Notes: Power play has improved but needs more results

VANCOUVER -- The Detroit Red Wings' success or lack thereof on the power play is indicative of how the team has done in general.
After going 0-for-3 in Sunday's 3-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks, the Wings currently sit 25th in the NHL at 16.5 percent.

Although the results have mostly been the same, Wings coach Jeff Blashill sees a difference.
"I think one of the biggest things in coaching is that you fight through frustration," Blashill said. "You see things as they are. And the same can be said when you have success and sometimes it's fool's gold. You have to see things as realistic as possible and right now it's frustrating where the power play's at. I think the power play spent time where it wasn't dangerous at all, where we weren't doing a good job with our entries, where the process wasn't very good. Just like our team game, I guess.
"But lately I've felt the power play has felt way more dangerous. We've had opportunities to score. I think our entries have been good. The last power play last night wasn't good enough for sure, so we gotta make sure we get rid of any of those stinker power plays. We've gotta consistently go out there and have good power plays, and if you do that, you're gonna score. We got also understand that the best power plays in the world at best score once every four times. You're not gonna score every time. You just gotta keep the process great, and I think it has been much better. If it stays like that, we'll get results. I would say the same thing with our team. The challenge is to make sure it stays like that."
Thomas Vanek also compared the power play to the overall team play.
"Power play has kind of been like our resolve at the end of games. It's been good for the most part, but good doesn't get you wins, so we just got to stick with it, shoot pucks and get a couple dirty ones, hopefully," Vanek said.
Center Dylan Larkin agreed with Vanek's assessment.
"We have been close but we need to score dirty goals, ugly goals," Larkin said. "We need to get it around the net more. We had a couple last night where we just didn't shoot it. We were going for the pretty, back-door play. We have great shooters on both units, so we just have to be ready to shoot it."

VANEK HEATING UP: It took a while but Vanek is starting to heat up, contributing three goals and three assists in his last four games.
"I'm starting to feel better," Vanek said. "Again, I mentioned it before, this game is all about confidence and once you play better as a line, I think with Fransy (Frans Nielsen) and Mo (Anthony Mantha), we're really starting to develop something, holding onto pucks, getting chances, puck's starting to go in, so that's nice."
At the end of October, Vanek suffered a knee injury that forced him to miss eight games.
"I thought he was playing good hockey and then he got hurt," Blashill said. "And then it's taken him a while to get back going. I think with Thomas, he's not getting any younger. He was never a swift skater, so he's got to have his legs underneath him in order to have the time and space that he needs, which isn't lots, but have enough time and space to be able to make the plays he makes. I thought he spent lots of the season where I think he's felt rushed and making what I would call hope plays at times. Him and I have talked about it lots. He knows that. He understands that.
"He's competed extremely hard the last number of games and as a result, he's had the puck on his stick and I think they've gone in. He's had lots of chances where they just haven't gone in or lots of chances he's set up that they haven't gone in. But certainly production leads to confidence and I think it's a huge thing for him."
Vanek and Nielsen have played together before, dating back to their days with the New York Islanders, but now Mantha appears to be meshing well with the veteran duo.
"There's no one like him … there's plenty of guys with the size like him, but not the skating ability," Vanek said. "He's one of our best skaters. To skate like him at his size is pretty impressive. So when he plays big and strong like he has been, gets a lot of room for Fransy and I out there."
Mantha had been playing with Larkin until he hurt his hand in a fight Dec. 2 against the Colorado Avalanche.
Once Mantha returned after missing 15 games, he was put with Nielsen and Vanek.
"It gives us another dangerous line," Blashill said. "When that line goes on the ice, it feels dangerous. I talked about this after the game last night. Now you have what I would say are three lines that could be dangerous at any point. Double-A just in himself can be real dangerous and then you add (Darren) Helm's speed and Luke's (Glendening) defensive ability, it allows those guys to not spend a lot of time in their end.
"And then with Vanek and Mantha and Nielsen, when they're playing at a high level, they're super talented. I think coming out of the Mantha return from injury, the Nashville game, he was excellent. I think he's really skated well the last couple of games. When him and Thomas are skating well, there's lot of positive things that are gonna happen."
In addition to Vanek's impact on the ice, he also has an effect on his younger teammates.
"I have a lot of respect for him," Larkin said. "I think any player that's played a lot of games and is such a nice guy in the locker room, and easy-going guy really. Everyone in here gets along with him. From Day 1, I noticed that. It's easy to get along with him and easy to hang out with him. He relates to the young guys pretty well and then on the ice, I think he works hard, he's accountable. He's been through a lot, so he knows to not panic, that it's a long season. There's a lot that I respect of him but the kind of guy he is to his teammates is what I respect most about him."
GLENDENING WILL PLAY: At 5:10 of the third period Sunday during a penalty kill, Glendening blocked a shot and managed to clear the puck before limping off to the bench.
Glendening retreated to the dressing room but did return to the game.
On Monday, the Wings held Glendening out of practice for his own good.
"He should be available tomorrow but, yes, the after-effects of that (blocked shot), we just wanted to keep him off," Blashill said. "He goes so hard when he practices, too, that we didn't think we needed to have any more wear and tear there."
DE LA ROSE PRACTICES: Center Jacob de la Rose has gone through a stretch where he has not practiced but has played in all the games.
That changed Monday when de la Rose joined the team at Rogers Arena and practiced fully with the team.
"First off, Jacob wanted to practice," Blashill said. "He hasn't liked missing practice. We were trying to get him into the break where he could get some time off and be fully healthy when the break is over. So we were trying to hold him out of practice and play him in games. The problem with that is there's a cumulative effect where it's hard to not practice and play in this league. We just felt it was important for him to skate today to be as ready for tomorrow as possible."
The Wings have not disclosed the injury that de la Rose is managing.

NO RASMUSSEN: Rookie forward Michael Rasmussen has been medically cleared to play and he has practiced with the team the last few days after sitting out several days with a hamstring issue, but Blashill doesn't expect the rookie to be in the lineup against the Oilers.
"I don't foresee him playing tomorrow," Blashill said. "I think we'd wait until after the break."