job he's doing and we want to let him get as comfortable as he can, then we might play him with different players."
Eaves never got impatient waiting for Babcock to figure out how to use him.
"It's like that for every player who's new to a team; it's a feeling out process," Eaves said. "You can't put a timeline on it. I think he has an idea now of the kind of player I can be and what kind of player he needs me to be. I never got discouraged. I felt I was getting better in practice.
"I didn't look at it as a frustrating situation, it was just a chance to get better and learn the system more. Once I got the opportunity, I was able to step in and know what was going on."
The next step in the progression for Eaves is to unleash his offensive potential. He scored 34 goals for Ottawa in his first two NHL seasons, and he possesses one of the heaviest shots on the team.
"When the shots are there, I'll shoot it," Eaves said. "When I first came into the league I was in a different role. I was playing with Daniel Alfredsson, Brian Smolinski, Jason Spezza, Dany Heatley, and I was on the first power play. That was the role the team needed me to play. I don't care what role I'm in, just whatever the team needs from me."
Killing penalties
Before Saturday, the Wings hadn't given up a power-play goal in eight full games, 25 straight kills going back nine games.
Their PK unit has climbed to 11th in the league.
"Part of it is Eaves and Helm, their willingness to get in shooting lanes and block shots," Babcock said. "Our structure has been real good."
That structure, as Babcock freely admits, was swiped from New Jersey coach Jacques Lemaire.
"We changed the entire structure of our penalty-kill this summer," Babcock said. "We started stealing from Jacques Lemaire last year, and then over the summer when we were together with the (Canadian) Olympic team, we took everything. After we got lit up by Dallas (Nov. 30), I went back and talked to Jacques again and stole some more stuff.
"I tell people all the time, I haven't had an original thought my whole life, so whenever I can steal something, it's a good thing."
According to team statistician Greg Innis, the last time the Wings went more than eight games without allowing a power-play goal was a nine-game streak in 2007-08. They had a 10-game streak in 2003-04.
Tape to tape
Babcock wasn't sure how he was going to arrange his line combinations Saturday night. For sure, though, he was going to split up Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, at least at the start of the game.
"You think you've got a good thing (using Datsyuk and Zetterberg together) and nothing was happening," he said. "Even on the power play nothing was happening. We wound up getting two power-play goals (against Anaheim Friday), but in the first two periods it was sucking the life out of us."
Chris Osgood is making just his third start in 10 games. He hasn't won since Nov. 5.
