Month: January 2022

It looks like the Grand Rapids Griffins, who do not have an Olympic Break in their schedule, will be making up postponed games after their regular season concludes.

This morning, the Griffins got the news that their first postponed game will be played vs. the Chicago Wolves on April 28th:

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The American Hockey League on Wednesday announced that the Grand Rapids Griffins away game that was postponed due to league COVID-19 protocols affecting the Chicago Wolves has been rescheduled for Thursday, April 28 at 8 p.m. EDT at Allstate Arena.

The Griffins will return to action tonight, Jan. 5 when they host the Milwaukee Admirals at 7 p.m. EST at Van Andel Arena.

I’m still floored by the generosity of TMR readers to my fundraising drive to keep TMR in the blog cave. Aunt Annie is still floored by the generosity of TMR readers in the fundraising drive to keep Aunt Annie in the blog cave.

But it’s time to turn the page and start working toward the next financial goals for this not-for-profit blog.

Continue reading Operation Tricorder

As you all know by now, I deal with chronic and moderate-to-severe anxiety and depression on a daily basis, so I see a therapist and a psychiatrist to help manage those illnesses.

Today, instead of doing a telehealth appointment with my therapist, I have to head to the office in Novi, about a 20-minute drive from my home here in South Lyon, to do a once-in-every-six-months face-to-face appointment with my therapist (masked up, of course).

The bad news is that my therapy appointment is for 1 PM today, so I will probably miss a good chunk of the Red Wings’ practice (usually scheduled for 12 or 1 PM prior to a road trip) as I’ll be leaving around 12:30 PM, and I’ll have to catch up when I get home around 2:30 PM.

I hope this is okay. Some days you have to prioritize your mental health, and today is that day for me.

Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill appeared on 97.1 the Ticket’s “Stoney and Janssen With Heather” show, speaking for about 14 minutes:

In your daily, somewhat obsessive look at the Red Wings’ most prized Swedish prospect, Rakapuckar’s Henrik Leman asked Frolunda HC coach Roger Ronnberg regarding the state of one Simon Edvinsson, who has contracted COVID, and here’s what Ronnberg said (roughly translated):

COVID-19-infected Simon Edvinsson has a mild cold’s symptoms. He will not play this week, “Needs to get well first,” as coach Roger Ronnberg put it.

The Athletic’s Sean McIndoe, a.k.a. “Down Goes Brown,” has posted an article in which he compares six “good” teams to six “bad” teams which can draw inspiration from the “good” ones, and the Red Wings are in his article:

The good young team that’s on track and should contend for the playoffs but that’s about it: Similar to the category above, we know that rebuilds take time. Once you’ve taken those first tentative steps out of the basement, the next step is to become a permanent part of the playoff picture. That doesn’t always mean making it, but you want to be in the conversation. Do that for a few years, and maybe you can eventually graduate to being one of the league’s better teams.

Or, you know, skip that part and go directly to the top of the standings.

The 2021-22 inspiration: New York Rangers

A year ago: The Rangers missed the playoffs last year, making it four years and counting since they’d won a postseason game. They had some pieces in place, though, and after a front-office shakeup and a coaching upgrade, they seemed ready to finally make the playoffs.

But then…: The Rangers have played at close to a .700 points percentage clip all year long. At this point, they’re pretty close to a playoff lock, and the bigger question is how much damage they can do once they get there. Maybe a lot.

Possible 2022-23 candidate: Detroit Red Wings

I’m pretty sure we won’t get the front-office shakeup, and there’s no Artemi Panarin on the roster that I can find (although there might be the cap room to buy one). There are some other similar pieces, including the good young goaltender, the excellent young defenseman and the very good first-line center who might have another level. Could the Red Wings make a big leap forward next year, straight into the mix at the top of the division? They’d need more than a few things to break exactly right for it to happen. Then again, we thought the same about the Rangers.

Continued (paywall); I’m pretty sure that the Red Wings don’t need a front office shake-up, and yes, the Red Wings need another defenseman or two and another center or two, but those things will be addressed by the draft and free agency–and, if Yzerman has anything to do with it, a trade or two.

The timeline is just…a little extended.

The Associated Press posted a very early Red Wings-Ducks preview this morning:

Detroit Red Wings (16-15-3, fifth in the Atlantic) vs. Anaheim Ducks (18-11-7, second in the Pacific) Anaheim, California; Thursday, 10 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Detroit visits Anaheim looking to stop its three-game road losing streak.

The Ducks are 11-4-4 at home. Anaheim is fourth in the Western Conference with 31.0 shots per game and is averaging 3.0 goals.

The Red Wings have gone 4-10-1 away from home. Detroit ranks 10th in the Eastern Conference averaging 4.8 assists per game, led by Lucas Raymond with 0.6.

…

TOP PERFORMERS: Troy Terry leads the Ducks with 34 points, scoring 21 goals and adding 13 assists. Sam Carrick has four goals and one assist over the last 10 games for Anaheim.

Dylan Larkin leads the Red Wings with 32 points, scoring 16 goals and adding 16 assists. Tyler Bertuzzi has six goals over the last 10 games for Detroit.

LAST 10 GAMES: Ducks: 5-3-2, averaging 2.3 goals, 3.8 assists, 4.1 penalties and 10.5 penalty minutes while giving up two goals per game with a .935 save percentage.

Red Wings: 4-6-0, averaging 2.9 goals, 4.5 assists, 3.8 penalties and 11 penalty minutes while allowing 3.4 goals per game with an .892 save percentage.

ESPN’s Kristen Shilton posted a set of power rankings today which ask “one big question” for each and every one of the NHL’s 32 teams, and here’s her question for the Red Wings:

21. Detroit Red Wings

Previous ranking: 23
Points percentage: 0.515
Next seven days: @ ANA (Jan. 6), @ LA (Jan. 8), @ SJ (Jan. 11)

Can the Red Wings be better than average? Detroit entered 2022 as a .500 team, still in the mix for a wild-card playoff spot but with the potential to fade quickly. Why? Going into Tuesday’s game against San Jose, Detroit had two wins in its past eight. That’s after a stretch in which the club won nine of 14. There’s potential in the Red Wings; they showed it early in the season. Now past their COVID-19 issues, Detroit needs to reengage with what has worked before.

Continued; it’s going to take a road game that is better than Detroit’s present road game for the Red Wings to return to the playoff mix.

The Grand Rapids Griffins brought back forward Erik Bradford via a pro try-out contract today, ahead of tonight’s game vs. Milwaukee:

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Griffins on Wednesday signed center Erik Bradford to a professional tryout.

Bradford comes to Grand Rapids from the Kalamazoo Wings (ECHL), where he was named the team’s player of the month for December with 15 points (5-10—15) in 11 games. Through 25 contests with Kalamazoo this season, the seventh-year pro has logged 27 points (10-17—27) and 16 penalty minutes while possessing a plus-11 rating. The Orangeville, Ontario native has not appeared in the AHL since April 14, 2018 when he skated with Toronto against Laval. All of Bradford’s four AHL games have come with the Marlies and he has totaled two goals. Throughout his career in the ECHL, the 27-year-old has suited up for 355 games, amassing 296 points (94-202—296) and 196 penalty minutes.

The Free Press’s Helene St. James took note of Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill’s comments regarding the impact of one Givani Smith, who only played in 2 minutes and 32 seconds of Detroit’s 6-2 win over San Jose:

Givani Smith made a favorable impression in less than three minutes of ice time.  He’s seemingly earned himself a spot in the lineup again as the Detroit Red Wings head on the road, delivering a tone-setting shift early in Tuesday’s game against the San Jose Sharks.

Smith fought Sharks defenseman Jacob Middleton at 2:30. At 18:16 of the first period, he was tossed by officials after a high hit on Middleton in the corner. That left the Wings shorthanded for five minutes and with a short bench the rest of the game, but coach Jeff Blashill didn’t mind.

Asked what he’d tell Smith, Blashill replied: “Keep going.”

“He was good. He fought, he hit. It wasn’t something where I was, oh gee, what are you doing? Not at all. I actually thought in the little bit he played he played with poise, he played strong, he battled hard. I was happy with those couple minutes of ice time.”

…

Smith has two goals, two assists and 26 penalty minutes in 24 games. Originally drafted in the second round in 2016, the Wings thought enough of Smith this past summer to protect him in the expansion draft. He’s a 6-foot-2, 215 pound energy guy, and while he had a short night Tuesday, it was more like what the Wings need to see from him.

Continued