DETROIT — The Detroit Red Wings got a little taste of what they will experience next year in the Winter Classic as they took part in an outdoor practice Saturday afternoon at Detroit's Clark Park.
The Wings were participating in Hockey Weekend Across America, which kicked off with some non-Wings games just after midnight at Joe Louis Arena.
The fans were lined up around the block at Clark Park waiting to see the Wings, who arrived on a bus with a police escort.
It was a change of pace for the Wings, something to break up their usual routine during the season.
"It was actually pretty fun," defenseman Brad Stuart said. "Kind of something different at this point of the year, doing different things, it's nice to mix it up at this point of the year.
"It was fun to see a lot of people out there that may not get a chance to see us in person like this. It was good."
Captain Nick Lidstrom said he also enjoyed getting outside in front of the fans.
"It's something they should do," Lidstrom said. "The weather was good, a little windy. It was hard going the one way but I enjoyed it. It was fun. The sun when we first stepped on the ice, the sun was very bright from sitting in the locker room. But once you got used to it, even for the goalies I think it was fine."
Some of the players were surprised at the number of fans in attendance, many of whom came out very early to make sure they got a good view.
"I was thinking that it was pretty amazing to have all of those fans here and waiting for us and it turned out to be a great event," Valtteri Filppula said. "I can only talk for myself, but I had a lot of fun, and I think it was a good practice. The only thing is that when you’re outside you want the weather to be nice, and today it was sunny, perfect."
For admission, fans were asked to either bring canned goods to donate to Gleaners Food Bank, $2 cash to support the Clark Park Coalition or pre-owned hockey equipment for the Clark Park Coalition and the Detroit Hockey Association.
The park is something that coach Mike Babcock feels is a worthwhile place that the community should support.
"I'm not kidding around," Babcock said. "It's something we should get behind and we should make sure it stays. It's a good facility. It needs a Zamboni. It needs enough funding to look after. It can be there for the community. But if you let it go, we're never getting it back."
Goaltender change vs. Sharks
Just as you always want to ride a hot goaltender in the playoffs, the Wings want to ride a hot goaltender in their NHL-record home winning streak, which has reached 22 games.
To that end, Babcock said the Wings would play Joey MacDonald Sunday against the San Jose Sharks instead of Jimmy Howard, who is recovering from a broken right index finger.
"Howie's coming back, he's been out," Babcock explained. "The other guy's playing great. It gives him two more days to practice. Why would I rush it when the other guy's playing good?"
Babcock said Howard would start Tuesday in Chicago.
Howard, who stayed behind at Joe Louis Arena to practice instead of doing the outdoor event, said he could have played Sunday but was fine with waiting until Tuesday.
"It's getting better," Howard said. "The X-rays we had last week are showing improvements, the bone is healing. Hopefully it gets better."
MacDonald welcomes the chance to keep playing.
"It’s great," MacDonald said. "It feels great the coaching staff has the confidence in me to throw me out there again against another great hockey team. I’ve just got to keep building on them (wins) and take advantage of the opportunity."
MacDonald admitted there was extra incentive to beat the Sharks because they have beaten the Wings in the last five regular season games and in the last two playoffs.
"I was here last year during the playoffs and they ended our playoff run," MacDonald said. "So whenever you get an opportunity to beat them we’ve got to take advantage of it, especially with this little run we’ve got going. We don’t want to see these guys come in and push us around."
The Sharks are ranked third in the Western Conference with 69 points, 13 behind the Wings' 82.
"We're looking to get two points," Lidstrom said. "It's starting to get a little later in the season and you want to get the points. But I think they're going to come in here and try to beat us. They're looking at the standings every day, too, so I'm sure they want to come in here and get the points as well."
Filppula played with Sharks goalie Antti Niemi growing up in Finland so he may have a better chance to get to him Sunday.
"Antti’s a really good goalie," Filppula said. "He’s big and covers a lot of net, so I think the main thing is — like against every other goalie — try to get a lot of second chances and a lot of shots and get to him that way."
Injury update
Lidstrom did not show any ill effects from taking a shot off his foot Friday night.
"No, my foot was fine," Lidstrom said. "That's why I wanted to test it out today, too, so it was no problem."
Danny Cleary, who has missed the last four games with a knee problem, skated in the outdoor practice.
"It’s feeling better," Cleary said. "Now I just hope the swelling stays out of it and we’re shooting for Tuesday in Chicago."
Henrik Zetterberg also skated at Clark Park and seemed to be fine. The Wings sent Tomas Tatar back to Grand Rapids so unless he has a setback, Zetterberg will play against the Sharks.
Friday night's last-second hero, Pavel Datsyuk, remained at Joe Louis Arena because he had a bit of a sore throat and did not want to aggravate it by skating outdoors in the cold.
Datsyuk is expected to play Sunday.
