from Ansar Khan of Mlive,
Tonight, forwards Jakub Vrana and Richard Panik will make their Red Wings debut following Monday’s trade with Washington that sent Anthony Mantha to the Capitals.
Vrana has 60 goals and 124 points in 190 games the past three seasons with the Capitals.
“He’s a talented player, his points have been really good for a young guy in the league,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “He’s played with some talented players on a team that’s scored a lot of goals. It’s a little bit different here in the sense that you have to be a bigger driver of offense with our group than you do in Washington. Guys like (Alex) Ovechkin and (Evgeny) Kuznetsov control the puck so much you don’t have to drive as much of the offense.”
Vrana will play a significant role five-on-five and on the power play. Panik is a bottom-six forward whose role will be determined as they go.
“He’s a big, strong guy who has ability,” Blashill said. “We talked all year long about having great depth of scoring and being able to use four lines and I think he gives us another guy. That depth is extremely important.”
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