Blues, Wings Flat Since Sweden

Niklas Kronwall and Erik Johnson, defensemen for the Red Wings and Blues respectively, both enjoyed opening the season in Sweden. Like many of Detroit's players, Kronwall is from there, while Johnson was happy St. Louis took both games and that he's healthy after missing most of a year.

Since returning to the U.S., however, the Red Wings and Blues have been less than sharp. And Detroit wasn't any great shakes in Sweden, either, dropping both games despite holding leads in each.

The two teams, both expected to be contenders, are at the bottom of the Central Division going into play Thursday night.

"We've stumbled of late," Johnson told FanHouse by phone. "I think maybe we got a little ahead of ourselves, thought we were better than we were because we beat the Red Wings twice."

Kronwall said the opening games in Stockholm were well-received by the local fans and that it was "surreal" to dine with the entire Red Wings team at a restaurant he frequents during the summer. But, he said, "We went there with one goal, to win those games, and we didn't. It was a great experience - except for the outcome."

After getting smoked 6-2 at Buffalo on Tuesday, Detroit is 2-3 and the annual whispers wondering if the Wings are finally on the downswing have begun. With the offseason exodus of Marian Hossa, Jiri Hudler, Mikael Samuelsson and Tomas Kopecky, the team lost 88 goals - and Johan Franzen's recent injury pushes that number to 122 goals gone from last year's tally. Hossa and Franzen led the team in that category last year.

Franzen is expected to miss four to six months with a torn ACL. Describing his loss, Kronwall told FanHouse, "I don't know if I can put it in words. He's one of the leading players in the league and this would have been a big year for him. He would have been one of the top goal scorers in the league. for sure. But this will give other people opportunities."

The annual doubts about Detroit? "That's kind of how it is year after year when we lose a few games," Kronwall said. "But the feeling in our dressing room is the same. We still believe in our team and the way we play. We just have to get back on track, work harder - not that we haven't been working hard, we have to just work harder together in the same direction - and we'll be fine."

The Blues, seen as real up-and-comers after winning nine of 11 last spring to finish the regular season, have dropped two in a row since toppling the Wings twice. They've scored three goals, total, and they've gone 0 for 8 on the power play in losses to Atlanta and L.A.

Johnson said the Blues just need to relax and prepare themselves the way they usually do - and to realize that not every game is going to be easy. The team also needs to shoot the puck more, he said, and the defensemen need to work on ensuring good gaps in the neutral zone to improve the transition game.

Steady veterans Keith Tkachuk and Paul Kariya are leading the Blues in scoring, and Johnson, 21, said it's time for the club's younger players to step it up, too. "If we're not going," he said, "that's a big chunk of the team."

Expectations are higher, and Johnson likes that. "It's a good thing," he said. "There's pressure on us now to fail, but we set a standard of how we want to play in the second half last year, and everyone here wants to win."