DETROIT -- Like a lot of other prime-time scorers on both teams in this series, Wings forward Gustav Nyquist is hoping to make more of an impression on the score sheet. Heading into Game 4, he had just one assist.
Nyquist was second on the team with 27 goals (among 54 points) in 82 games in the regular season. He wasn't alone among top producers who've been stymied in this series. Linemate Henrik Zetterberg (17 goals and 66 points in 77 games this season) also had just one assist. Among Lightning players, captain Steven Stamkos (43 goals and 72 points in 82 games this season) was looking for his first goal, though he had two assists.
"He's like a lot of players in this series," Babcock said of Nyquist before tonight's Game 4 (6 p.m. pregame, 7 p.m. face-off on FOX Sports Detroit). "If I'm not mistaken (defenseman Nikita) Nesterov leads them in scoring."
Nesterov has a goal and two assists. Meantime, Babcock pointed out, defensemen Kyle Quincey and Jonathan Ericsson, neither known as prolific scorers, are tied for second among Detroit's point-producers with two assists each.
"There's not a lot of room, so it's hard to be the offensive guy people think you are," Babcock said, adding that he's seen steady improvement in Nyquist's play as the series progressed. "I thought his Game 1 was not very good. I thought his Game 2 was better and his Game 3 was best."
JURCO: 'TRYING MY BEST'
Young Red Wings forward Tomas Jurco has played sparingly in this opening series, but he's striving to make the most of the limited ice time he's getting.
Jurco, 22, was credited with a goal in Game 1 after a video analysis showed that a power-play shot by Pavel Datsyuk actually went in off Jurco's pants.
"Any way you want to look at it, it's Jurco's goal," said coach Mike Babcock, who has used the big right wing primarily as a power play specialist in this series.
"That's good for my confidence," said Jurco, who had three goals among 18 points in 63 games this season.
After he scored eight goals and 15 points in just 36 games last season, the Wings might have been expecting more production out of him. But in the absence of prolonged injuries to key players this season, Jurco had difficulty breaking into the top-six forwards and getting more opportunities to showcase the scoring touch that impressed the Wings when they selected him with their first pick (35th overall) in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.
"I'm just working my way through the lineup," Jurco said. "I've learned a lot of things, and obviously there's more to learn every year. . . I'm trying my best."
Jurco played less than seven minutes in Game 3, starting the game on a line with Riley Sheahan and Joakim Andersson.
"He skates good, but he's got to learn how to take care of the puck," said Babcock, adding that Jurco, like all players entering this league, eventually have their moment of self-discovery.
"He's got to realize that you are what you are in the National Hockey League until you become what you want to be," Babcock said. "What I mean by that is that you have this fantasy when you arrive that you're this high-end skill guy who's going to be able to beat people one on one and score. Unless you're a superstar, that just isn't happening.
"So you've got to get to work. Guys that (Jurco) should be watching are guys like Glennie (Glendening) and Helmer (Darren Helm) and Abby (Abdelkader). He's got to put his work boots on and be a physical forechecker. Play with pace."
The best way to slow down the Lightning, one of the fastest teams in the NHL, is to intensify the forecheck, which is what Detroit managed in its 3-0 win in Game 3.
"The harder you get on their defense, the more success you're going to have," Babcock said. "That's what he's going to have to provide to help us."
FANS AT THE JOE IN RARE FORM
Red Wings fans are really outdoing themselves already in this first-round playoff series -- so much so that Detroit players were thrilled heading into Game 4 at Joe Louis Arena tonight after what they experienced Game 3.
"It was great," captain Henrik Zetterberg said. "We felt like it was Game 7 deep in June. They (fans) really helped us to get on a good start, and they kept it up throughout the game."
