Month: November 2021

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan discusses the Red Wings’ penalty-kill in his pre-game notebook:

A penalty-killing unit that was struggling early on, and has been a source of frustration for fans for several seasons now, sat 24th (out of 32 teams) in the NHL on Saturday morning at 78.1%.

Still not sensational, given the rank. But with the way the unit has been playing lately, with the success it has had, certainly is reason for optimism.

“It’s been huge,” goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic said. “We were going over (the St. Louis) power play (Wednesday) and thinking it’s been a while since we gave up a power play goal.  The PK has definitely stepped up the past two or three weeks. Even (Wednesday), yes, they get that one in the first period, but those were two big kills in the third there with the lead and trying to protect the lead.

“We didn’t really give them much of anything on them, and it’s definitely a testament to guys battling and laying out and sacrificing their bodies and committing to getting better on the penalty kill.”

Continued

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff provides some pre-game reading via this notebook article regarding Givani Smith’s promotion to the Red Wings’ second line of Robby Fabbri and Pius Suter:

“We’ll continue to make clear to him that we’d like to see him be a physical presence, which he has been at times last couple of games,” Blashill said of Smith. “But there’s a lot more to it with him. Him and I have talked lots about being real good in our zone, being real good with the puck moving up through the ice.

“He should be a real simple player with the puck moving up through the ice, get it out at our blue line, get it in at their blue line and play in the O-zone, because that’s where he can separate himself.

“He’s got a unique skill-set when he’s in the O-zone, so let’s get there.”

It’s that unique skill set that the Red Wings are hoping the 6-foot-2, 215-pound Smith will be utilizing. What they’re seeking from him is getting more pucks in the O-zone for Suter and Fabbri. Then upon gaining puck possession, the creatiion of havoc at the net front.

“If we did it with Smitty it would be a net presence, big-body guy, a playmaking center (Suter) with a shooter with Fabbri,” Blashill said. “That line has gotten chances but they’re a little bit, all a little slight, so you got a big body up there as well.

“I’m not sure we’re going to stay with it and certainly don’t know if we’ll stay with it within the game but it’s something we wanted to look at.”

Continued

Here’s the Red Wings “The Forecheck” ahead of tonight’s game vs. the Buffalo Sabres:

DetroitRedWings.com’s Daniella Bruce posted the following ahead of tonight’s Hockey Fights Cancer night at Little Caesars Arena:

Tonight is Hockey Fights Cancer Night at LCA. @DetroitRedWings head coach Jeff Blashill had a thoughtful message about what it means to be a part of this game and this initiative. #LGRW #HockeyFightsCancer ? pic.twitter.com/75Xido3gCE— Daniella Bruce (@daniellabruce_) November 27, 2021

The Detroit Red Wings held an optional morning skate ahead of tonight’s game vs. Buffalo (7 PM EST start on Bally Sports Detroit/MSG-B/97.1 FM), and we found out that Joe Veleno (upper-body injury) and Danny DeKeyser (COVID protocol) remain out, with Marc Staal (illness) being a game-time decision.

After the morning skate, coach Jeff Blashill spoke with the media:

The Detroit Red Wings host the Buffalo Sabres this evening (7 PM EST start on Bally Sports Detroit/MSG-B/97.1 FM; tonight is Hockey Fights Cancer Night at LCA).

The Sabres defeated Montreal 4-1 in Buffalo last night, so they’re not holding a morning skate, but BuffaloSabres.com’s Chris Rydnak posted a set of stats regarding tonight’s game:

• This is the second of four meetings between the Sabres and Red Wings this season.
• Last meeting: Detroit defeated Buffalo 4-3 (OT) in Buffalo on Nov. 6, 2021
• Next meeting: Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022 in Detroit

• The Sabres are 6-1-3 in their last 10 games against the Red Wings; 8-2-0 on the road.
• This is the 147th game all-time between Buffalo and Detroit; Buffalo has a 66-59-21 series record.
• The Sabres are 27-39-8 on the road against the Red Wings all-time. 

The Red Wings took to the ice at Little Caesars Arena around 10:30 AM for their morning skate, though you wouldn’t know so based upon the sparse media Tweets:

Marc Staal is on the ice this morning for an optional skate. Jeff Blashill said yesterday he was unsure of Staal’s status for tonight. Update coming soon. #LGRW— Daniella Bruce (@daniellabruce_) November 27, 2021

Tonight’s rosters vs Buffalo pic.twitter.com/tcXKIuVZHd— Ken Kal (@KenKalDRW) November 27, 2021

After the morning skate…

Continue reading Red Wings-Sabres morning skate Tweets: DeKeyser, Veleno out vs. Buffalo; Staal a ‘game-time decision’

The Detroit Red Wings host the Buffalo Sabres on Hockey Fights Cancer night tonight at Little Caesars Arena (7 PM EST start on Bally Sports Detroit/MSG-B/97.1 FM).

The 9-9-and-3 Red Wings are in a quiet portion of their schedule, having not played since Wednesday’s win over St. Louis, while the Sabres, who always play strongly against the Wings, are amidst a stretch of 3 games to be played over the course of 4 nights.

8-10-and-2 Buffalo just snapped a 4-game losing streak via a 4-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Friday. We’re going to examine Friday’s game via the Associated Press’s straightforward recap…

Continue reading Red Wings-Sabres mini preview: Wings host Sabres on back-to-back night for Buffalo

Of Red Wings prospect-related note on Friday:

In Europe, in the Finnish Liiga, Otto Kivenmaki had 2 assists, finishing at +2 with 1 shot in 13:20 played as the Lahti Pelicans won 3-0 over SaiPa;

Eemil Viro finished even with 2 shots in 16:22 played as TPS Turku won 5-2 over Ilves;

In the Swedish Allsvenskan, Jesper Eliasson was the back-up in Almtuna IS’s 4-3 loss to MoDo;

Filip Larsson was the back-up in HV71’s 2-1 loss to Kristianstads;

In the Swedish J20 league, Liam Dower Nilsson didn’t play in the Frolunda Indians’ 4-3 win over Vaxjo;

In North America, in the ECHL, Billy Christopoulos stopped 26 of 29 shots as the Toledo Walleye won 4-3 in overtime over the Indy Fuel:

In the QMJHL, Oscar Plandowski finished even in the Charlottetown Islanders’ 4-1 loss to Quebec;

Pasquale Zito had an assist, finishing even with 2 shots and a 9-for-13 faceoff record in the Windsor Spitfires’ 6-5 loss to Saginaw;

In the WHL, Sebastian Cossa was the back-up in the Edmonton Oil Kings’ 3-2 loss to Lethbridge;

Alex Cotton had 2 assists, finishing at +2 with 5 shots in the Vancouver Giants’ 3-1 win over Tri-City;

And in NCAA Hockey, Kyle Aucoin finished even in the Harvard Crimson’s 1-0 loss to New Hampshire;

Sam Stange finished even with 2 shots in the University of Wisconsin Badgers’ 1-1 tie with Clarkson;

Ryan O’Reilly scored a goal, finishing even with 1 shot in the Arizona State University Sun Devils’ 6-4 win over Bemidji State;

And Cooper Moore finished at -2 in the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks’ 5-1 loss to Minnesota.

The Grand Rapids Griffins experienced a setback on Friday, losing 5-3 to the Chicago Wolves. Jared McIsaac (2) and Kyle Criscuolo scored for Grand Rapids, securing the team a 3-0 lead, but the Wolves scored 5 times(!) during the third period, with 4 going in on the as-to-yet-unassailable Calvin Pickard, to rally.

The Griffins’ website posted a recap:

Continue reading Recap: Griffins flattened by Chicago Wolves’ 5-goal 3rd period rally

The Kingston Whig-Standard’s Patrick Kennedy checked in with former Red Wings captain and legend Alex Delvecchio as the man nicknamed “Fats” prepares to turn 90 on December 4th:

“My dad never showed any interest in hockey,” Delvecchio remembers. “He’d say, ‘You can’t eat pucks.’ But I was determined to show him that while you couldn’t eat them, you could make a living playing with one.” To that end, the young teenager would eschew his studies and sneak out the basement coal bin door to play shinny, then sneak back in an hour or so later.

Today he lives quietly with his second wife, Judy, an artist with whom he shares a December birthday. He has five children, 10 grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and a new Silverado pickup truck. “I don’t let him sit around,” reasons Judy, 16 years her husband’s junior.

“I was very fortunate to play so long and with just one team,” Delvecchio reflects. “I never bought a house until I had the 10 seasons you needed to qualify for a (NHL) pension. I always rented because Adams could unload you at any time for any reason. He kept everyone on edge, except the big guy.”

Delvecchio proved as durable as the Energizer bunny. In all those years in the rough-and-tumble NHL, through all the bumps, bruises and, yes, broken bones, he missed only 43 games. He might’ve missed a few more if not for “the tyrant” Adams.

“I broke my thumb one time and was riding the bike in the dressing room while the other guys were on the ice at practice,” Delvecchio recalls. “Adams comes in and says, ‘What the hell are you doing here?’”

Delvecchio showed him the cast on his hand.

“Horses—!” thundered Adams, who promptly ordered trainer Lefty Wilson to cut off the cast with a pair of snips. Delvecchio played that night. Imagine that happening today?

Continued