As the Detroit Red Wings enjoy a mountaintop view of a forest, Emmitt Finnie is learning how to deal with the grind of helping the team get there.
The standings in the NHL’s Eastern Conference are so tight that a team can rise from being out of the playoff picture to top spot in the division in one week, as the Detroit Red Wings (12-7-1) have just accomplished. It helps to play every other day, if not daily, though the hectic schedule means that some days, it’s better to stay off the ice, as the Wings did on Wednesday, Nov. 19, with only nine skaters and John Gibson taking the ice. Gibson is slated to start the next game, which comes Thursday against the New York Islanders.
“We have a science department that gives us numbers and tracks gas tanks,” Todd McLellan said. “We just played four in six with some travel, we’re going to play five in eight, we’re going to play six in ten, and we’re going to have more travel. We know that we’re skating on Friday because we play a 1 o’clock game on Saturday, so it’s all kind of laid out a week in advance.”
The sports science department is especially helpful for the rookies – 20-year-olds Finnie and Axel Sandin-Pellikka, and 21-year-old Nate Danielson – as they embark on a grind never before experienced in their hockey careers.
“It’s been difficult so far,” Finnie said. “You play almost every other day, so you’ve really got to take care of your body. I’ve been listening to the trainers and I’ve been trying to eat good so I can manage my body.”
Finnie, a seventh-round pick from 2023, just emerged from a 10-game scoring slump to record a goal in Tuesday’s 4-2 victory over the Seattle Kraken. That’s a boost, too.
“I felt like I was putting myself in good chances the previous games, so I was just trying to stay positive and keep shooting,” Finnie said. “I feel like it’s definitely on your mind a little bit, but I try not to worry about it. Eventually it was going to come.”
Finnie began the season on the top line, then moved to the second line, and then on a third line where he’s been with Danielson. There have been some learning lessons for Finnie here and there, only natural for a guy making his way at the highest level of hockey, but there’s never been any worry from the coaching staff.
“He’s a pretty trusting player,” McLellan said. “His legs are his biggest asset, his ability to close on the opposition, whether they have the puck or they don’t, is something that’s been a real beneficial thing for our team, and that energy is contagious, so he’s brought that almost every night.
“He’s still learning that there’s times during the game where you’ve got to be really sharp, whether it’s the beginning of the game or near the end, but he’s one of them that you talk to once and the problem seems to go away. That’s a real good sign for a young player.”
It also helps to have youthful legs in the lineup when the games come so fast and furious. The Kraken victory put the Wings in first place in the division, but the Eastern Conference is so crowded four teams were within one or two points.
“You look at the standings and if you’re on top of the mountain, you’re really not on top of the mountain, you’re in the middle of the forest,” McLellan said. “It’s so tight.”
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Emmitt Finnie handling the grind as Detroit Red Wings enjoy the forest atop the mountain
Reporting by Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
