DETROIT -- The flip side to the Red Wings' talk of being more disciplined in their second-round series is making the Sharks pay when they're not.
The Wings have one power-play goal after two games, scored late in Sunday's 2-1 loss. They finished the game 1-for-6 with the man advantage and are 1-for-8 for the series, which they trail, 2-0. The most egregious waste of a power-play situation came 6 minutes into Game 2. Trailing, 1-0, the Wings had the extra skater for 4 minutes but barely even got set up but once.
"We've got to be a little more sharp with the first passes," forward Johan Franzen said. "We came in, and then we gave away the puck and had to start all over again. Then you try to stay out there too long, maybe, you try to do so much, instead of getting off the ice and letting the next group do their job and come with good speed. We have to be a little bit sharper and make sure we get set up in their zone and get some shots off."
The Wings don't lack skilled forwards to put on the power play -- Todd Bertuzzi isn't getting any minutes, and Danny Cleary is only seeing spot duty -- but they're stretched thin on point men. They have a rotation of Nicklas Lidstrom, Brian Rafalski, Niklas Kronwall and more Lidstrom.
Coach Mike Babcock used Brad Stuart in the role Sunday, but he has hardly gotten to play with the puck at all since the Wings acquired him three years ago, and it's not a role that plays to Stuart's strengths. A better option sits on the sidelines in forward Mike Modano, whose ability to play the point was heralded by the Wings when they signed him last summer.
He has been unable to crack the lineup other than to substitute for an ailing Franzen in Game 4 of the first round, but Modano might get an opportunity Wednesday. Babcock was going to think about it, anyway.
"I might as well watch the tape without emotion," he said, "and figure that out."
Modano had a hard time establishing himself when he returned from a devastating wrist injury in February, but although his 40-year-old legs might be a step slow, he's still a smart hockey player adept at finding open lanes and making great passes.
The early local start time to Sunday's game meant the Wings were back home around 10:30 p.m. EDT. With two days before Game 3, there was no practice Monday.
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