What’s life been like for Griffins without Bertuzzi?

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Losing a top-line winger generally doesn’t bode well for any hockey team.

And for a team like the Grand Rapids Griffins that has struggled to score at 5 on 5 all season, it seemed like there would be an adjustment period when Tyler Bertuzzi was called up to the Detroit Red Wings for the second time this season.

However, the Griffins have done quite well without Bertuzzi’s services.

When the Red Wings called up the 22-year-old for the second time, odds of sticking around were good, as Luke Glendening was going to be out a minimum of four weeks with a hand injury.

When Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James reported the Red Wings told Bertuzzi to get a place, it confirmed the team plans on keeping the winger in the lineup.

While that’s good news for the Red Wings, it means the Griffins would be without a top-line winger as they attempt to get back into playoff contention to defend their Calder Cup title. As of Saturday morning, they are in sixth place in the Central Division with 37 points (16-15-1-4).

Bertuzzi had 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in 16 games with the Griffins this season and still leads other forwards Axel Holmstrom (13 points), Corey Elkins (11 points) and Evgeny Svechnikov (nine points) despite playing about 15 games less than each of them.

The Griffins lost a big chunk of their offense, but since Bertuzzi was called up Dec. 21, Grand Rapids has won six of seven games, including a 5-3 win against the Rockford IceHogs on Friday at Van Andel Arena that pushed the Griffins’ winning streak to five games. During that span, they have scored 27 goals (3.9 per game).

“A month and a half ago, it didn’t look very friendly to us. We are trying to do the little things right, but it seemed like we fixed one thing and another thing happened,” coach Todd Nelson told Wings Nation. “By no means are we perfect right now; we are scoring goals 5 on 5. Our 5 on 5 play has been a lot better, that’s the biggest thing. Our special teams have always been pretty strong throughout the course of the season.”

During this time, the Griffins have gotten offensive contributions from newcomer Matt Puempel (four goals, five assists in past five games), Matt Lorito (four goals, three assists in past seven games), Ben Street (two goals, six assists in past seven games) and Dominic Turgeon (two goals, five assists in past seven games).

“We got a lot of guys that can step up and step in,” said Street, who had two goals and an assist Friday. “Obviously, Bert was a great contributor while he was here. I think we miss his grit a little bit. He was obviously producing offensively, too. We were coming along as a team anyway, I think, and this is kinda just the carryover from that.”

Eric Tangradi said getting offensive contributions from all four lines has been key during Bertuzzi’s departure. Domink Shine, the 11th forward, chipped in with a goal Friday.

“I think, obviously, Puemps and (Dominic Turgeon) and (Colin Campbell) have done a good job elevating,” Tangradi said. “Bert was really good down here physically, but I think when he was down here, we weren’t getting complete scoring. We were getting sporadic scoring here and there. I think, of late, we’ve been getting scoring from all four lines, and that’s something we knew all along regardless of who we have in our lineup, if we can score from all four lines that we’re gonna be effective, and that’s something we’ve done of late.”

Nelson agreed with Tangradi, saying other players have taken advantage of Bertuzzi’s absence.

“It gives other guys opportunities. Ben Street got a couple (Friday night). (Tangradi) has been chipping in. Puempel has been very good since he’s been back. We kinda knew Bert wouldn’t be here long. It was just a matter of when. We knew that, and that’s why the trade for Matt Puempel was very important.”

The Griffins power play continues to hum, as well, going 7 for 25 (28 percent) during Bertuzzi’s absence, including 2 for 4 in Friday’s win.

According to Prospect-Stats, Bertuzzi was estimated to be playing about 14.5 minutes per night at 5 on 5. Factoring in power-play time, that’s probably close to 16 or 17 minutes total. The AHL doesn’t record time on ice, so the best we have is an estimation based on shot attempts and goals scored while the player was on the ice.

Nelson has opted to use 11 forwards and seven defensemen to distribute the minutes Bertuzzi would be getting to the rest of the forward corps.

“Our more offensive guys are getting at least two to three more shifts per game,” he said. “And that helps where you have a more offensive guy playing with Elkins and Shine, so they are getting more confidence out there. I don’t like to see any of my forwards over 20 minutes. They are right around 18-20.”

Much like his Red Wings counterpart in Jeff Blashill, Nelson often preaches about “the process.” As Nick Seguin wrote on Friday, it’s a combination of managing the puck and doing the little things right each shift. The team struggled with the little things earlier this season, but Tangradi said the desired results finally are starting to come to fruition.

“I think we’re finally seeing the result of the process of doing the right things and maybe doing them for 40 minutes, 50 minutes, but not 60 (earlier this season),” he said. “And I think we are starting to put some more complete efforts together, and because of that, we are getting the result we want.”