Month: November 2021

The Detroit Red Wings laid an egg in the form of a 5-1 loss to the Boston Bruins on Thursday night, dropping their 4th straight game (0-3-and-1) and dropping to 4-5-and-2 over their first 11 games of play.

The rested Bruins, who hadn’t played since last Saturday, simply got the better of the Red Wings, and now Boston sits tied in the Atlantic Division standings with Detroit at 5-and-3, despite having played 8 games to Detroit’s 11.

The schedule doesn’t get any easier for Detroit: Saturday’s opponent, the Buffalo Sabres, are 5-4-and-1 after Thursday’s game vs. Seattle (Buffalo lost 5-2), and will be making a cross-country trip back home on Friday…

But the Vegas Golden Knights, who sit at 5-and-5, will be sitting in Detroit, waiting for Sunday’s match-up after defeating Ottawa 5-1.

Long story long, the Red Wings have played in two completely non-competitive games, and the schedule doesn’t get any easier as Detroit is amidst a stretch of 10 games played over the course of 17 nights.

Reflecting upon Thursday’s loss to Boston, Patrice Bergeron both scored a natural hat trick and added a fourth goal to the mix, and Bergeron was bemused about scoring his first 4 goals of the season in game 7, as he told NESN’s Logan Mullen:

Continue reading Red Wings-Bruins wrap-up: Bergeron, Bruins school young Wings in search of an identity

Of prospect-related note in North America on Thursday:

In NCAA Hockey, Jack Adams finished at +1 with 2 shots in the University of Notre Dame’s 5-2 win over Holy Cross.

Per the Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe:

The Toledo Walleye acquired forward Austin McIlmurray from the Florida Everblades in exchange for defenseman Chris McKay on Wednesday.

McIlmurray appeared in two games this year for Florida, without picking up a point. The Coral Springs, Fla. native made his pro debut last year with Wichita of the ECHL. He appeared in 22 games for the Thunder and produced six goals, four assists, and 12 penalty minutes.

Prior to turning professional, the 25-year-old spent four years at Sacred Heart University. In 137 games, McIlmurray collected 86 points (45 G, 41 A) and 94 penalty minutes. As a senior, he was selected as an AHA First Team All-Star.

McKay appeared in just one game for the Walleye on Oct. 23 at Kalamazoo and did not record a point. McKay won a championship in the Southern Professional Hockey League last season.

The Detroit Red Wings played their 11th game and second of 11 in 17 nights opposite the Boston Bruins, who were only playing in their 8th game of the season.

The Red Wings played without Dylan Larkin, who is away from the team for personal reasons, but Tyler Bertuzzi returned from self-imposed COVID exile to assist the team’s efforts.

The Red Wings laid another egg, surrendering a natural hat trick and a total of 4 goals to Patrice Bergeron alone as the Wings lost 5-1 to Boston. It was a dreadful night for a 4-5-and-2 Red Wings team that is now 0-3-and-1 over its past 4 games, and the Fire Blashill train was full tonight.

The Wings just seem to miss their oomph without Dylan Larkin, and here’s hoping that whatever ails him or his family comes to a positive conclusion, because Detroit needs its captain back as soon as he is able to return.

Continue reading Red Wings-Bruins quick take: egg-laying made easy as Bergeron scores 4 against Larkin-less Wings

Per the NHLPA on Twitter:

The NHLPA Executive Board has voted in favour of the resolution directing an independent review of the Association’s response with respect to Kyle Beach. https://t.co/N3CMHVugz2

— NHLPA (@NHLPA) November 4, 2021

Per the AHL:

Matthew Ford announced his retirement on Thursday after a 12-year pro career spent almost entirely in the American Hockey League.

Ford, 37, skated in 716 AHL games with the Hartford Wolf Pack, Lake Erie Monsters, Hershey Bears, Adirondack Phantoms, Springfield Falcons, Oklahoma City Barons, Bakersfield Condors and Grand Rapids Griffins, totaling 206 goals and 224 assists for 430 points.

He also played 31 games with the Charlotte Checkers when they were members of the ECHL.

A Los Angeles native, Ford won a Calder Cup championship with Grand Rapids in 2017, and served as the Western Conference team captain at the 2020 AHL All-Star Classic in Ontario, Calif.

pic.twitter.com/Smm1AoupJI

— Matthew Ford (@Frdy11) November 4, 2021

Of Red Wings-related note this evening:

1. The Free Press’s Helene St. James took note of Dylan Larkin’s continued absence from the team:

Dylan Larkin’s absence from the Detroit Red Wings lineup is stretching toward a week as they continue their road trip without their captain. 

Coach Jeff Blashill said Thursday morning Larkin “is away for personal reasons, and I’ll leave it at that.” The Wings face their third game of the trip with an evening match against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden.

Pressed whether Larkin, who has not been seen on the ice with teammates since the Oct. 30 game at Toronto, has been skating, Blashill repeated his answer: “It’s the same exact comment that I had the other day. Right now he’s away for personal reasons and I’ll leave it at that.”

The Wings had a day off Sunday in Montreal. On Monday, Blashill said Larkin did not practice because it was a “maintenance day.” The Wings played the Canadiens Tuesday.

2. The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan took note of Pius Suter’s underwhelming start:

Continue reading Pre-game notebooks: on Larkin, Suter and Bertuzzi

Of Red Wings-related note in Europe today:

In the Finnish Liiga, Otto Kivenmaki finished even with 2 shots in 15:07 played as the Lahti Pelicans lost 2-1 to HPK;

William Wallinder had a goal and an assist, finishing at +1 with 2 shots on goal in 14:51 played as Rogle BK won 5-4 over Oskarshamn:

William Wallinder opens the scoring just one minute into the game, his 3rd goal of the season. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/pwhFs0Jv8r

— IcehockeyGifs (@IcehockeyG) November 4, 2021

William Wallinder adds an assist on Rögle's 4-3 goal.
This is Wallinder's 6th point in his 15th SHL game.
He had 6 points in 43 Allsvenskan games last season. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/CxwHPFAbW8

— IcehockeyGifs (@IcehockeyG) November 4, 2021

Albert Johansson had an assist, finishing even with 1 shot in 20:11 played as Farjestads BK lost 5-2 to Linkoping:

Albert Johansson defends and manages to kick the puck to a teammate for a secondary assist, his 9th point of the season #LGRW pic.twitter.com/9IgSiwDaKo

— IcehockeyGifs (@IcehockeyG) November 4, 2021

And, in Frolunda HC’s 1-0 win over Malmo:

Liam Dower Nilsson finished even in 4:41 played;

Theodor Niederbach finished even with a shot in 14:48 played;

And Elmer Soderblom finished even with 2 shots in 19:16 played.

Simon Edvinsson remains out of the lineup with a non-COVID illness.

Neither the Red Wings nor Bruins’ morning skates offered much information as to who will play tonight in the Wings’ battle vs. Boston (7 PM EDT on Bally Sports Detroit/NESN/Sportsnet East/Sportsnet Ontario/Sportsnet Pacific/Sportsnet 360/97.1 FM), but we do know that Jeremy Swayman will start in goal for Boston, and that Dylan Larkin (personal issue) is still out due to a personal issue.

Coach Blashill spoke with the media for about 10 minutes this morning…

Update: Here’s Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy as well:

The 4-4-and-2 Detroit Red Wings battle the 4-and-3 Boston Bruins this evening (7 PM EDT on Bally Sports Detroit/NESN/Sportsnet East/Sportsnet Ontario/Sportsnet West/Sportsnet 360/97.1 FM). DetroitRedWings.com’s Josh Berenter posted a game preview…

The Bruins come into Thursday’s game at 4-3-0 this season, fresh off handing the first-place Florida Panthers their first loss on Saturday.

13-year veteran winger Brad Marchand leads Boston in goals (4), assists (4) and points (8). The Bruins have featured a balanced offensive attack early this season, with six players earning at least three points in their first seven games.

Boston has platooned goaltenders Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman so far this season, with Ullmark seeing the most success at 3-1-0 with a 2.23 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage. The 22-year-old Swayman comes in at 1-2-0 with a 2.71 GAA and .893 save percentage.

Seider said one of the biggest aspects of Thursday’s game will be to re-invigorate Detroit’s power play, which excelled during the preseason and early in the regular season, but has struggled in the last five games, converting just 2-for-17 on the man advantage during that span.

“If I hit the net (Tuesday), I think we score, and then (Filip Zadina) hits the crossbar right after,” Seider said. “Getting better puck retrievals, I think it’s going to be key for us. I think sooner rather than later, we’ll get our chances, and we’ll look really good.”

Thursday’s matchup against Boston will be Detroit’s first game against their Original Six rival since Feb. 15, 2020, after being in separate divisions last season due to COVID-19. The Red Wings have gone 5-2-0 in their last seven games against the Bruins, but Detroit hasn’t won at TD Garden since Dec. 1, 2018.

The Bruins either “took an optional” or their press corps was distracted by the Jack Eichel trade, because we didn’t get a morning skate Tweet from the B’s until 11:10 AM, at the Warrior Ice Arena in Boston:

Skipper Sway.#NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/cazVwKVbEA— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) November 4, 2021

Boston Hockey Now’s Joe Haggerty offers a morning column on the Perfection Line’s early-season hiccups…

Continue reading Red Wings-Bruins morning skate Tweets and articles: Larkin out + game previews