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Red Wings Exhibiting Team Toughness

Detroit showing rest of NHL this team won’t be pushed around

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Derek Lalonde, Red Wings coach
Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde likes how his team is stepping up in terms of toughness.

Describing the tenuous scenario of being a player in an NHL training camp on a professional tryout offer (PTO), Detroit Red Wings hopeful Austin Watson put a unique perspective on his lot in life.



“There’s only so much you can do on a PTO,” Watson explained. “You just do what you can and let the cards fall where they may.”

It’s not hard to argue that Watson is doing his utmost with the time-limited opportunity he’s being given.

In Friday’s game against the Ottawa Senators, the bottom-six forward/enforcer was adeptly filling both roles, albeit if not for long. Near the end of the first period, Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider and Ottawa forward Jan Jenik got into a jousting duel in front of the Detroit net.

Before things could escalate, Watson was inserting him into the situation. He wound up paired off with Jenik, and a melee ensued.

When all of the participants were separated, Watson was given a lengthy rap sheet – two minutes for instigating, five minutes for fighting, a 10-minute instigator misconduct and a 10-minute game misconduct for being the aggressor in the alteration.

His night was over, Detroit was left with a seven-minute penalty kill to deal with and Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde couldn’t stop smiling.

“I like that,” Lalonde said. “I think it energized our guys. Obviously, Mo’s a very important player for us. We don’t want him to get in any of those type of situations.

“I actually liked it a lot.”

Red Wings Toughening Up

Watson’s punshisment totaled 27 minutes in penalties. Last season, there were seven Red Wings reagulars who weren’t assessed 27 penalty minutes all season long.

That this moment came against Ottawa may have even been more cathartic. The Senators have made a habit of bullying the Red Wings in recent seasons. Two seasons ago, the Sens pummeled the Wings on successive nights, crippling them emotionally and wiping out their dreams of a playoff push. This wouldn’t have been news to Watson. He was part of the rugged Ottawa squad.

Last season, it was Ottawa forward Mathieu Joseph’s sucker punch that put Detroit captain Dylan Larkin out of the lineup.

The thing about the Watson altercation is that it was hardly an isolated incident. Later in the game, Ottawa’s Cole Reinhardt sought retribution against Simon Edvinsson for a punishing hit he’d meted out on Tyler Boucher. The 6-foot-6, 209-pound Detroit rearguard grasped Reinhardt with his right glove, held him at arm’s length and spun him about like a dog playing with a chew toy.

Lalonde tipped his cap to Watson for buoying the toughness quotient of the entire team.

“It’s amazing,” Lalonde said. “Just one guy with that mentality just helps the group out a ton.”

Watson’s teammates were also acknowledging how his presence makes everyone stand a little bit taller and play with that much more confidence. They know he has their back.

“He protects his teammates and he does a really good job at that,” Detroit forward Christian Fischer said. “That’s great what he did, and that’s what he’s done for hundreds and hundreds of games.”

Watson Back In Against Toronto

Watson is getting one more chance to sway the team’s braintrust to be offering him a contract. He’s playing in the preseason finale tonight at Toronto.

Lalonde is liking what he’s seeing from the veteran forward beyond his physical presence.

“Austin was good in his game,” Lalonde said. “He kills for us. He had a beautiful grade A chance on the back door there, five on five.

“He’s done some good things with his play also.”

It’s fair to say that Watson’s done a solid job of making his case. Now he awaits to see how the cards will fall.