Hey gang. The bug I brought back from Traverse City has spread to the entire house, so the last week has been an unpleasant one for both myself and the mom and aunt.
The bad news is that I haven’t gotten any better over the last couple of days, and if I’m not feeling better come Monday, I’ll make an appointment with the family physician.
I’m sorry for the interruption in coverage, and as soon as I can sit up and fight through the boogers, I’ll get back to work.
A little belatedly, from the Red Wings:
RED WINGS REDUCE ROSTER TO 41
… Twelve Players Assigned or Released with Two Preseason Games Remaining …DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today assigned center Axel Holmstrom and left wing Chris Terry to the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins and assigned goaltender Kaden Fulcher to the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye. Additionally, Detroit released forwards Colin Campbell, Carter Camper, Turner Elson, Matthew Ford, Dominik Shine and Trevor Yates and defensemen Marcus Crawford, Trevor Hamilton and Mackenze Stewart from their tryout contracts. All nine tryout players released will report to the Griffins.
Currently undefeated in preseason play (6-0-0), the Red Wings will battle the Toronto Maple Leafs in back-to-back games to wrap up their eight-game exhibition slate. Detroit will visit Toronto on Friday at 7:30 p.m. before hosting the Maple Leafs at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. (FOX Sports Detroit).
Of note from the Detroit Red Wings:
RED WINGS ANNOUNCE THIRD ANNUAL HOCKEYTOWN RED CARPET WALK FOR HOME OPENER ON THURSDAY, OCT. 4
… Red Carpet Walk Gives Fans Chance to Cheer on Red Wings Players and Alumni Up Close Before Home Opener at Little Caesars Arena, Presented by Coca-Cola & Meijer …
… Free Pregame Party Underway at 3 p.m. at Chevrolet Plaza & Arena Live;
Music, Entertainment, Red Wings Experience Interactive Games, Food & Drink and More for Fans in Attendance …DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today announced the details for the third-annual Hockeytown Red Carpet Walk, presented by Coca-Cola and Meijer, prior to the team’s Home Opener on Thursday, Oct. 4 against the Columbus Blue Jackets at the award-winning Little Caesars Arena.
The Hockeytown Red Carpet Walk will be hosted in Chevrolet Plaza starting at 4:15 p.m. and will give fans an opportunity to see their favorite current Red Wings players and alumni walk down a red carpet prior to the Home Opener. The event will take place as each player arrives to Little Caesars Arena from approximately 4:15 p.m. – 5:15 p.m. at Chevrolet Plaza.
Starting outside the Little Caesars Arena Garage, all current Red Wings players and select alumni will walk the red carpet down the center of Chevrolet Plaza to enter Little Caesars Arena. Public address announcer, Erich Freiny, will introduce the players as they begin the walk down the red carpet. Red Wings fans are encouraged to arrive early to line the red carpet and cheer on the team as they prepare for the first regular-season game of the 2018-19 season.
The Hockeytown Red Carpet Walk is free and open to the public. Fans do not need a ticket to the Home Opener to participate in the event. Doors to Little Caesars Arena open at 5:30 p.m. for ticketed fans.
Fans can purchase tickets for the Home Opener at the Little Caesars Arena XFINITY Box Office, online at www.DetroitRedWings.com or by calling the Red Wings Ticket Sales and Service Office at 313-471-7575.
OPENING NIGHT PREGAME FESTIVITIES AT CHEVROLET PLAZA & ARENA LIVE BEGIN AT 3:00 P.M.
The fun gets underway to celebrate Opening Night with pregame festivities at Chevrolet Plaza and Arena Live starting at 3:00 p.m. Fans with tickets to the game – and fans without tickets – are invited to celebrate the Home Opener with live music and entertainment, interactive games, food and drinks and much more.
The Red Wings Experience, presented by Coca-Cola, will also be set up in Chevrolet Plaza, featuring interactive games designed to give Red Wings fans an opportunity to test their hockey skills, take part in photo opportunities and have the chance to win great prizes.
The pregame party is free to the general public and no ticket is required. All guests entering Chevrolet Plaza, Arena Live and Little Caesars Arena are subject to a security screening.
Additional information on fan experiences scheduled for the Home Opener will be announced at a later date.
ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski posted a Red Wings season preview this morning. Wyshynski suggests that the Wings won’t soar despite a fleet-footed forward group:
Best-case scenario: This collection of forwards skates opponents out of the building, vastly improving the team’s 2.59 goals-per-game average from 2017-18.
Worst-case scenario: Dylan Larkin had a breakout season and signed a long-term contract but can’t separate himself as the superstar this team needs to build around. Top 2018 draft pick Zadina spends most of the season in the AHL, which means there’s one fewer player for fans to be excited about. At the trade deadline, nobody wants to take a Tomas Tatar-like contract, so GM Ken Holland is still saddled with too many bad deals.
Continued, and there are many Wings pundits who suggest a similar set of possibilities–either “the kids” take flight, or this team needs a couple more years to burn off the difficult deals. I’m hoping for the former fate and bracing for the latter one (and I believe that the team will land somewhere in between).
Filip Zadina has a “spot” on the ice where he likes to score goals via one-timed shots, between the right wing hash marks and right wing faceoff circle, and Luke Glendening found Zadina in his spot on Wednesday, yielding an OT goal and 6th straight preseason win for the Red Wings. Via AWood40 on YouTube:
Here are NHL.com’s game highlights from NESN’s broadcast…
And here’s the event summary. Dennis Cholowski led the Wings in ice time again:
Hello. It turns out that I brought an illness home with me, and am battling a bug that’s got a fever which more cowbell isn’t curing, so I’m resting up as best I can. I’m very frustrated by missing time right now, but there’s not much I can do other than get better so I can get my butt back to work. Sorry for the inconvenience.
My apologies for disappearing for a couple of days. When I finally got home from the two-week trip to Traverse City, the fatigue of the trip hit like a brick wall, and I plain old crashed for the remainder of Thursday, Friday and today. I haven’t unpacked (a rarity for me) and have done very little other than sleep.
I’ll try to get my act together by Monday at the latest as I know that preseason news travels fast. My apologies for any inconvenience.
The Detroit Red Wings play the Chicago Blackhawks tonight at Little Caesars Arena (7:30 PM on FSD Plus), and I’m going to be out of the loop for a bit as I pack up the car and drive home from Traverse City.
As such, here’s what we know about the Blackhawks’ lineup for tonight’s game, per ChicagoBlackhawks.com’s Chris Westcott:
Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Alex DeBrincat will all make the trip to Detroit after sitting out the first preseason game, which was a 4-1 loss in Columbus on Tuesday night.
The goaltenders will be Anton Forsberg and Kevin Lankinen.
It’s believed that the Zadina-Athanasiou-Vanek line will skate for the Wings tonight, but we’ll have to see what the morning skate brings in terms of news regarding Zadina and Vanek’s groin “tweaks.”
In the interim, I’m going to be driving home in the rain, and until later today, I bid you adieu.
NHL.com’s Dave Stubbs asked several NHL alumni how they feel regarding the ring commemorating Cup champs from 1953-54 to 1964-65 coming off the Stanley Cup, and one Ted Lindsay has no problem with it:
It is a remarkable list:Lindsay, Gordie Howe (four titles each) and Delvecchio (three) of the Detroit Red Wings;Maurice Richard (eight), Jacques Plante, Dickie Moore, Bernie Geoffrion, Doug Harvey, Tom Johnson (six each) and Butch Bouchard (four) of the Montreal Canadiens; Hall, Hull, Stan Mikita and Pierre Pilote (one each) of the Chicago Black Hawks; Andy Bathgate (one) of the Toronto Maple Leafs; and Bert Olmstead, who won four times with Montreal and one more with Toronto.
Four of the 16 players are living legends, and each understands that, given the Stanley Cup’s changing face, being on the trophy is not forever.
“The Cup is only so big,” Lindsay said with a laugh. “You can only put so many names on those five rings. It’s a testament to all the great men who have played the game and are being developed today. It’s an honor for today’s players to have their names on the Cup with those who went before them, as it was an honor for me to be on it with the greats who went before me.”
Lindsay, who joked that “at 93, I’m not a believer in looking or acting my age,” won titles with the Red Wings in 1950, ’52, ’54 and ’55. The forward’s first two championship teams were removed with the band honoring Cup winners from 1940-41 to 1952-53. This time his last two title teams will be taken off.
“My name coming off the Cup is progress,” he said.
Stubbs continues, also speaking with Glenn Hall, Alex Delvecchio and Bobby Hull.
Update: The NHL posted a video regarding the band being removed from the Cup:
Last night’s Red Wings’ 3-2 OT victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins included production from the team’s youth movement, as MLive’s Ansar Khan notes:
“These young guys are pushing, it’s just going to push everyone to be better,” [Dylan] Larkin said. “There’s opportunity there for jobs. Guys understand there’s minutes and power-play time and these young guys are pushing. I’m excited about it. It’s definitely in the back of my mind a little bit that these guys are coming and they’re players and they’re only going to help us. It wouldn’t surprise me by Day 1 we have some fresh faces. They’re energized, they’re skilled and they can play the game. It could be the first time I’m not the youngest guy on the team. That’s why I’m growing out this beard.”
[Dennis] Cholowski assisted on two goals, including Rasmussen’s. Cholowski’s shot hit the post. Larkin corralled the rebound and passed to [Michael] Rasmussen at the net-front for an easy tap-in, just one second after a power play expired.
Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said Rasmussen started slowly but got better as the game progressed.
“I thought he was doing the things he needs to do,” Blashill said. “He was engaged, really a big hit in the second period. He was strong on the puck, he’s great around the net. He’s got real good hands in that area. Got kind of a blind-side hit in the third and didn’t budge because he’s a big, big, big man. And as much as we talk about skating in this game today, size matters. He’s a big man with a good set of hands, so I thought he had a good night.”
