Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet with a few Thoughts on the Wings,

- Blashill felt a late-season winning streak last March gave his players some confidence. The Red Wings won eight of nine, including five over playoff-bound clubs: the Islanders, Vegas, San Jose, Boston and Pittsburgh.

“Against real teams, we played really good hockey,” he said. “Confidence matters. The margin of victory in this league is razor thin. You better believe … it matters to an individual and a team.”

Blashill praised the likes of Dennis Cholowski, Filip Hronek and current AHLer Joe Veleno for how they prepared during the summer, but we spent the majority of our conversation on the top line.

“They have learned a shared responsibility. It’s not one of them looking at the other two (to do something). I don’t like the phrase, ‘two-way players.’ I prefer ‘winning players.’”

What does that mean?

“It means they are not cheaters. They have developed into that.”

What percentage would you put on them to indicate how close they are to where they need to be?

“I won’t answer that. It puts a ceiling on them and I won’t do that. This league is relentless and ongoing night after night. They are all better today than they were a year ago, three years ago, five years ago. Credit to them.”

- Blashill on working with Ken Holland and Steve Yzerman: “They are not a whole lot different. Two of the most respected men in the NHL. (Holland) should be a Hall of Famer, his success speaks for itself. Great man. Yzerman is there, extremely respected. Both men believe in reality. No short-cuts. Build through the draft. And they both believe young players have to go through a process. Steve could have forced young players on our team, but would only allow it if they were 100 per cent ready.”

a bit more which is on Mantha's 4th goal against Dallas...