BY NICHOLAS J. COTSONIKA 

FREMONT, Calif. -- As the morning skate ended Friday, forward Slava Kozlov kept drilling. Teammates fired ice-hugging blasts; he tipped them past an imaginary goalie. Teammates whipped passes near the net; he took them, turned around, and tried to sneak shots underneath the crossbar. 

That night in the Red Wings' 3-2 victory at Dallas, Kozlov had four shots and a couple of good scoring chances. His reward? No goals. Again. 

After scoring five goals in seven games, he has none in the past 15 -- even though seven of those games have come after the Wings reacquired his mentor, playmaking center Igor Larionov. 

Kozlov scored 18 goals last season, his fewest for a full season. With 11 goals in 43 games, he's on a pace to score about 20 this season. 
"Just can't put it in," Kozlov said Sunday after practice in suburban San Jose. "It happens sometimes. You have to be lucky. I have to stay positive." 

The Wings don't seem overly concerned. 

"I think he'll score," coach Scotty Bowman said with a shrug. 
Kozlov always has been streaky, so this drought is no surprise. Plus, teammates and coaches stuck up for Kozlov by saying he is more complete player than one-dimensional sniper. For what it's worth, he has a plus-2 rating over those 15 fruitless games. He is plus-6 for the season, best on the team. 

"I think Kozzie's worked exceptionally hard after practice," said associate coach Barry Smith, who stressed that Kozlov asks the coaches for extra work instead of the coaches asking him. "He does one-on-ones out of the corners. He does one-on-ones from the blue line. He does one-on-ones behind the net. 

"It's all physical contact, moving his feet and making plays with somebody bouncing off him. That kind of stuff is paying off. He's more physical now. He's stronger in the battles. He's not a peripheral player. If he's peripheral, he's not nearly as effective as he is if he's going to the net and making plays. 

"By him doing that, it shows me he wants to get to the next level."