Of Red Wings-related note from Friday’s practice, per the Red Wings’ beat writers:
- The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan noted that Givani Smith has been moved up to the Robby Fabbri-Pius Suter line as the right winger, with coach Jeff Blashill suggesting that Smith’s size and strength may serve as an asset for the smaller Fabbri and Suter:
“We’re considering it,” coach Jeff Blashill said of the Smith switch. “I’m not sure if we stay with it in a game, but it’s something we want to look at. If we have Smitty up there, he’s a net presence, a big body, so you have (Smith) with a playmaking center (Suter) and a shooter in Fabs.”
Smith, after being a healthy scratch early last week, has strung together games where he’s been more of a physical presence, an area the Wings want to see him develop.
“He’s been solid the last three games,” Blashill said. “The Vegas game, he made a mistake or two defensively, but he was a presence in the offensive zone (scored a goal). He was better defensively in Arizona. The last game (Wednesday) he was a solid player. He can be a guy who if he can get consistent in his game, and brings what he brings to the table different than other people, he can be a guy who can help us.”
The Wings want Smith to be a physical presence, aggressive, but not take needless penalties after the whistle, or lazy penalties such as hooking and holding. It’s a fine line, a delicate balance, and Smith has had difficulty at times finding that fine line.
“Once the whistle blows, get back to our bench, and if he’s upsetting people, great, but don’t need to chat a lot,” Blashill said.
2. MLive’s Ansar Khan filed an article discussing Dylan Larkin’s recovery from a difficult summer spent recovering from a neck injury, as well as his leave from the team due to a family emergency (and a false positive COVID test) this fall:
Continue reading Friday’s notebook round-up: On Givani Smith’s promotion, Dylan Larkin’s recovery and the health of Joe Veleno, Danny DeKeyser and Marc Staal