Month: October 2018

Morning news: Regarding the Wings’ mistakes, the need for puck possession and praise for Cholowski

Of Red Wings-related note this morning:

1. The Free Press’s Helene St. James wrote a recap which suggests that the Wings played poorly during last night’s overtime loss to Columbus:

For a team wanting to make an impression of being miserable to play against, the Detroit Red Wings flubbed their first attempt.

They didn’t create much offensively, skated ruts to the penalty box, and got pinned in the defensive zone in overtime. They took a point away from Thursday’s season opening loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets at Little Caesars Arena, but the overall performance disappointed.

“We got a big point against a good team, but once again, we have to find a way to flip the switch and find a way to steal these points,” veteran goalie Jimmy Howard said. “Opening night, you want to come out here and you want to give your fans a great show.

“In the first period, we felt like we were getting some momentum and then we shoot ourselves in the foot with penalties. We can’t rely on our penalty kill like that every single night.”

St. James continues;

2. MLive’s Ansar Khan notes that the Wings spent much of the night playing defense, which isn’t a winning recipe against an offensive team like Columbus (the Blue Jackets had 39 shots on Howard and 76 total shot attempts):

Continue reading Morning news: Regarding the Wings’ mistakes, the need for puck possession and praise for Cholowski

Red Wings-Blue Jackets wrap-up: Wings’ OT loss part of the learning curve

The Detroit Red Wings dropped a 3-2 OT decision to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday, and Detroit’s seventh straight loss to the Blue Jackets included surrendering 6 power plays to Columbus, 16 3rd period shots to Columbus, and, despite the enthusiasm, pluck and jam of the Wings’ young defenders, a crapton of giveaways in the Wings’ own zone, affording the Blue Jackets tons of zone time and lots of chances on Jimmy Howard.

The Wings’ youth movement showed both positives and negatives in terms of effort and execution, but the excitement and grit they displayed was at least a bright spot.

On an evening that Henrik Zetterberg dropped a ceremonial puck, and the number of scratches due to injury and coaches’ decisions (Kronwall, Ericsson, Green, Jensen, Luke Witkowski, Evgeny Svechnikov and Martin Frk were all out for the sake of injuries and youth), the Red Wings’ “kids” most certainly held their own, but some discipline was lacking, and details…

Are going to be a work in progress, as will the team.

Our friends from Columbus were delighted to head back to Ohio with a win under their belts, as they told the Columbus Dispatch’s Brian Hedger:

Continue reading Red Wings-Blue Jackets wrap-up: Wings’ OT loss part of the learning curve

Prospect round-up: Gallant named Petes captain, scores a hat trick; Lindstrom playing 20 minutes for Frolunda

Of prospect-related note:

In the OHL, center Zach Gallant was named the captain of the OHL’s Peterborough Petes on Wednesday.

On Thursday, Gallant scored a hat trick and finished at +4 on 10 shots, winning 13 of 23 faceoffs as his Petes won 5-2 over Sault Ste. Marie. Cole Fraser also finished at +1 with 2 shots;

Alec Regula finished even with 1 shot in the London Knights’ 2-0 loss to Windsor;

In the SHL, Gustav Lindstrom finished even with 4 shots in 20:01 played as his Frolunda Indians lost 1-0 to the Vaxjo Lakers;

And Malte Setkov finished even with a shot in 15:11 played as his Frolunda Indians won 2-1 over Rogle.

 

Red Wings-Blue Jackets quick take: Wings show pluck, but Panarin delivers for Columbus in OT

The Detroit Red Wings attempted to earn a home-opening win against the Columbus Blue Jackets this evening, and the Red Wings theoretically caught a break in that the Blue Jackets chose to start Joonas Korpisalo opposite Jimmy Howard…But Detroit also needed to snap a 6-game losing streak against Columbus while 5 Wings players made their NHL debuts.

The Red Wings’ youth movement provided energy and resolve, displaying some pluck and some aggressiveness and abraision as the Wings rebounded from a rough 1st period to get goals from Cholowski and Bertuzzi, both set up by Larkin and Nyquist, and Jimmy Howard took over in the 3rd, stopping 16 Blue Jackets shots to earn a point…

But over the course of the 3rd period and overtime, the Wings’ youthful enthusiasm wore down somewhat, and in OT, Luke Glendening, Anthony Mantha and Trevor Daley were on the ice for over a minute, and Artemi Panarin ultimately scored with a sniping shot to give Columbus a 3-2 OT win.

Progress made in earning a point against a team that the Wings are now 0-6-and-1 against over their past 7 meetings, but it would’ve been nice to see the plucky Wings score a decisive goal in front of an announced sellout(!).

Continue reading Red Wings-Blue Jackets quick take: Wings show pluck, but Panarin delivers for Columbus in OT

Pre-game Z on Fox Sports Detroit

Red Wings legend Henrik Zetterberg spoke with Fox Sports Detroit’s John Keating, Darren Eliot and Chris Osgood prior to tonight’s game:

Update: In video form…

 

A bit of fantasy hockey/rookie talk from ESPN

ESPN’s Victoria Matiash issued several fantasy hockey roster surprises as we head into the first week of the NHL season…

Michael Rasmussen, C/LW, Detroit Red Wings (13.2 percent): By no means a slam dunk to remain with the Red Wings all season long, the 2017 No. 9-overall draft selection impressed enough to secure an NHL roster spot out of camp. We’re wagering that he’ll stick. Already tabbed to serve on Detroit’s power play, Rasmussen is expected to shift into a permanent top-six role soon enough. The large-framed 19-year-old, an imposing scoring presence in front of the net, scored 31 goals and 28 assists in 47 WHL games this past season. Also of note, rookie defenseman Dennis Cholowski is tapped to enjoy minutes with the man-advantage while veteran Mike Green battles an illness. The 20-year-old has short-term value, at a minimum, in deeper leagues to start the season.

And Chris Peters posted a list of rookies who need to clamp onto roster spots to stick with their present employers:

Evgeny Svechnikov, LW, Detroit Red Wings

Bad luck seems to keep hitting Svechnikov. He is going to start the season on non-roster injured reserve, which is how he started last season. Svechnikov never managed to stick with the NHL team last year and saw a dip in his AHL production as well. It was a bit of a troubling development for a once-exciting prospect. He had a decent preseason, the injury appears to be minor, and he is expected to head to Grand Rapids once again. The Red Wings have every reason to continue believing in him, but this is going to be an especially big season for him to prove he deserves a place on the NHL roster — and soon. This is a team that is attempting to rebuild, and if there isn’t a spot for him during these transitional years, then it’s time to start making other plans.

Monroe: Walleye to have instant replay access at Huntington Center

Per the Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe: