Notes: Lindstrom, parents excited for his NHL debut

BUFFALO -- As Red Wings rookie defenseman Gustav Lindstrom went through the optional morning skate, there were two very interested observers in the stands.
Lindstrom's parents, Johanna and Anders, who arrived Wednesday evening in Buffalo after a long trip from Sweden, were able to have dinner with their son on the eve of his NHL debut.

"We wouldn't have missed it for the world," Anders Lindstrom said.
For Lindstrom, having his parents in town with him has been an extra benefit.
"It means a lot," he said. "They have supported me my whole life. And now we're here. Fun to have them here. We're really excited for this game. It's gonna be fun."
Now that the day has arrived, Lindstrom said it is starting to set in that he will be playing in his first NHL game tonight.

"I think it was good that they called me up like two days before the game," Lindstrom said. "I think it helped me to calm down a little bit. Of course, I'm gonna be really excited and nervous, too. But I'm really looking forward to the game. It's gonna be fun."
Wings coach Jeff Blashill had a simple message for Lindstrom.
"Just play, play your game," Blashill said. "I talked to Lindstrom on the ice a little bit. Playing his game is what got him the opportunity to get called up, so come in and play your game. He seems to be a fairly unflappable young guy, pretty easygoing and doesn't seem like much affects him, doesn't seem to get too nervous. He's not nervous around coaches, he's pretty relaxed. Those are the types of people who are generally able to come in and get right away to their game and I hope he can."

Probably the best thing for Lindstrom is not to have too many thoughts going through his head when he plays.
"Just try to be calm," Lindstrom said. "Don't overthink too much. It's just a hockey game but it's gonna be tough to not be nervous, I think. But at the same time I'm really excited. This is what I've dreamed of all my life. It's pretty cool to have the chance to make the NHL debut."

Veteran defenseman Trevor Daley will be there with Lindstrom to help ease the transition.
"You try to approach it like any other game but obviously we've all been there before, our first game, and you're pretty excited for it, so just try to keep it simple and have as much fun out there as possible," Daley said.
Since the two have not played together before, Daley said he will make sure to talk to Lindstrom on the ice and on the bench.
"A lot of talk within the game but with the young guys you try not to talk to them too much," Daley said. "You don't want to give them too much information, there's enough going through their mind as it is. Just try to keep it as simple to start and get a few shifts and then go have fun."
Across the ice, Lindstrom will see Buffalo Sabres goaltender Jonas Johansson, his former Almtuna teammate back in Sweden. Johansson is making his first NHL start.
"That's cool. I'm really happy for him, too," Lindstrom said. "He played good the last month I heard. He played in the All-Star game in the American League. Really happy for him. It's going to be really fun to play against him."
HIROSE BACK TO WINGS: Not to be overlooked in Lindstrom's debut is the return of forward Taro Hirose.
Hirose, called up from the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins along with Lindstrom on Wednesday, had two goals and five assists in 23 games earlier this season.
"I think you get a chance to prove what you are in this league every day and he had a chance at the end of last year and he did a really good job and then this year it didn't go quite as smooth, not that he didn't play well," Blashill said. "He didn't play poorly, he just wasn't producing. Obviously at his size and his speed he gives up lots of size and he's not super-fast, so it's hard to create separation on his own. He's got to be a real good give-and-go player, which he is. And then it's got to connect with the line.
"I thought last year the line of him, (Andreas) Athanasiou and (Luke) Glendening connected. This year when we did put them together they didn't connect quite as well. I'm hoping they can get that chemistry back right away. That's not just on Taro, that's on all three of them to play at a high level. If all three of them are playing at a high level, I think they have the puck a lot and when Taro has the puck a lot he's really good. The one thing that Taro is is he's smart and good defensively, so he's accountable that way."
Hirose, 23, had four goals and 15 assists in 22 games with the Griffins.
"I think just confidence was a huge thing for me," Hirose said. "I think early in the season I wasn't really playing good hockey and playing how I wanted to be playing. So just to be able to go down there and get some confidence, play a little more, I think that was big for me. I'm hoping I can help the team win up here."

When Hirose joined the Wings from Michigan State last spring, he impressed immediately, recording one goal and seven assists in just 10 games.
That quick success added pressure coming into this season.
"I think you always want to do well, and having that success in the back of my mind, you want to try and match that," Hirose said. "When things weren't really going well for me at the start of the season, you start doubting yourself. So just to go down and get some confidence was big."
At 5-foot-10, 162 pounds, Hirose is generally much smaller than a lot of NHL players and is not as fleet of foot as Athanasiou.
"First off, he's fighting an uphill battle in terms of just pure athleticism from a size and skating and strength standpoint, so it has to be the right situation for him to have success and there's some guys like a Nathan MacKinnon that can go out there and self-create because of how powerful they are in their skill set, and he's not going to be one of those guys, so the chemistry has to work and you just never know," Blashill said. "He's a point a game in the American League right now. He had points and we were a better team ultimately when he was in the lineup. I'm not saying it was because of him but we were playing better hockey at that time, so we'll see."
Hirose is looking forward to reuniting with Athanasiou.
"I think a strength of mine is just getting other players the puck and obviously if you can get him the puck with some speed and some ice, he's really dangerous," Hirose said. "So I think we can work on that aspect, and hopefully we can just find the ice and find each other out there."

NO DAHLIN FOR SABRES: While the Sabres are starting a young netminder in Johansson, they'll be without defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, who missed Tuesday's game against Colorado with an upper-body injury.
Dahlin, 19, is fourth on the Sabres in scoring with 30 points (3-27-30). Only captain Jack Eichel has more assists with 35.
Eichel is having a career year, leading Buffalo with 66 points (31-35-66). Sam Reinhart is second with 44 points (19-25-44).
Eichel's 31 goals are already a career best and he is only 16 points shy of the career best 82 he had in 77 games last season.
Eichel is going to get his chances but how do you limit them?
"If he has the flu," Blashill joked. "Eich is a really good player, he's a super-dynamic player. I've had a chance to coach Jack a couple times and really like him. He's really competitive and really talented, really elite talented. You talk about powerful, he doesn't always look like he's skating fast but he's skating fast. He's super-powerful. Like anybody, the best players, if they don't have the puck and they're defending, they can't be the best players, they can't be as dynamic offensively. So we got to make him defend as much as we can.
"Obviously, you want to take away his time and space. That's always easier said than done. But make them defend as much as possible. Make him defend as much as we can. I think his defensive game has really grown, so it has nothing to do with that, it just means he doesn't have the puck and he's not attacking. If he's attacking all night, he's going to break you down at some point 100 percent. So if he has the puck all night it becomes a hard night for us."