Month: March 2018

Red Wings-Maple Leafs game-day articles: Wings aim for better play opposite a Leaf team on cruise control

Updated 2x at 2:33 PM: The Red Wings and Maple Leafs engaged in their morning skates ahead of tonight’s game (7:00 PM EDT on FSD/CBC/97.1 FM), and at present, the post-skate media available comes from Leaf sources.

According to TSN’s Kristen Shilton, the Leafs do not plan on looking past the Wings…

Regardless of where they are in the standings, Detroit frequently plays the Leafs tough – The last time the two teams met on Feb. 18, the Leafs let their lead evaporate midway through the third period and it took a goal from Auston Matthews with 31 seconds left in regulation to put Toronto over the top.

“Absolutely, every time we play them it seems to be a close game and a good battle. We expect nothing less from them tonight,” said Matthews. “[But] knowing [Nashville] is one of the best teams in the league and at the top of their conference, to play as well as we did, it definitely gives us some confidence moving forward and into another game tonight.”

Continue reading Red Wings-Maple Leafs game-day articles: Wings aim for better play opposite a Leaf team on cruise control

Quote of the day: Blashill on returning to ‘great’-ness

The Toronto Sun’s Lance Hornby landed quite the quote from Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill after the Wings’ morning skate in Toronto:

 

Red Wings-Maple Leafs morning skate Tweets and articles: No Komarov for Toronto; Witkowski draws in for Detroit

Updated 2x at 12:34 PM: The Detroit Red Wings will battle the Toronto Maple Leafs this evening (7:00 PM EST on FSD/CBC/97.1 FM), with the Red Wings hoping to derail some of the Leafs’ pre-playoff momentum by stealing a win at the Air Canada Centre.

The Maple Leafs hit the ice at the ACC before the Red Wings, as noted by TSN’s Kristen Shilton…

Leo Komarov is the only absentee at #Leafs morning skate. Appeared when I arrived around 9 am this morning that someone had already been skating, I’m assuming that was probably him.

#Leafs lines at morning skate: Hyman-Matthews-Nylander Marleau-Kadri-Marner

van Riemsdyk-Bozak-Brown

Johnsson-Plekanec-Kapanen

Leivo, Moore, Martin

Rielly-Hainsey

Gardiner-Zaitsev

Dermott-Polak

Carrick

Andersen McElhinney

And TSN’s Mark Masters:

Continue reading Red Wings-Maple Leafs morning skate Tweets and articles: No Komarov for Toronto; Witkowski draws in for Detroit

Meet the Toledo Walleye’s emergency substitute goaltender

The Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe penned a superb article profiling the Toledo Walleye’s emergency substitute goaltender, Kent Nusbaum:

When Toledo Walleye trainer Brad Fredrick walked into Jimmy John’s in Sylvania before a recent Sunday game, the last person he expected to make his sub was someone who has served as one of the team’s goaltenders.

Yet there was Kent Nusbaum, a 22-year-old fledgling netminder, standing behind the counter. The Temperance native has one of the most unusual part-time occupations in sports: emergency backup goaltender.

Nusbaum has become the Walleye’s go-to reserve player when a need arises. He has dressed several times for Toledo’s ECHL team — and its opponents — but has played in only one game.

“It’s unique,” Nusbaum said. “It’s exciting. I’d rather be doing something I love than working a normal job.”

But he is not a full-time member of the team. So to make ends meet while pursuing his dream of playing pro hockey, the 6-foot-6 and 180-pound Nusbaum also is sandwich-maker. And that was news to the team’s longtime trainer, Fredrick.

“Brad was shocked. He said, “Hey Baumer, what are you doing here?’ I said, ‘Just working my day job,’” Nusbaum said. “I made him a sandwich. I believe it was a No. 5.”

Every ECHL team has its own list of go-to substitute goalies who can be available at a moment’s notice. If the local team or its visiting opponent loses one of its two goalies to a sudden injury, illness, or transaction on game day, a substitute has to be available to sit on the bench in case he is needed.

Continued

Prospect round-up: Griffins beat Iowa; SHL, OHL, WHL playoffs underway; Kotkansalo’s BU Terriers on ESPNews 1 PM Sat

In the AHL, the Grand Rapids Griffins bolstered their playoff hopes by scoring 4 2nd-period goals over the course of 5 minutes, rallying from a 2-0 deficit en route to a 5-3 victory over the Iowa Wild. Ben Street had 3 assists, Eric Tangradi had a goal and 2 assists and Tom McCollum stopped 25 shots.

Grand Rapids will battle the Iowa Wild tonight (Saturday) as well.

The Griffins’ website posted a recap of Friday’s game:

Continue reading Prospect round-up: Griffins beat Iowa; SHL, OHL, WHL playoffs underway; Kotkansalo’s BU Terriers on ESPNews 1 PM Sat

Red Wings-Maple Leafs set-up: how do you ‘play spoiler’ when there’s nothing to spoil but a Hockey Night in Canada home game?

The Detroit Red Wings can at least theoretically “play spoiler” when they face the Toronto Maple Leafs this evening (7:00 PM EDT on FSD/CBC/97.1 FM). That term can be used more in the sense of giving the playoff-bound Leafs a rare home loss as opposed to truly denting Toronto’s playoff hopes or playoff positioning.

With the Red Wings’ last wisps of playoff hopes extinguished, the Wings can help prevent the Leafs from climbing the Eastern Conference standings, where the Leafs sit 3rd in the Atlantic Division. The 44-23-and-7 Leafs have won 5 of their past 6 games, including a 5-2 decision over the Nashville Predators on Thursday (in which Auston Matthews returned from injury).

As the Toronto Sun’s Terry Koshan notes, Toronto plays 6 of their final 8 regular season games at home, so their goal is to “get on a roll” with the playoffs two weeks away:

Continue reading Red Wings-Maple Leafs set-up: how do you ‘play spoiler’ when there’s nothing to spoil but a Hockey Night in Canada home game?

Mike Green’s doctor has quite the resume

I don’t usually post stuff like this, but I think it’s interesting:

“Becker’s Spine Review’s” Shayna Korol offered a little biography of the doctor that is performing Mike Green’s probable discectomy (i.e. removal of the herniated portion of the disc in Green’s neck), Dr. Frank Cammisa:

Dr. Cammisa is the chief emeritus of the spine service at [the Hospital for Special Surgery]. He specializes in minimally invasive spinal surgery, computer-assisted spinal surgery, microsurgery, athletic spinal injuries and motion-preserving procedures, including artificial disc replacement. He serves as the spine consultant for the NHL Players Association.

Back in 2014, Cammisa performed a discectomy on Henrik Zetterberg.

Khan speaks with Ken Holland regarding his future, state of the Wings’ “rebuild on the fly”

MLive’s Ansar Khan engaged in a conversation with Red Wings GM Ken Holland, discussing the state of the team’s “rebuild on the fly” and questioning whether Holland is the “man for the job”:

Is Ken Holland the right man for the job? It’s a question ownership might have already determined, likely answered by the time players gather for the team photo and locker cleanout, a couple days after the April 7 season finale.

Holland said on Friday, one day after his team was officially eliminated from playoff contention, that he hasn’t spoken yet with ownership.

“From my perspective, I’m not too concerned,” Holland said. “I’m very comfortable where I’m at in my career.”

Holland is 62 and completing his 21st year as the team’s general manager, which ties him with Nashville’s David Poile for the longest current tenure in the league.

The Red Wings have had tremendous success with Holland as GM – three Stanley Cup championships, four Presidents’ Trophies, 19 playoff appearances and countless sellouts.

Is it time for new leadership?

Khan continues, and his article is worth your time…

Here’s the Griffins’ Game Day Preview video ahead of Friday’s game vs. Iowa

The Grand Rapids Griffins face the Iowa Wild tonight and tomorrow, and the Griffins posted a Game Day Preview ahead of Friday night’s game:

 

Krupa: Griffins need all hands on deck with 3 games in 3 nights this weekend

Per the Detroit News’s Gregg Krupa, it appears that the Red Wings won’t recall a defenseman this weekend as the Grand Rapids Griffins–who are in a battle for their playoff lives–play the Iowa Wild tonight and tomorrow, and the Chicago Wolves on Sunday:

If you missed it, per the Free Press’s Helene St. James:

Update: MLive’s Ansar Khan confirms:

Update #2: