Month: October 2021

The Detroit Red Wings defeated the Washington Capitals 3-2 in overtime last night, and this morning, the Free Press’s Helene St. James and MLive’s Ansar Khan have posted “morning after” recaps.

The Free Press’s Helene St. James focuses on the ways in which the Red Wings have changed their team…

They return home for a brief appearance Friday against the Florida Panthers riding a two-game winning streak. Wednesday’s game against the Washington Capitals was the best demonstration yet of how different the Wings are from the previous two seasons: Down by a pair of goals early in the second period, there was no panic, just patience. The reward was a 3-2 overtime victory.

“That’s the difference for us, is winning these tight games,” forward Adam Erne said after contributing a goal and an assist. “It shows a lot of character. It’s a highly skilled team with a lot of big names, and we just stuck with it, stuck to the game plan and eventually it paid off.”

Another good example came in the season’s third game, in which the Wings outplayed the Columbus Blue Jackets the first two periods but were stymied by the goaltender. In the past, that scenario would have seen the Blue Jackets score on a fluke and win. This season, the Wings kept working and banked two points.

“We’ve been in situations where we found our way to wins, and that breeds confidence,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “That’s part of it. We have some guys that have matured over the years in terms of living through that. As hard as some of those moments are to live, you hope you grow. A number of our guys have grown even through some of the difficulties we’ve faced. And then we have some new faces that have a calm demeanor to them, and just kind of keep playing.”

Coach Blashill continued while speaking with MLive’s Ansar Khan:

Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said the difference this season is a higher talent level and a stronger belief they can win.

“We have a better hockey team, so you have a better chance to come back, and with that you have more belief, and belief that you can come back in those types of situations,” Blashill said. “I didn’t feel any frustration or panic on the bench at all. We just kept playing.

“To come back and have a chance to win in overtime you need good goaltending against that team. They have a lot of talent, and they make plays out of nowhere.”

Of prospect-related note in North America on Wednesday:

In the QMJHL, Jan Bednar stopped 26 of 29 shots, earning 3rd star honors in the Acadie-Bathurst Titan’s 3-1 loss to Quebec;

And in the WHL, Cross Hanas scored a goal, finishing even with 3 shots in the Portland Winterhawks’ 6-4 loss to Seattle.

The Detroit Red Wings managed to rally from a 2-0 deficit to the unbeaten Washington Capitals, eventually winning over the Caps 3-2 in overtime. Detroit now heads home to tangle with the 7-and-0 Florida Panthers on Friday, and will face the 2-4-and-1 Toronto Maple Leafs on in “Hogtown” on Saturday…

But tonight and this morning are about enjoying what the Red Wings did on Wednesday, and what the 4-2-and-1 Red Wings did was to slowly and methodically chip away at a 2-goal lead until it was a tie, to generate opportunities to score while not surrendering their tie until overtime began, and then…to pounce upon the Washington Fricking Capitals of all teams, as illustrated below:

O Captain! #LGRW pic.twitter.com/y6tdYuDaMs— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 28, 2021

The fact that the Washington Capitals’ players were somewhat shocked by what the Red Wings did to them in overtime, as noted by NBC Sports Washington’s J.J. Regan, is worth noting:

Continue reading Red Wings-Capitals wrap-up: Balanced scoring, poised team play overcomes explosive Capitals

The Grand Rapids Griffins struggled to score goals on Wednesday night, dropping a 3-0 loss to the Chicago Wolves at Van Andel Arena.

The Griffins’ website posted a game recap:

Chicago Wolves 3 at GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS 0

Oct. 27, 2021

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Griffins were unable to stop their cold streak on Wednesday and endured a 3-0 defeat to the hands of the Chicago Wolves at Van Andel Arena. This marked the second time that Grand Rapids has been shutout through five games this season.

The Griffins looked poised to grab the lead in the first period when Joe Veleno skated out on a breakaway, but his attempt was saved by the blocker of Eetu Makiniemi 2:43 into the frame.

Chicago received a power play at the 5:00 mark and made Grand Rapids pay just 20 seconds later. Cole Smith sat at the top of the left circle and sent a wrister past the glove of Calvin Pickard.

After a faceoff win in the Griffins zone, Chicago’s David Gust made it a two-goal game when he fired a one-timer into the left corner with 1:41 remaining.

Continue reading Recap: Grand Rapids Griffins drop 3-0 decision to Chicago Wolves

The Detroit Red Wings embarked upon a stretch of 3 games to be played over the course of 4 nights on Wednesday, visiting Anthony Mantha and the Washington Capitals.

To their credit, the Red Wings battled back from a 2-0 deficit, earning a point on gritty goals by Adam Erne and Robby Fabbri; Thomas Greiss was excellent, stopping 26 shots; and Dylan Larkin scored the overtime winner on passes from Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider, affording Detroit a 3-2 OT victory in a fast-paced, intense game vs. the Capitals.

OT WINNER ?

Dylan Larkin rips home the @SUBWAYCanada OT winner for the @DetroitRedWings. #NHLonSN pic.twitter.com/1A0qfqsNAz— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 28, 2021

OT winner: Here is Dylan Larkin’s snipe that led the Red Wings to the 3-2 comeback win

VIDEO: @BallySportsDET pic.twitter.com/bIoC4fFLyu— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) October 28, 2021

Continue reading Red Wings-Capitals quick take: Wings battle back from 2-0 deficit, and Larkin delivers in OT

Of prospect-related note in Europe today:

In the Finnish Liiga, Otto Kivenmaki finished even with 3 shots in 14:27 played as the Lahti Pelicans lost 3-2 in a shootout to Karpat Oulu;

Eemil Viro finished at -1 with 2 shots in 12:24 played during TPS Turku’s 5-2 win over JYP;

In the Swedish Allsvenskan, Albin Grewe finished at -1 with no shots and Gustav Berglund did not play in Mora IK’s 8-2 loss to IF Bjorkloven;

Jesper Eliasson served as the back-up in Almtuna IS’s 2-1 loss to BIK Karlskoga;

Filip Larsson stopped 17 of 20 shots in HV71 Jonkoping’s 6-3 win over Troja-Ljungby;

And in the Swedish J20 league, Liam Dower Nilsson scored a goal and added an assist, finishing at +1 with 5 shots and a 11-and-5 faceoff record in Frolunda HC’s 5-4 loss to Rogle BK.

Rakapuckar’s Henrik Lehman reports that LDN will play for Frolunda’s men’s team on Thursday.

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff discusses the Red Wings’ rematch with one Anthony Mantha this evening:

Interestingly, [Mantha’s] numbers are showing the same production in Washington that Mantha was providing for Detroit. He’s netted six goals in 20 games with the Capitals. That works out to 0.30 goals per game. Mantha scored 95 goals in 316 games for the Red Wings. That’s also 0.30 goals per game.

He was recently promoted from the third line to second-line duty with the Caps alongside Connor McMichael and T.J. Oshie. However, the big winger was dropped from Washington’s struggling No. 1 power-play unit.

Vrana, currently out following shoulder surgery, scored eight goals in his first 11 games as a Red Wing.

While recognizing what Mantha meant to many in his team’s dressing room, Blashill assesses that Wednesday will just be business as usual once the puck drops.

“I think certainly he was a big piece of our group and really good friend to a number of our players, so that’s always different for those guys,” Blashill acknowledged. “But I also think it’s a new season and it’ll be more about getting opportunities for guys who are good friends with him to say hi and then competing against each other. So, I don’t expect it to be a real big deal.”

Continued

The Detroit Red Wings’ final game of the 2019-2020 season was supposed to take place against the Washington Capitals, but it was cancelled on March 12th, as was the rest of the NHL season. The team the Red Wings bring to Washington tonight is very different, as the Free Press’s Helene St. James notes:

“[Lucas Raymond] and Mo [Seider] have been outstanding for us,” [Robby] Fabbri said. “They’re fun to watch. They’re pretty special players and showing it early in their careers, which is nice.”

Raymond is one of multiple changes Yzerman made to the roster that limped toward the finish line in 2020. Gone are forwards Anthony Mantha, Luke Glendening, Darren Helm, Justin Abdelkader, Brendan Perlini, Valtteri Filppula, Frans Nielsen, Dmytro Timashov and Christoffer Ehn; defensemen Trevor Daley, Madison Bowey, Alex Biega, Jonathan Ericsson, Patrik Nemeth and Dennis Cholowski; and goaltenders Jonathan Bernier and Jimmy Howard.

Yzerman replaced Howard with Thomas Greiss, and Bernier with Alex Nedeljkovic. The defense has been bolstered by Seider, Nick Leddy, Marc Staal, Troy Stecher, Jordan Oesterle and the return of Danny DeKeyser from back surgery. Up front, Raymond, Pius Suter and Mitchell Stephens are among the new faces. Jakub Vrana was supposed to make up for the scoring lost in the Mantha in last season’s Mantha trade, but Vrana is out through January with a shoulder injury.

“There’s a process that has to happen when you’re in a rebuild where it takes time for draft picks to come to fruition,” Blashill said. “That’s one area where we are in a better spot today. And then obviously Steve has made some moves, whether it be signing free agents or through trades, that have definitely strengthened our team.”

Blashill wanted to eat dinner Tuesday at the same restaurant he had dinner March 11, 2020, when he saw the news that the NBA had shut down. What he saw was a reminder of the last 19 months.

“The place I went to eat was closed,” he said. “It was boarded up. We’ve all been through lots in the last year and a half. I look forward to not remembering. I look forward to where we recall it, but it’s been a while.”

Continued (paywall)

“The Word on Woodward’s” Daniella Bruce and Art Regner engaged in a 15-minute interview with Lucas Raymond:

As MLive’s Ansar Khan notes, the Red Wings will welcome Filip Hronek back into the lineup this evening:

Defenseman Filip Hronek returns to the lineup tonight after being a surprise healthy scratch the past two games. Gustav Lindstrom (undisclosed injury) is out tonight and possibly on the weekend, too.

“When Fil plays his best, he’s doing a real good job of moving the puck,” Blashill said. “He manages it well, takes what’s given, passes it to people when they’re open, lives another day if he needs do. I think he’s always been and has been all year highly competitive and his decision-making defensively is real good. I think he can be a really good all-around defenseman who can contribute on the power play and the penalty kill.”

Continued