Salei In Battle To Keep Spot In Linuep
Ruslan Salei's spot in the Red Wings' lineup was secure for most of the season, as the team liked what the veteran defenseman brought.
Now, a few games before the playoffs, Salei finds himself in a battle for the No. 6 spot with rookie Jakub Kindl. Salei missed a few games and some practices recently to be with his wife in California for the birth of their third child. The time off has set him back. He has three games, including Wednesday's contest in Carolina, to get his comfort level back.
Coach Mike Babcock said he wants someone to grab the job. He does not want to continue rotating them.
"It's up for grabs," Babcock said. "One of them better grab it."
Salei is a stay-at-home defenseman who has 10 points and a plus-1 rating in 72 games. Kindl is more of a puck-moving defenseman with some offensive upside. His defensive play has been improving steadily. He has four points and a minus-4 rating in 45 games.
Kindl realizes Salei, with 914 regular season games and 51 playoff games to his credit, still has the inside track on the job. But Babcock has made it clear that there is an ongoing competition, regardless of who has the job at the start of the playoffs.
RED WINGS 4, WILD 2: The Wings played a solid game at both ends of the ice, getting balanced scoring (four players scored a goal) and a strong defensive performance to clinch the Central Division title. It is their 14th division title since the 1991-92 season. Detroit got first-period goals from Darren Helm and Nicklas Lidstrom and never trailed. Tomas Holmstrom's power-play goal at 12:38 of the second period gave the Wings some breathing room after Minnesota had cut the lead to one.
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