DETROIT >> Coach Todd McLellan was talking about the positive impact made by the line of Alex DeBrincat, Marco Kasper and Patrick Kane recently and it took McLellan back to his previous time with the Red Wings.

McLellan was an assistant coach on the 2008 Stanley Cup-winning team that had Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and Tomas Holmstrom as one of its main lines.

For all Datsyuk and Zetterberg did for that line’s success, McLellan wanted to make sure Holmstrom got his due also. Holmstrom’s willingness and ability to get to the net and cause havoc made life easier for Datsyuk and Zetterberg.

On a similar scale, Kasper is doing it for DeBrincat and Kane.

Kasper has impressed in many ways this season, while often playing with either DeBrincat and Kane or Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond. All elite offensive players, but Kasper has been able to fit with either pair because of his desire to get to hard areas of the ice.

Hence, the comparison between Holmstrom and Kasper.

“When they played together, Holmer would get to the net, occupy one, maybe two people, and Pav and Hank would have space,” McLellan said. “When Cat and Kaner play, they know each other real well. They need somebody in and around the net, and Marco has figured that out. It’s a good mix.”

McLellan was quick to say the overall games of Kasper and Holmstrom are different. Holmstrom never had the speed or offensive talent that Kasper has.

But both are “fearless,” a word that is beginning to get attached to Kasper quite a bit lately. Kasper is willing to get to the net, take the physical abuse often around there, or take the occasional slapshot from a teammate from the point.

Then again, the net-front role Holmstrom established in the NHL has evolved over the years, and how Kasper plays it now.

While Holmstrom was pretty much stationary once he got to the net, Kasper and many others around the NHL now move around, dart from the side of the net to the front and get into goaltenders’ eyes in different ways.

It’s a different animal.

“It used to be you just went and planted yourself there,” McLellan said. “It got to the point you turned around and were like a blind in front of the goaltender (Sean Avery). It’s not quite that anymore, and the contact and type of battle different now. It used to be a complete war there, cross checks, maulings and stuff like that.

“They’ve taken that out, which is a good thing. There’s more movement to it.”

Kasper has done a good job of melding the two eras, so to speak.

“Kasp has the courage to go there and does go there,” McLellan said. “Then he’s quick enough to expand and keep plays alive.”

When asked about his ability to seamlessly play with either of the two Wings’ scoring lines, Kasper talked about how important it is to simply complement what those players can do. Basically, do what you can to make those two even more dangerous.

“You try to open up space, make the right play, go to the net,” Kasper said. “I’m really just trying to make the right play happen. I’m also trying to push the pace to open up room for Cat and Kaner and to go to the net. Good things happen when you go there and obviously just try to find the open space.”

Kasper had two goals Wednesday against Buffalo, one having Simon Edvinsson’s shot from the point go off his body and into the net, and the other snapping DeBrincat’s pass into the slot for Kasper’s 12th goal.

Kane had a five-point game Tuesday thanks in part to Kasper’s work on the ice. Kane has been impressed by Kasper’s fearlessness heading to the net.

“It’s an important part of the game and not everyone wants to do it,” Kane said. “You get with guys who can skate well and get in front and win battles down low, come up with pucks. … We’ve (Kane, DeBrincat) played with each other a lot and understand how one or the other wants to play. When you get with a center like Marco who pushes the pace and gets to the net and wins battles, and is good both ways, the sky is the limit.”

Dialed down

One of the knocks against goaltender Petr Mrazek during his first stay with the Wings was his movement in the crease — too much of it, in fact.

There wasn’t a calmness to Mrazek’s game, and many people felt it led to his bouncing to several teams around the NHL.

One of the reasons the Wings brought Mrazek back at the trade deadline last week was they felt Mrazek had found a maturity level, on and off the ice.

“I was listening to some of the people that had been around the organization when he was here earlier, about his maturity and his demeanor a little bit, how far he’s come, and the activeness,” McLellan said. “I don’t even know if that’s a word, but the action, you want to call it in the crease, has calmed down. (There was) good feedback from people that knew him before. So, good sign.”

Coming off Wednesday’s victory, Mrazek earned the start Friday in Carolina.