{"id":37649,"date":"2018-11-06T08:00:08","date_gmt":"2018-11-06T13:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=37649"},"modified":"2018-11-05T21:53:22","modified_gmt":"2018-11-06T02:53:22","slug":"michael-rasmussen-showing-confidence-for-detroit-red-wings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2018\/11\/06\/michael-rasmussen-showing-confidence-for-detroit-red-wings\/","title":{"rendered":"Michael Rasmussen Showing Confidence for Detroit Red Wings"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Detroit Red Wings<\/a> were the last team in the NHL to pick up a win, but their next three victories have come a lot quicker. Detroit\u2019s streak came to an end against the Edmonton Oilers<\/a>. One of the reasons Detroit has shown improvement is due to the solid play of Michael Rasmussen<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Rasmussen has points in his last three games; including a pair of goals in the first two games of this run. He spent the early portion of the season watching from the press box as a healthy scratch. However, he\u2019s worked hard to crack the lineup and play a role.<\/p>\n

Michael Rasmussen<\/a> Learning on the Job<\/h1>\n

It was slow going for the 6-foot-6 forward in the early part of the season. Rasmussen was left out of the lineup a few times and many wondered if he\u2019d be sent back to the WHL with the Tri-City Americans. He was close to reaching the nine-game deadline before the first year of his entry-level contract would kick in.<\/p>\n

The Vancouver native had already dominated the junior ranks and he really had nothing to prove at that level. He dominated defences with 31 goals and 28 assists for 59 points for Tri-City. However, he wasn\u2019t eligible to play for the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL.<\/p>\n

Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill<\/strong> and general manager Ken Holland<\/a> <\/strong>decided that Rasmussen should learn on the job with the big club. Rasmussen is a big body\u00a0but needed to add some mass to his frame. His work in the weight room is showing. Detroit had an extended break in the schedule and Rasmussen took full advantage of it.<\/p>\n

Rasmussen wasn\u2019t worried about going back to juniors and was confident that he\u2019d stay in Detroit.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t even think he thought about it,\u201d Blashill said\u00a0of whether the speculation impacted<\/a> Rasmussen. \u201cHe planned on being here the whole year. He doesn\u2019t know why we made a big deal out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thriving with New Linemates<\/h1>\n

Injuries have forced Blashill\u2019s hand and made him juggle his lineup. Players like Thomas Vanek<\/a><\/strong>, Frans Nielsen<\/a><\/strong> and Andreas Athanasiou<\/a> <\/strong>are out of the lineup and more opportunities have opened up. Rasmussen has settled into a line with Gustav Nyquist<\/a><\/strong> and new acquisition Jacob de La Rose<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The trio has meshed well rather quickly and Blashill has said the group is one of the team\u2019s best lines.<\/a> Rasmussen has won over players like de la Rose with his big frame and ability to protect the puck.<\/p>\n

The 19-year-old has also earned a spot on the power play with his 221-pound frame. He\u2019s a traditional pain in front of the net as he\u2019s used on screens and to cause trouble.<\/p>\n

All of these things have led to increased ice time for the highly-touted rookie. He played a season-high 17 minutes, 31 seconds in the loss to the Oilers. Blashill has rewarded good play with increased minutes and Rasmussen has earned his keep.<\/p>\n

What it Means for the Future<\/h1>\n

Fans should feel encouraged by the team’s recent run of play despite the team being unlikely to make the playoffs. Rasmussen\u2019s confidence is growing and he\u2019s starting to get a grasp of life in the NHL.<\/p>\n

There may be some slip-ups along the way, but the signs are encouraging. He\u2019s been making plays and holding onto that puck. This strong play is making his veteran teammates take notice.<\/p>\n

\"\"DETROIT, MI – OCTOBER 22: Detroit Red Wings forward Michael Rasmussen (27) skates during a regular season NHL hockey game between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Detroit Red Wings on October 22, 2018, at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Scott Grau\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Detroit Red Wings were the last team in the NHL to pick up a win, but their next three victories have come a lot quicker. Detroit\u2019s streak came to an end against the Edmonton Oilers. One of the reasons Detroit has shown improvement is due to the solid play of Michael Rasmussen. Rasmussen has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2352,"featured_media":37650,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,2],"tags":[678,95,293,296,1873,343,571,929,321],"class_list":["post-37649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-redwings","category-featured","tag-andreas-athanasiou","tag-detroit-red-wings","tag-frans-nielsen","tag-gustav-nyquist","tag-jacob-de-la-rose","tag-jeff-blashill","tag-ken-holland","tag-michael-rasmussen","tag-thomas-vanek"],"modified_by":"Ben Kerr","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2352"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37649"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37649\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37650"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}