Month: November 2021

Videos from Monday’s practice: Jeff Blashill and Filip Zadina

Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill spoke with the media after Monday’s practice in Montreal, in which Dylan Larkin did not skate with the team, and coach Blashill explained to the media that it was a “maintenance day” of sorts for the Red Wings’ captain:

Filip Zadina also spoke with the media today:

Post-practice Tweets: Larkin took a maintenance day; Wings aware of ‘butt-kicking’ vs. struggling Habs last Tuesday

The Detroit Red Wings practiced without Dylan Larkin on Monday in Montreal, ahead of Tuesday night’s game vs. the 2-and-8 Montreal Canadiens, who defeated Detroit 6-1 last Tuesday at the Bell Centre. Of note from Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill’s post-practice remarks, per DetroitRedWings.com’s Daniella Bruce:

Jeff Blashill said today was a maintenance day for Dylan Larkin. #LGRW @DetroitRedWings— Daniella Bruce (@daniellabruce_) November 1, 2021

Jeff Blashill said what his players have fresh in their mind is getting their butts kicked in Montreal. They need to come ready to play tomorrow. #LGRW @DetroitRedWings— Daniella Bruce (@daniellabruce_) November 1, 2021

Right now Jeff Blashill said Joe Veleno will play tomorrow, but reminds us it is a day to day league. #LGRW @DetroitRedWings— Daniella Bruce (@daniellabruce_) November 1, 2021

Dylan Larkin didn’t practice today; Jeff Blashill said it was maintenance day & will have further update Tuesday. Adam Erne did skate. Wings at Montreal Tuesday.— Helene St. James (@HeleneStJames) November 1, 2021

Might be more to this. Blash originally said maintenance day, but ends his availability saying he will have a better update on both Larkin and Erne tomorrow. #LGR https://t.co/jlbw1iKr2P— Daniella Bruce (@daniellabruce_) November 1, 2021

The Canadiens practiced without Cole Caufield (assigned to the AHL), Mathieu Perreault (injury), Cedric Paquette (possible suspension), Jeff Petry and Joel Edmundson (???) on Monday. They’re coming off a 4-2 loss to Anaheim on Sunday:

#Habs head coach Dominique Ducharme talks with players during practice in Brossard #HabsIO pic.twitter.com/BTtre08m3e— Stu Cowan (@StuCowan1) November 1, 2021

The Habs are a mess right now, but they’re looking to rebound vs. the Wings tomorrow evening.

#Habs injury updates:
Gallagher & Petry — gametime decisions Tuesday vs Detroit.
Edmundson — suffered a setback and is 10 days – 2 weeks away.
Norlinder — cleared for full contact practices. Depending on his progress he might see game action.@TSN_Edge— John Lu (@JohnLuTSNMtl) November 1, 2021

The Athletic’s Shapiro explains how the NHL is expanding its social media footprint (with a Lucas Raymond example)

This is interesting stuff from The Athletic’s Sean Shapiro:

When the NHL looks to future of fandom, it looks at Lucas Raymond.

Or at least, players like the Detroit Red Wings rookie forward.

Raymond is a 19-year-old that grew up in a social media world. He was four years old when the first Tweet was sent, and eight when Instagram was launched.

Connecting with others in that age demographic is vital for the league as it tries to build new fandom, which is why the league is hoping players like Raymond can help expand the audience through their social following.

“We’ve been talking about this for years, and the importance of social media as a connection point to younger fans,” said Heidi Browning, the executive vice president and chief marketing officer of the NHL. “So you start to think about where are the next generation of fans spending the most time, then you look at the global trends, right? Young fans around the world are following athletes first, then teams and then leagues, and they’re following athletes before sports, they might even watch just because they’re interesting humans.”

It’s why the league partnered with Greenfly this season to better coordinate and share content on social media. Greenfly is a content management system that operates on the back end, and is intended to help streamline the league’s use of social media across team, league, and player accounts.

Continued (paywall); here’s a picture that Raymond shared via the NHL’s new Greenfly system:

Tweets from Monday’s practice: Larkin not practicing; 2-and-8 Habs in flux

The Red Wings headed back to Montreal after Saturday’s 5-4 loss to Toronto on Saturday, taking Sunday off before returning to the ice to prepare to face the 2-and-8 Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday.

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan had some distressing news from Monday’s practice as it got underway at the Bell Centre:

No Larkin on ice today for practice that just started. #RedWings— Ted Kulfan (@tkulfan) November 1, 2021

Erne skated before, now taking part in practice— Ted Kulfan (@tkulfan) November 1, 2021

Rasmussen between Fabbri/Raymond #RedWings— Ted Kulfan (@tkulfan) November 1, 2021

PP units / Erne-Gagner- Raymond-Zadina-Seider……and Leddy-Fabbri-Hronek-Suter-Rasmussen #RedWings— Ted Kulfan (@tkulfan) November 1, 2021

Veleno between Gagner/Namestnikov earlier in practice— Ted Kulfan (@tkulfan) November 1, 2021

The Red Wings checked in…

Checking in from Montréal. #RedWings, Habs tomorrow night. pic.twitter.com/lcHehJL47O— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) November 1, 2021

While there was a bit of a shake-up in Montreal, where Montreal returned after dropping a 4-2 decision to Anaheim in California on Sunday…

Canadiens have assigned Cole Caufield to the Laval Rocket and recalled Michael Pezzetta, in addition to placing Mathieu Perreault on the injured reserve list.#GoHabsGo https://t.co/5uKscCiBB7— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) November 1, 2021

Our friends from Montreal have lost 2 straight games, and in addition to losing Mathieu Perreault to an eye injury, fellow forward Cedric Paquette has a hearing with the NHL after smearing Trevor Zegras yesterday, so Montreal’s lineup will change significantly by the time tomorrow’s game starts.

I wouldn’t worry about Caufield too much, Habs fans–sometimes you need to send a guy to the AHL to re-set after a difficult start, even if he’s your anointed franchise savior. He’ll be okay.

Meanwhile, at the Habs’ practice facility (Brendan Gallagher has a hip or groin injury)…

Continue reading Tweets from Monday’s practice: Larkin not practicing; 2-and-8 Habs in flux

Two things: ‘start’ the Wings in fantasy pools, and a bit o’ praise via power rankings

Of Red Wings-related note this morning:

  1. The Detroit Red Wings begin a stretch of 4 games to be played over the course of 6 nights this week, and a longer stretch of playing 11 in 19 nights overall, and for that reason and more, the Hockey News’s Jason Chen suggests that fantasy hockey poolies “start” the Wings:

Detroit Red Wings

The Wings are really fun to watch. Not only do they boast incredible young talent, they’ve been competitive and held their own every night, and even gave the Panthers a scare by forcing overtime and nearly winning. The big difference has been their goal scoring; over the past two seasons, no team has been worse than the Red Wings’ 2.18 GF/GP. Their games are much more competitive now, and it’s conceivable they finish the week above .500 yet again visiting the struggling Habs and the overachieving Sabres, and then getting a home date against the Knights, who will be playing the second half of a back-to-back and their fourth road game in six days.

2. The Sporting News’s Jackie Spiegel posted a set of early power rankings, and her rankings offer a realistic estimate of the Wings’ status:

16. Detroit Red Wings

Opening night power ranking: 28

Overreaction: It’ll be another boring, mundane basement-dwelling year in Detroit!

Reality: The kids are all right.

So far, so good…

Khan in the morning: Red Wings’ rookies on a learning curve

MLive’s Ansar Khan filed a Monday morning column which discusses the learning experiences that Moritz Seider, Lucas Raymond and now Joe Veleno are experiencing while the trio attempts to solidify their status as NHL-ready players:

“[Seider]’s a really good talent, there’s no doubt,” coach Jeff Blashill said following the 5-4 loss to the Maple Leafs. “I don’t want him to be a good talent. I want him to be a great player and you can’t give up a breakaway on a power play that’s unforced. He knows that. But he did lots of other good things. And that’s what he does.

“You’re always going to make mistakes. It’s just the reality of hockey. But you want to minimize those unforced errors, those plays that don’t need to happen, and maximize his positive plays.”

The Red Wings (4-3-2) are getting many positive plays from rookies. In addition to Seider and Raymond, Joe Veleno scored a goal and assisted on another in his Red Wings season debut Saturday, after being recalled from Grand Rapids.

“I think it’s important for guys to push and show that they can be impact players,” Blashill said. “I thought Joe in the third (period) was impactful. It’s an every-day league and the next opportunity he gets, he’s going to have to do a real good job with it. But certainly, the way he played in the third gives a coach confidence to put him out there.”

Continued; again, Seider, Raymond and Veleno are going to continue to learn by making mistakes–which is okay–and the trio and all of the Red Wings’ younger players are on a trajectory of ascent as they gain NHL experience.

Just call them ‘Detroit’s rookie duo’

NHL.com’s Mike G. Morreale compiled a list of the best rookies from the Atlantic Division, and, as you might expect, the Red Wings earned a double mention:

Lucas Raymond, F, Detroit Red Wings: The 19-year-old left wing leads all rookies in points (nine) and even-strength points (seven), and is tied for first in goals (four) in nine games. Raymond, who was the No. 4 pick in the 2020 draft, is also averaging 16:07 of ice time while playing on Detroit’s top line with Dylan Larkin and Tyler Bertuzzi. In a 6-3 win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Oct. 24, Raymond (5-11, 182) became the second teenager to score a hat trick in Red Wings history, joining Steve Yzerman, who did it twice (Dec. 23, 1983, and March 30, 1985). The same game, he also became the third Red Wings teenager to record a four-point game, joining Yzerman (Dec. 23, 1983) and Gordie Howe (Dec. 17, 1947). 

“He’s getting … an opportunity, No. 1,” Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. “And he’s earned some of it in the NHL at a young age, which not lots of guys get the chance to do. And No. 2, he’s playing with real good players on a real good line and getting important minutes. I think, obviously, he’s capitalized on that. There’s opportunities that he’s getting, and he’s got to keep making sure he does a real good job in the minutes that he gets.”

You can guess who the other Red Wing is:

Continue reading Just call them ‘Detroit’s rookie duo’