TRAVERSE CITY -- Detroit Red Wings forward Todd Bertuzzi was at his best late last season when he threw his weight around and, on a few occasions, threw punches.

Then, he sustained a concussion during Detroit’s final game of the playoffs.

It took him several weeks to recover, but he has felt good in training camp and hopes the injury doesn’t cause him to lose his physical edge.

"It was a long process," Bertuzzi said. "I was interested to see how it was going to be with contact and, so far -- knock on wood -- it’s been fine. When you start getting many of them (concussions) you kind of think about things. I’m just going out and play and see what happens."

Red Wings coach Mike Babcock expects to see more of the same from the 6-foot-3, 235-pound forward.

"I want Bert to be as physical as he was over the last 12 games of the year," Babcock said. "I want him to be a power forward that goes to the net. I want him to use his attributes — his size, his physicality, his skill.

"And I want Bert to shoot the puck a whole lot more. He generates offense by shooting."

RED WINGS WATCH

Inside the Detroit Red Wings training camp Tuesday at Centre I.C.E. in Traverse City:

Johnson determined, undeterred:

Veteran center Ryan Johnson could have gone to a team with less depth, where he would have a better chance of earning a contract, but he chose to come to Detroit on a tryout. "I know there are a lot of good forwards here, but I felt this was the right place for me to attempt to be a part of an organization I have the utmost respect for that has an expectation level every year to win a Stanley Cup," Johnson, 35, said. "I don’t think I need to put up numbers or be a goal scorer. They wanted me to come here and just do what I do, the little things that add up to winning games -- penalty killing, winning faceoffs, blocking shots." Johnson will be in the lineup for today’s preseason opener at Pittsburgh. He is competing with Fabian Brunnstrom -- who also is on a tryout -- Chris Conner and rookie Cory Emmerton, who has the inside track on the 14th and final forward spot.

Nyquist turning heads:

Rookie Gustav Nyquist made a slick move around Brad Stuart to score on a wraparound in Team White’s 5-2 victory Tuesday in the Red-White scrimmage. "He put a good move on me I wasn’t expecting,"’ Stuart said. "He looks like a solid player, pretty skilled. Seems to be pretty smart. He’s impressive." Nyquist, a two-time finalist for the Hobey Baker Award at the University of Maine, had an outstanding prospects tournament and training camp. He will be starting his pro career this season with the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Howard returns:

Goaltender Jimmy Howard stopped 9-of-11 shots for the Red team, after sitting out Monday’s scrimmage because of a bruised left foot. "It’s tough sitting when you’re trying to get yourself ready for the season," Howard said. "You sit out a day and it sort of feels you’re putting yourself behind the eight ball." Ty Conklin stopped all 14 shots he faced. Joey MacDonald did not fare as well, allowing three goals on 12 shots. Jordan Pearce, who is ahead of Thomas McCollum on the organizational depth chart, stopped 17-of-19 shots. McCollum did not play.

View from the bench:

Fabian Brunnstrom has an intriguing upside. He fizzled in Dallas and Toronto. Part of it was his fault, but perhaps those organizations failed to properly utilize and develop him. He has looked good in Red Wings camp, and it appears he has matured and has a better grasp on what it takes to be an NHL player. He is not likely to make the Red Wings roster unless they have an injury, but if Brunnstrom is signed and spends some time in Grand Rapids, he could have a future in Detroit.

Up next:

The Red Wings open their eight-game exhibition schedule at 7 tonight at Pittsburgh (NHL Network). Here are their lines: Jiri Hudler-Pavel Datsyuk-Danny Cleary, Fabian Brunnstrom-Cory Emmerton-Patrick Eaves, Drew Miller-Ryan Johnson-Jan Mursak and Tomas Tatar-Chris Conner-Tomas Holmstrom. The defense pairs will be Niklas Kronwall-Brad Stuart, Brendan Smith-Mike Commodore and Garnet Exelby-Logan Pyett. Jimmy Howard and Joey MacDonald are the goalies.

Bertuzzi must shoot more if he continues to play on a line with young energy players Darren Helm and Justin Abdelkader, who aren’t nearly as gifted offensively as the 36-year-old veteran with 289 career goals.

"I’ve got to try and stay with their speed and keep up with them. That’s a lot of off-ice work and on-ice work," Bertuzzi said. "They forecheck, so it’s my job to find them in a good spot off a cycle so I can feed them the puck.

"They make the game extremely fast. I just try to get the puck to them in their speed areas."

The line had a pair of goals (by Helm and Abdelkader) in Tuesday’s Red and White training camp scrimmage at Centre I.C.E. The unit will make its preseason debut Thursday against Philadelphia in London, Ontario, one night after the Red Wings open their eight-game exhibition schedule at Pittsburgh.

"(Bertuzzi) is playing on a line where the guys are going to be hungry, they’re going to be on (top of) the other team," Babcock said. "Those guys play hard. I think they’re going to be a load on the cycle.

"The other thing is Bert did a good job matching up at times last year against the best player on the other team and we’ll see how that lines comes."

Helm, with his slighter build, joked the line features three big bodies, then added, "Well, 2 1/2."

"Bert’s been known to put up good numbers and, I think, he still has a lot of skill," Helm said. "He’s really vocal, helps you see the ice a lot better, always gives you tips.

"I like playing with Abby. The few times we played together last year, I thought we did a real good job. We just got to be a hard working, honest line that knows how to play, moves the puck around and creates some offense."

Bertuzzi has missed only one game the past two seasons with the Red Wings. When his chin collided with the helmet of San Jose’s Dany Heatley in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals, it was cause for concern. Bertuzzi likely would have been out for the playoffs had the Red Wings advanced.

"I probably could have forced myself to come back early," Bertuzzi said. "But in saying that, I was pretty out of it for a little bit. I couldn’t get a grasp of it."

Playing with Helm and Abdelkader could re-energize him.

"They’re in for long careers. They play the game hard. They play the game right," Bertuzzi said. "We’ll see what kind of chemistry we can build throughout the preseason and see if we can help contribute at both ends."