First and foremost among the objectives in terms of developing the top Detroit Red Wings prospects is to get them as much ice time as possible. That being the case, the achievement of forward Jonatan Berggren over the past week was probably a bit on the excessive side.
Between Wednesday and Saturday, Berggren was playing four games in four days. He would contest those quartet of contests across four separate cities.
The journey began on Wednesday. Gaining a recall from the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins the day before, Berggren would skate 11:53 of ice time during a 3-2 loss to the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. He would collect his first NHL point of the season with the primary assist on a goal by Robby Fabbri.
Back in Detroit the next night, the young Swede saw 11:20 of ice time in a 5-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks at Little Caesars Arena. He was assessed a first-period holding penalty during which J.T. Compher would score shorthanded for Detroit and Lukas Reichel would count a power-play goal for Chicago.
Berggren Busy As A Bee
Returning to Grand Rapids the following day, Berggren suited up at Van Andel Arena as the Griffins were downing the Milwaukee Admirals. He was drawing an assist on a goal by Simon Edvinsson as the Griffins were 4-1 winners.
Taking the 270-mile bus ride to Milwaukee with the Griffins, Berggren would play again Saturday. This time it was in a 4-2 loss to the Admirals at Panther Arena. He was dishing out his ninth AHL assist of the season on a goal by Carter Mazur. In doing so, Berggren was extending his AHL point-scoring streak to five games (3-4-7).
“He’s a top leading scorer on that team,” Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said. “He is able to produce on a point a game clip.”
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