Tomas Tatar-Justin Abdelkader-11-20-14

The Red Wings' Tomas Tatar (right) and Justin Abdelkader teamed up for a pair of third-period goals against the Jets.

(The Associated Press)

TORONTO -- Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock demands more from Tomas Tatar than any other player, wanting to maximize the talented young forward's potential.

Lately, the Red Wings are seeing the best of Tatar.

He scored two goals in Thursday's 4-3 victory over the Winnipeg Jets and has seven goals in his past 10 games, after scoring just once in his first nine games.

With eight goals, Tatar is just one behind team leader Gustav Nyquist.

"I told you guys, I wasn't worried about it at all," Tatar said. "You won't lose it if you can't find the net once. I'm not afraid I'm not going to score goals. It's all about confidence -- keep shooting the puck; it eventually will find the net."

After Tatar scored 19 goals in his first full NHL season, Babcock was determined to make sure he continued to grow, not regress.

"Tats is a competitive kid," Babcock said. "I might be harder on Tats than anybody on the team just because I think Tats has a chance to be a real player. We're going to hold him to that.

"We think he should be good every night because he's capable of being good every night and every shift. So we expect a lot from Tats and he's capable of doing that."

Part of being a "real player" is not taking too many nights off. Some might have been concerned about Tatar's start, but he wasn't.

"Earlier in the season I still had chances, I just couldn't for some reason find the net," Tatar said. "Right now it gives you a boost of confidence after scoring a few goals. You feel good about yourself, but more importantly the team is winning and everybody is feeling really well right now and everybody is playing really good."

The Red Wings (10-4-5) will try to win their third game in a row Saturday at Toronto, a team they swept in a home-and-home series on Oct. 17-18.

Everyone wants to score, but teammate Johan Franzen described Tatar as "one of those guys who loves to score."

"He's a little hard on himself when he doesn't score, but he's always a great player," Franzen said. "He's strong on the puck and creates a lot of offense, but it's great to see him score. His confidence grows a lot, it's good to see."

Tatar has come a long way from the player who was a healthy scratch in eight of the first nine games a year ago.

"When I got here, I was a little shaky as to what was going to happen," Tatar said. "I had to battle to be in the lineup day by day and the way I'm playing the game and how more calm I am right now in certain times. When we're leading I feel way more confident to hold the puck and make some plays, play more simple in certain spots."

Nobody is better at hanging onto the puck than Pavel Datsyuk. Tatar has learned a lot from watching him.

"There's not many players who can slow down the game. I think one of the best is Pavel," Tatar said. "He can make his space, look around. I think every player wishes he could be as good as him at that.

"That's a big benefit to have. I'm not a big fan of the fast game as well. I like to take my time and think about what I'm going to do, whether I want to shoot or pass. Pavel's a great example for me."

Tatar is shooting more than he did last season (2.63 shots per game vs. 2.16).

"I'm trying to create more chances and opportunities to score and so far it's working," Tatar said. "Hopefully I'll keep shooting and finding the net."

Babcock also wants him to be better without the puck.

"Tats has just got to become a 200-footer," Babcock said. "He's got to learn to play without the puck all the time and he's got to be competitive every night. If he does those things he's going to score more.

"So that's his biggest challenge, just to become a player. He wants to be a top-six forward. If you want to be a top-six forward you got to play every night."

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