Lightning coach Melrose admires Red Wings

TAMPA — Barry Melrose has not seen his club play with the consistent effort he'd like so far this season, his first as Lightning coach.

But Melrose knows the kind of organization he'd like to emulate stared him in the face Thursday — the defending Stanley Cup champion Red Wings.

"They are the model of every organization," Melrose said.

“Kenny Holland is the best general manager in the NHL. They're an aggressive team, but they have stability and don't panic. And I think that's great for other organizations to see. I think they are one of the five best organizations in the world in sports."

Melrose has a long history with the Red Wings, having played 36 games over two seasons for them during the 1980s. He also played four seasons for the Adirondack Red Wings of the AHL and was a teammate of Holland. And an Adirondack coach for three years, Melrose won the 1992 Calder Cup title.

"I know all those guys. I've lived with them, played with them," Melrose said. "Every organization in hockey wants to be like Detroit."

STEPPING IN: Among Melrose's lineup changes was the insertion of LW Matt Pettinger, who began the game playing with Marty St. Louis and Vinny Prospal. It was just the third game Pettinger has appeared in this season since getting claimed off re-entry waivers from the Canucks on Oct. 21. Pettinger ended up logging 15:04 of ice time.

"Pettinger deserves to play, obviously," Melrose said before the game. "He's got good speed. He's a talented guy. Maybe he'll jump-start some guys offensively."

Pettinger, 28, made the most of his opportunity, scoring his first goal of the season with 4:18 left to cut Detroit's lead to 4-3.

"When you're sitting out, you've got to prepare almost like you're playing that night," Pettinger said before the game. "But there's no substitute for game action."

UP CLOSE: Melrose said a big reason why the Red Wings had the league's top power play (33.3 percent entering Thursday) was the gritty play of their forwards, specifically Tomas Holmstrom, in front of the net.

So it came as little surprise that two of their first three goals Thursday were scored with Holmstrom's 6-foot, 202-pound frame around the crease.

Detroit went 2-for-5 on the power play for the game and is 22-of-65 (33.8 percent) for the season.

ODDS AND ENDS: LW Ryan Malone (leg) sat and C Ryan Craig was a healthy scratch for the Lightning.

Joe Smith can be reached at joesmith @sptimes.com