from Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News,

"Last year we started them that way and they really struggled in their own end," coach Jeff Blashill said.

In Tuesday's 5-3 victory over Boston, Blashill put the two together on a line with Pius Suter. For 60 minutes of hockey, the lineup worked. Vrana has a power-play goal and set up Zadina on a nifty goal. Suter had an assist.

There were no glaring issues defensively.

Blashill is hopeful it's a sign of things to come.

"They can offensively, what they have to show is they can do it defensively," Blashill said. "There’s renewed awareness, and Zadina has gotten better and better in his own end. I’d love to be able to play them together in those situations.

"It’s harder on the road (because of match-ups), but if they can handle that well, they certainly offensively can play off each other."

Vrana, in particular, was extremely noticeable against the Bruins.

The goal was his eighth since returning 14 games ago from shoulder surgery, which had sidelined him this entire season. Vrana has eight goals and four assists for 12 points in 14 games, with a minus-7 rating.

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