DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings have long projected Michael Rasmussen as their third-line center, and now he has an opportunity to grab that spot, secure his place on the team and not worry about being sent back to Grand Rapids.
Robby Fabbri has moved from second-line center to wing on the top line with Dylan Larkin. Vladislav Namestnikov has moved from wing to center on the second line. And Rasmussen for now has replaced Valtteri Filppula as the third-line center.
“I think he did exactly what he should have done when he went down to GR and that’s picked his game up to another level,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “That’s the message I got from the Grand Rapids staff. I think Steve (general manager Yzerman) has been happy with his play down there. Now it gives us a big centerman who can play against other big players, who can get to the front of the net against big defensemen like we’re going to face over the next stretch of games.”
Rasmussen has centered a line with Sam Gagner and Mathias Brome the past two practices. The Red Wings start a six-game homestand Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning (7:30 p.m., Fox Sports Detroit).
Rasmussen, the club’s top pick in 2017, moved back and forth from wing to center during an eight-game stint with the Red Wings at the start of the season. He was sent to Grand Rapids, where he played well enough (two goals, four assists in seven games) to earn a fairly quick recall.
Blashill said the 6-6, 229-pound Rasmussen has been quicker with the puck through the neutral zone, having improved his skating in the off-season.
“I thought that was evidently clear the last couple games,” Blashill said. “When he was up the first time, the processing wasn’t quite quick enough, making decisions with and without the puck. Since he’s been back, he’s played way quicker. I would attribute most of that to confidence. He probably put a lot of pressure on himself when he was up early. What happens sometimes when you get sent down is you just got to play, you got to go for it, you got nothing to lose. He certainly has had that attitude coming back up here.”
Now it’s a matter of handling the added responsibility at center.
“Whether you’re on the forecheck or whatever, then you got to get all the way back and play down low in your own end,” Rasmussen said. “Then face-offs, different assignments, different responsibility.”
Rasmussen has a lot of work to do in the face-off circle (37 percent career). Having Kris Draper around for pointers and hands-on work with Luke Glendening at the end of each practice helps.
“Kris was one of the better face-offs guys probably in the history of the game,” Blashill said. “Had him look at Ras’ face-offs and Luke to work with him a little bit as well.”
Glendening is winning an NHL-best 68 percent of his face-offs.
“It’s unreal,” Rasmussen said. “You look at how Glenny plays center and how he takes face-offs, it’s pretty crazy. I think he started a game the other day 15-1. It’s a big part of the game and he helps me with different techniques and telling me guys’ tendencies.
“I’m a bigger guy, I just have to out-muscle guys. Timing is huge. You got to have a couple moves you rely on, kind of master those and keep working at it because it’s a hard gig taking a lot of face-offs.”
Rasmussen also is playing the net-front role on the power play.
“There’s a lot of good net-front guys around the league,” he said. “I always grew up watching (Anders) Lee on the Islanders. Can’t really move him, he’s just a strong guy, always gets his stick free. He’s good at finding pucks and being hard on them.”
Larkin knows all about the transition from wing to center in the NHL.
“Playing center in the NHL is tough,” Larkin said. “You got to play very responsible defensively and still try to create offense. You have to worry about face-offs and matchups a little more than you do on the wing. With Ras, one thing that stuck out when I saw him in training camp is his skating. He’s more explosive, quicker first stride. He plays hard, plays the right way. He’s hard to play against. If he can be a good two-way center and be great on the power play it’s going to help our team in the long run.”
Lineup decisions
Blashill said Larkin’s status for Tuesday will be determined after warmups. He has practiced the past couple of days after missing four games with an upper-body injury.
Evgeny Svechnikov, who has four points in four games, was skating with extras Filppula and Frans Nielsen, but Blashill said he hasn’t decided on his lineup.
“We’re still waiting on some health; that’ll dictate our lineup a bit,” Blashill said. “Svech is doing a good job. He works hard every shift. When he gets in there, he just has to keep doing a solid job.”
More: Questions on Givani Smith being sent down, Anthony Mantha’s inconsistency
The Link LonkMarch 09, 2021 at 02:09AM
https://www.mlive.com/redwings/2021/03/michael-rasmussen-aiming-to-secure-spot-as-red-wings-third-line-center.html
Michael Rasmussen aiming to secure spot as Red Wings’ third-line center - MLive.com
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