DETROIT – Usually too fixated on game-day preparations to stop for small talk, Niklas Kronwall remembers making an exception as he strolled into Joe Louis Arena one day.
It was four years ago. The Red Wings had recently set off on what eventually would become a record-breaking 23-game winning streak on home ice.
As he’s done a hundred times throughout his 11 NHL seasons, Kronwall arrived at The Joe three hours before puck drop. He walked from the players’ entrance, through the Olympia Club and Manhattan Room toward the team’s dressing room.
But on this particular December afternoon, a thought of gratitude crossed Kronwall’s mind when he spotted Tom Wilson in the hallway.