Gustav Nyquist-11-30-14

The Red Wings' Gustav Nyquist has 39 goals in 82 games over the past two seasons.

(The Associated Press)

DETROIT - The NHL Guide and Record Book is full of players who excelled one season and were hardly heard from again, Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock often points out.

That's his way of telling young players to not let success get to their heads and to bring it every season.

The Red Wings' young players are doing just that, led once again by Gustav Nyquist. After scoring a team-high 28 goals in just 57 games during his breakout 2013-14 season, Nyquist is showing he's not a one-year wonder.

He leads the club with 11 goals, giving him 39 goals in 82 games since the start of last season.

"You look at our leaders with Kronner, Hank and Pav, they bring it every day," Nyquist said of Kronwall, Zetterberg and Datsyuk. "It's a challenge in this league and us young guys have to find a way to be able to do the same thing and bring it every day."

Said Babcock: "He's a good player and he creates space. He's got good quickness, good intelligence. He plays hard."

Nyquist has been one of the driving forces behind a power play that's gone 17 for 51 in the past 12 games (33.3 percent). He is tied with Evgeni Malkin of Pittsburgh for the league lead with seven power-plays goals. A group of six right behind them included Alex Ovechkin, Steven Stamkos, Claude Giroux and Joe Pavelski.

That's good company.

"I've been getting some good opportunities to play with great players in a lot of good situations, a lot of power-play time, so that helps," Nyquist said. "It's nice to see the puck go in.

"I'm in that spot in the middle where a lot of pucks come out, so if I'm in the right spot a lot of pucks are going to find me."

He already has one more power-play goal and just one fewer point (eight) on the power play than he had last season.

"He's just so good at getting the puck back and being in an open spot," teammate Riley Sheahan said. "He finds those open areas and then obviously he's got a great shot. When the puck is on his stick, you kind of know something good is going to happen."

Red Wings defenseman Brendan Smith noted Nyquist's stealth-like ability on the ice.

"I think he finds places on the power play where he gets lost and players can't get him and Zetterberg's been able to find him several times," Smith said. "He's got that knack for finding back doors and finding pucks. It's like he's in the right place at the right time. That's what goal-scorers do.

"I think even strength has become a little bit harder because teams have figured out, 'Hey, he's a player, we got to be watching for him.' He's got that will and competitive nature. When you have that, you'll find a way to out-battle somebody and score goals."

After making a name for himself last season, Nyquist anticipated more attention from the opposition. That's apparent when he's playing on Henrik Zetterberg's line.

"I've been playing with Z a lot and he plays against good players most of the night," Nyquist said. "It's been fun. It's a challenge to play against the best players and makes you become a better player. You learn a lot from that and it's only a positive thing."

The Red Wings (14-5-5) have won four in a row heading into Tuesday's game against the Florida Panthers at Joe Louis Arena.

"All season long we've found ways to win games," Nyquist said. "We never doubted ourselves. We knew we had a good team and I think we've proven to be a pretty good team so far."

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