Blashill praises Brendan Smith for defending Zetterberg

The Detroit Red Wings faced five penalty kills in Tuesday's game -- at least one of them to their coach's delight.

Brendan Smith ended up in the box when he jumped in to defend Henrik Zetterberg late in the second period of the 5-4 shoot-out victory over the Buffalo Sabres at Joe Louis Arena.

Evander Kane had stuck his stick between Zetterberg's legs and tugged, infuriating Zetterberg. He went after Kane -- and so did Smith. All three ended up with penalties, and the Wings were shorthanded.

"I would tell Brendan Smith get involved in that every day, all day," Jeff Blashill said. "He is going in to help Hank out, and I was really glad he jumped in there. Really glad he jumped in there and I'd tell him to do it again, for sure. And if we have to kill a penalty for it, we will kill a penalty for it.

"Over the long haul of the year, we will stick up for each other all day long."

The Sabres used the power play to make it 3-2.

Contact Helene St. James: hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Check out our new Red Wings Xtra app on Apple and Android!