Notes: Wings have veterans & rookies of outdoor games

TORONTO- The Red Wings have complete opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to outdoor hockey games.
For Luke Glendening, these things are old hat, a dime a dozen.

When Glendening skates in the Centennial Classic Sunday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, it will be his seventh outdoor hockey game.
"I never thought I'd play in one, so to have the chance to play in seven is pretty special," Glendening said after the team practiced at Ricoh Coliseum Saturday afternoon.
For those who are keeping score at home, here is a list of all the outdoor hockey games Glendening has played in to date:
With the Michigan Wolverines:
Feb. 6, 2010 at Camp Randall Stadium vs. Wisconsin (lost 3-2)
Dec. 11, 2010 at Michigan Stadium vs. Michigan State (won 5-0)
Jan. 15, 2012 at Progressive Field vs. Ohio State (won 4-1)
With the Grand Rapids Griffins:
Dec. 30, 2013 at Comerica Park vs. Toronto Marlies (lost 4-3 in shootout)
With the Red Wings:
Jan. 1, 2014 at Michigan Stadium vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (lost 3-2 in shootout)
Feb. 27, 2016 at Coors Field vs. Colorado Avalanche (won 5-3)
"I think every single one is different and I remember each and every one for something different," Glendening said. "Playing at the Big House was pretty special."
On the other end of the spectrum is Steve Ott, who can't wait to play in his first outdoor game.
"To say the least I'm pretty excited about it," Ott said. "Playing in Dallas for 10 years or so we didn't really have an opportunity to play in an outdoor game and then when I was moved around the other teams didn't as well. Being my first, I'm really excited about it. I grew up in the Winnipeg area until I was about 10 years old and for those first 10 years when I learned to play hockey it was all outdoor ice. Those memories are kind of going through my mind right now when I learned to play this game outside and now to have this opportunity to play a game in the NHL, it's going to be a blast.''
Although he hasn't been in the league as long as Ott, it will also be Anthony Mantha's first outdoor contest.
"It's going to be fun, for sure," Mantha said. "It's special. All the family and friends are coming down. It's just something I've been looking forward to since the start of the month."
When it takes you to age 34 to play in your first outdoor game, naturally your teammates are going to have some fun at your expense.
"We were messing with him that he should be out there for the Alumni skate," Glendening said. "He's excited and we're excited for him. For a lot of guys, this is their first game and they'll remember this forever."
VETERAN ADVANTAGE: It's not only Glendening who has played in more than one outdoor game, several of his teammates have.
That experience could help the Wings to enjoy the moment while still keeping in mind that they are there to play a game.
"I think that's the biggest thing, blocking out all the noise around and staying focused on the game," Niklas Kronwall said. "A lot of guys have people in town, tickets to deal with and things like that. The more you block those things out the more you can focus on the game and the better off you are."

Brendan Smith said they just need to keep everything in balance.
"It's always fun to have that experience and see what's going on and take it all in," Smith said. "But at the same time it's a big two points so you gotta know that you're coming to play and you're going to have to put the family and friends behind you because you're going out there to win the game and these two points are crucial for us."
Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill is counting on the experienced players to keep everything in perspective.
"I think it helps that we've got a number of guys that have been through a number of these," Blashill said. "There's a great part to enjoy. Lots of us have our families here, I have my family here, so you have to enjoy it. We just got to make sure when it's time to go to work that we're focused. We can enjoy everything about it and when the puck drops let's be real focused on getting two big points."
ANOTHER LOCAL KID: Smith is another Wing who is from the Toronto area, which makes this outdoor game more meaningful.
"Anytime you get to play at home, even just when we get to play at the ACC, it's fun," Smith said. "It's added because it's an outdoor game, the hype and everything, having a lot of friends come, that will be exciting. But yeah, sure, it's only 10 minutes away from home so it's nice to have family and friends there."
Smith said he bought tickets for his family but also expects around 12-15 friends to be there as well.
Since BMO Field is a smaller venue, it'll be a different experience for everyone.
"It's really cool, actually," Smith said. "They are really close. I like how the feel is. It's going to be exciting for the fans. The Big House, some of those fans were so far away, but it's an experience. But these guys might be more on top of us. The fans are going to enjoy that. It's going to be a cool experience in Toronto, an outdoor game, the weather is pretty nice. It's going to be fun."
IMPROVED LEAFS: The Maple Leafs (16-12-7) are currently 10th in the Eastern Conference with 39 points in 35 games.
The Wings (16-16-4) are 13th with 36 points in 36 games.
The Leafs are also plus-4 in goal differential, due in part to the infusion of talented youth they have this season.
Among those are Auston Matthews, the No. 1 overall pick in this past summer's NHL Entry Draft; Mitch Marner, the No. 4 pick in the 2015 draft; and William Nylander, the No. 8 pick in the 2014 draft.
Matthews leads the team in points with 18 goals and 12 assists; Marner is second with eight goals and 18 assists; and Nylander is fourth with eight goals and 16 assists.
"When you add Matthews obviously as a full-time player, Nylander is a full-time player, Marner is a full-time player, (Connor) Brown is a full-time player," Blashill said. "Brown was on the Marlies when I was in Grand Rapids, he was one of the best players in the American League, one of the best players in the OHL. He's a heck of a player too. He'll get missed in those names but he's a heck of a player. It's a significantly different team. You add (Nikita) Zaitsev, he's a real defenseman so they've got a really good team. Their record shows it. It's a hard league to win in, they've won more games than they've lost. We've got a good challenge on our hands tomorrow."
SPECIAL TEAMS: The Wings spent a good portion of Saturday's practice on special teams.
The Leafs are 13th on the power play at 20 percent.
The Wings are 14th on the penalty kill at 82 percent.
Although the Wings' penalty kill has had a couple of ups and downs, it's been fairly consistent this season.
"I think we have moved forward a little bit," Glendening said. "It started off pretty poorly and then we had a good streak there but we hadn't been great lately. We've got to try to keep the puck out of our net."
The Wings were able to kill off 1:16 of a two-man advantage for the Ottawa Senators Thursday night.
"I thought the last game in Ottawa was really good," Blashill said. "You certainly can't afford both your specialty teams not to do well and if you're going to choose one or the other, you would choose the PK to be great. That doesn't mean we're letting the PP off the hook. We need our PP to improve, we've talked about that. But I think our PK has done a real good job all season, has definitely provided momentum at different points of the year."
The Wings remain 30th on the power play at 12 percent while the Leafs have the sixth-best penalty kill at 84.9 percent.
LINEUPS FOR CENTENNIAL CLASSIC: Petr Mrazek was in the starter's net during Saturday's practice while Jared Coreau was in the starter's net Friday for the outdoor practice.
Riley Sheahan, who missed Thursday's game with an upper-body injury, practiced both days.
"Likely to be available but I won't know for sure until tomorrow," Blashill said. "All our lineup decisions will be made tomorrow."
During Saturday's practice, Sheahan rotated with Tomas Jurco on a line with Dylan Larkin and Glendening.
While Mike Green (upper body), Justin Abdelkader (knee) and Alexey Marchenko (shoulder) also practiced both days, they won't play.
"Good to see Abby and Greener out here for the full practice," Blashill said. "Those guys seem to be taking steps. Marchy seems like he's real close, probably just needs more practice time. From a health standpoint he's probably right there. Nobody is going to be ready for tomorrow that wasn't ready with the exception of maybe Sheahan."