Detroit Red Wings

L'Affaire de Mantha enters Day 2
March 11, 2017, 8:35 PM ET [7 Comments]
Bob Duff
Detroit Red Wings Blogger • RSS • Archive • CONTACT
L’Affaire de Mantha entered Day 2, with no official end in sight.

Detroit Red Wings rookie right-winger Anthony Mantha was a healthy scratch for Friday’s 4-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks, and Detroit coach Jeff Blashill offered no guarantees that Mantha’s punishment was going to end and he’d be back for Sunday’s game against the New York Rangers.

Asked if Friday was a one-game sit down for Mantha, tied for third on the team with 14 goals, Blashill flatly told reporters: “No. It was one last night.”

In other words, it could be more.

Coaches are reluctant to mess with the magic of a winning lineup, so the reason why Mantha could sit Sunday might be as simple as that.

“That’s their decision coming forward for tomorrow’s game and the next few games,” Mantha said. “We’ll see tomorrow coming to the rink if he changed the lineup or not.

“I’ll just be ready if I’m put in the lineup tomorrow.”

Blashill made it clear that he still believes Mantha is going to be an important player for the Wings but he was equally adamant that the only chance of him becoming a great player would be if he chooses to consistently play the game the right way.

“First of all, I’ll say it again, I think Anthony Mantha is going to be a really good player in this league and could be a great player in this league and I think he’s been a really good player for us this season,” Blashill said. “I think Anthony, from the time I’ve known him, has wanted to be better.

“That doesn’t mean you always agree with your coach but he absolutely wants to be a really good player, and so I know anything from not playing that he would gain would be in a fashion of how can I make sure this doesn’t happen again and how can I make sure I’m better?”

Best In Show
Blashill felt Friday’s win might have been the best performance by his team all season long.

“I thought we did a real good job in a lot of areas,” Blashill said. “I thought our track pressure was as good as it’s been all season, so that allowed our gaps to be real good. I thought because of our pressure both in tracking and our pressure in the neutral zone it gave us a little more time to break the puck out.

“Certainly, this group’s got lots of pride and unbelievable amount of character. When times are tough is when your character is tested and I think true colors come out the most, and so we’re in tough times right now. There’s no hiding behind that.

“Our true character will come out every single game. It doesn’t mean every game is going to go perfect, doesn’t mean you’re going to win every game. But I think our pride, our character, whatever you want to call it, was on full display last night and it’s got to continue to be there. It’s got to be there tomorrow as well.”