Month: November 2021

Prospect round-up, North America: Fulcher back-stops Walleye to win; Plandowski scores for Charlottetown

Of prospect-related note, from North America on Wednesday:

In the ECHL, Kaden Fulcher stopped 25 of 26 shots in the Toledo Walleye’s 4-1 win over the Indy Fuel;

In the QMJHL, Oscar Plandowski scored a goal, finishing at +1 with 1 shot in the Charlottetown Islanders’ 4-1 win over Drummondville (and you can watch the game highlights by clicking on the score);

In the OHL, Pasquale Zito finished even with a shot and a 5-for-8 faceoff record in the Windsor Spitfires’ 6-2 win over Flint;

In the WHL, Cross Hanas finished at -1 with 4 shots in the Portland Winterhawks’ 7-1 loss to Kamloops;

And in the BCHL, Kienan Draper finished even in the Chilliwack Chiefs’ 2-1 loss to Surrey.

Red Wings-Bruins set-up: Rested B’s play 8th game vs. 0-2-and-1-of-late Red Wings, who are busy as busy can be

The 4-4-and-2 Detroit Red Wings will face a well-rested 4-3-and-0 Boston Bruins team on Thursday night (7 PM EDT on Bally Sports Detroit/NESN/Sportsnet 360/97.1 FM) with the Red Wings on an 0-2-and-1 streak as Detroit opens up a stretch of 3 games in 4 nights (and 10 in 17 nights overall).

The Bruins are on the other end of the spectrum, having not played since Saturday’s 3-2 shootout win over the Florida Panthers, and the Bruins have been talking about watching the Kyle Beach interview as a team more than they’ve been talking about playing hockey of late–which is good, because that’s the kind of thing that teams should be focusing on when they’re not playing hockey right now.

You’d expect that from a team that’s had 5 days off between games, so the Bruins won’t really focus in on Thursday’s game until later this morning.

That being said, The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa offered Wednesday’s practice lines, which included Patrice Bergeron, who took a “maintenance day” on Tuesday…

Continue reading Red Wings-Bruins set-up: Rested B’s play 8th game vs. 0-2-and-1-of-late Red Wings, who are busy as busy can be

Via A2Y: A bit ‘Mo’ on Seider from NHL.com’s Mike Zeisberger

Via Abel to Yzerman’s Paul Kukla comes this Tweet of note from the NHL on Sirius XM radio, in which NHL.com’s Mike Zeisberger talks about Moritz Seider:

Niyo on Seider, work in progress

The Detroit News’s John Niyo wrote a subscriber-only column about Moritz Seider on Tuesday evening, discussing Seider’s impact over the first 10 games of the young season:

“Well, he’s got tons of physical ability,” [Red Wings coach Jeff] Blashill said. “Now our job is to help him continue to (develop) from a really good talent to a great player ultimately. That’s what we’d love him to be here. I think without improving, Moritz could be a good player in this league. But that’s not what anybody wants, him or us. So we just want to make sure that we’re continuing to push him, even as he has early success.”

That means calling him out when Seider makes an unforced error like he did Saturday night in the loss at Toronto, sending a blind backhand pass across the ice on a power play that led to a breakaway for the Maple Leafs. Seider also was on the ice for both of Montreal’s 5-on-5 goals Tuesday in a lackluster effort by the Wings that Blashill described as “inexcusable.”

“We were just bad,” Seider said. “It was a tough one for us. But I think we’re done. We turned the page.”

Indeed, Seider talked Wednesday about how “hungry” he and his teammates are to finish this four-game road trip with wins in Boston and Buffalo. But he also knows the Wings will get their fill with 10 games over the next 17 days — a stretch that ends with four games in six nights, hopscotching from Columbus to Dallas to Las Vegas and Phoenix.

And if we’re talking about Seider then the way we are now, things will be pretty OK, all right.

“I had a lot of belief that he could be a really good player in this league — I just didn’t know how fast and how good,” Blashill said. “And I think that story is still to be told.”

Continued (paywall)

WDIV’s Bartkowiak Jr. discusses expectations for the Wings after 10 games

WDIV’s David Bartkowiak Jr. posted an article in which he discusses Red Wings fans’ expectations for the 4-4-and-2 Red Wings as the team reaches the 10-game mark:

Our expectations for the Red Wings this season were raised a bit higher than the previous two. General Manager Steve Yzerman, who is now in his 3rd season at the helm in Detroit, was outspoken about making the team more competitive while he works through a rebuild. He was busy during the offseason, moving pieces and making acquisitions to try to bolster the blueline and jumpstart the offense.

A preseason poll of Red Wings fans suggested most did expect the Red Wings to be more competitive, but still fall short of making the playoffs — something they have not done since 2016. In the poll, 50% of respondents said they expected the Red Wings to win 26-35 games. Another 34% said 36-45 wins were possible. But only 20% said they expected a postseason appearance.

Those expectations appear to be right on target after 10 games. We’re seeing a team that is willing to battle for wins despite often being outmatched down the lineup. There have been some tough losses that would have been more demoralizing just a season ago. All we can ask for now is that the team works to be better, to get better, as the 82-game campaign continues.

Continued