HSJ in the morning: Larkin or no Larkin, the Red Wings must improve defensively

The Free Press’s Helene St. James posted a subscriber-only column which discusses the ways in which the Red Wings must shore up their defensive games to snap their 2-game road losing streak:

[Wings coach Jeff] Blashill was more expansive on what the Wings (8-8-2) need to do to get themselves back above .500.

“We’ve got to get better defensively,” he said. “That’s just the reality of it. We’re a pretty good team when we have the puck. We’re a pretty good team when we’re hounding. We’re a pretty good team when we’re playing offense.

“We’re not a good enough team defensively right now and I spoke of that the other night. It’s not because guys don’t want to, but we’ve got to get better defensively. We have to. So that’s, to me, the No. 1 priority. I think we do a pretty good job when we’re on the attack. We do a pretty good job in the O-zone, stuff like that. We just have to get better defensively.”

Blashill described Monday’s 5-3 loss to the Blue Jackets as a slap in the face, one he deemed the Wings were due for because they had been winning despite not being playing tight defensively. But the deficiencies were on display in the 5-2 loss at Dallas, too.

“It’s definitely something we’re going to need to continue to work on as the season goes on and try to get better at it each night,” defenseman Danny DeKeyser said. “For us, it’s going to be a process of trying to get better every night in the D-zone and try to bear down when we get chances.”

Continued (paywall)

Sometimes you have to take a ‘maintenance day’

I did not plan on spending Wednesday asleep, but I knew that the Red Wings were not practicing in Vegas, and that there would be no update on Dylan Larkin until Thursday’s “morning” skate ahead of a late-night game in Vegas (10 PM EST start on Bally Sports Detroit/ATT Sportsnet Rocky Mountain/Sportsnet East/Sportsnet Ontario/Sportsnet Pacific)…

So when I was unable to get up, even to take care of Aunt Annie, I indulged and allowed myself to rest. I have been feeling under the weather (non-COVID-related, as they say in the NHL these days), so I let myself rest.

I apologize for the lapse in coverage, but some days you feel sick, and I have learned that if I take half-a-day off, it allows me to get back to work a lot quicker than it does if I try to push through. Throughout this 11-games-in-17-nights stretch, I’ve been sick, and I’ve been battling through as much as I possibly can to deliver as much content as I possibly can, so this “maintenance day” sort of happened.

But I’m glad that it did.

Griffins’ Chase Pearson suspended for one game

Per the AHL, via the Grand Rapids Griffins:

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League today announced the following suspensions:

Grand Rapids Griffins forward Chase Pearson has been suspended for one (1) game as a consequence of a butt-ending incident in a game vs. Manitoba on Nov. 12.

Pearson will miss Grand Rapids’ game today (Nov. 17) vs. Chicago.

Lehigh Valley Phantoms forward Hayden Hodgson has been suspended for two (2) games as a consequence of an elbowing incident in a game at Providence on Nov. 12.

Hodgson will miss Lehigh Valley’s games tonight (Nov. 17) vs. Charlotte and Friday (Nov. 19) at Rochester.

This would not prohibit Pearson from being recalled to the NHL.

Tweets of note: PCR blues; Griffins to hold matinee game today; Moritz smash!

Of Twitter-related Red Wings note this morning:

  1. The United States has an issue with the availability of rapid COVID-19 testing. Apparently, so does the NHL, per Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli:

The NHL should be able to test players in a much more expedient fashion, just as people shouldn’t have to go to the drugstore and wait 2-3 days for PCR tests (unless they’re willing to pay up to $200 for fast tests). We aren’t going to get through this pandemic until we can test people more quickly, in and out of sports.

2. In other news, the Grand Rapids Griffins are holding their annual school day game this morning at 11 AM EST…

3. And we witnessed Moritz Seider lay out the first hit that looked like his SHL smashes at the offensive blueline on Tuesday night:

ESPN’s Power Rankings: hello, youth movement

ESPN’s Kristen Shilton posted a set of power rankings this morning, and the Red Wings landed where you’d expect them to:

26. Detroit Red Wings

Previous ranking: 25
Points percentage: 0.500
Upcoming schedule: @ VGK (Nov. 18), @ ARI (Nov. 20)

Most likely to make you feel old. The Red Wings’ youth continues serving them well. At the forefront are 19-year-old Lucas Raymond and 20-year-old Moritz Seider, sitting one-two in NHL rookie scoring. Goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic has the best save percentage among rookies (.918). Then there is a phalanx of 20-somethings in Dylan Larkin (13 points in 13 games), Filip Hronek (finding his form) and of course Tyler Bertuzzi (17 points in 14 games) all collaborating to make Detroit close to a must-watch group.

Continued; I’m 43. Everybody in the league save Zdeno Chara makes me feel old. But I’m really excited about the Wings’ youth movement.

Red Wings-Stars wrap-up: Wings lose Larkin, defensive poise vs. Dallas

The Detroit Red Wings struggled for the second consecutive road game, dropping a 3-0 lead en route to a 5-2 loss to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday evening.

Perhaps just as worrisome, Dylan Larkin, who scored a goal in the 2nd period, was removed from the game in the 3rd due to COVID protocol, which could mean a positive test, a false positive…Whatever it means, a team that spits and sweats and bleeds together has been visited by COVID-19, and things could go downhill in a hurry if things spread.

Right now all we can do is wait and hope for health and not blame anybody when we’re dealing with a stupid virus…

And we have to look at what we can talk about, which is the fact that the 8-8-and-2 Red Wings have lost 2 straight, 3 of their past 4 games, and 6 of their 9 total road games–with road tilts left to face in Vegas on Thursday and in Arizona on Saturday.

On Tuesday, the Stars built up a 3-0 lead on the Red Wings, allowed the Wings to close to within 3-2 in the 3rd period, and then pulled away via consecutive goals for Jason Robertson, one an empty-netter.

According to the Dallas News’s Matthew DeFranks, the Stars, who are now 6-6-and-2, are looking to turn their season around, even if they had to beat the “rebuilding Red Wings” to do it:

Continue reading Red Wings-Stars wrap-up: Wings lose Larkin, defensive poise vs. Dallas

Fun times in COVID protocol for Dylan Larkin

Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin was removed from the Red Wings-Stars game on Tuesday due to the NHL’s COVID protocol, and the beat writers explained what happens to the Wings’ captain now.

Here’s MLive’s Ansar Khan…

Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin was removed from Tuesday’s game at Dallas after the second period due to COVID protocol, coach Jeff Blashill said during his postgame address. Blashill said Larkin would remain in Dallas, unable to travel with the team.

The Red Wings, following a 5-2 loss to the Stars, wrap up this road trip with games in Vegas Thursday and Arizona on Saturday.

Blashill said he doesn’t know what is next for Larkin.

“You go through a sequence of things,” Blashill said. “Right now, he’s out for COVID protocol. I’ll have more update (on Thursday).”

Larkin scored his team’s second goal at 14:39 of the second period to cut the Stars’ lead to 3-2 and had logged 12:25 in ice time before getting word in the second intermission that he could not return.

“Obviously, it was in the middle of the game, which is tough,” Blashill said. “We got to figure out exactly where everything stands, talk to Steve (general manager Yzerman) tonight, tomorrow, and figure out what we’re going to do for Thursday.”

The Free Press’s Helene St. James…

Blashill said Larkin was tested Tuesday. Players who are vaccinated are subject to PCR testing at least every 72 hours, while unvaccinated players, of which Tyler Bertuzzi is the lone NHL player, are tested daily. 

Per NHL protocols, “A person whose COVID-19 positive status has been confirmed shall remain in isolation, shall not exercise, and shall not participate in any training activity or have any contact (other than remotely) with any other personnel for the duration of their isolation.”

Larkin is on a three-game scoring streak with four goals. He converted on a power play in the second period of Tuesday’s game to edge the Wings within a goal.

“He’s our leader,” Danny DeKeyser said. “He drives the bus for this team. He had that big goal to get us back into it, and then not having him in the third obviously was a big loss.”

And The Athletic’s Max Bultman:

Larkin’s importance to the Red Wings

Max Bultman, Red Wings beat writer: Larkin is essential to the Red Wings’ lineup, not just as one of the team’s leading scorers but as an engine and tone-setter among their forwards. Without him, Detroit becomes especially thin at center, so if he has to miss any time that will be a major obstacle for the Red Wings. Rookie Joe Veleno could move into the top-six if Larkin can’t go, but put simply, there is no replacing

Larkin.What’s next for Larkin?

Bultman: Blashill said after the game he didn’t know the answer to what’s next for Detroit’s captain, but at minimum, Larkin cannot travel with the team to their next stop in Vegas, and will have to stay in Dallas for now.