The Traverse City Record-Eagle’s Brendan Quealy posted a recap of the Red vs. White Game on Sunday evening…
The sold-out crowd with only standing-room spots left available warmed up the usually frigid rink as Team Red bested Team White by a 6-4 final.
Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde called Sunday’s action “productive,” adding that on top of the standard 5-on-5 play, Detroit was also able to get some reps for the special teams as well as the 3-on-3 and 4-on-4 shifts. Lalonde said he loved the pace of the game, which was formatted a bit differently from previous Red & White games.
“We weren’t trying to think outside the box,” Lalonde said. “We had this vision of how these three periods would look because we wanted to be productive and work on some things. It went smoother than I had anticipated.”
The Red Team led 2-0 after the first period on goals from Daniel Sprong and Tim Gettinger. Unfortunately, Matt Luff, who dealt with a broken arm last season, suffered what Lalonde called an “upper-body injury” late in the first period and was helped off the ice. He did not return to action.
Lalonde said the injury to the 6-foot-3 right-wing “did not look good.”
“He’ll be out for a little bit here, but fortunately there is nothing wrong with his head,” Lalonde said. “My first thought was a head injury, so I was obviously extremely concerned.”
Continued; DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills continues the narrative…
“Worked out a lot of things today,” Lalonde said. “Obviously got some 5-on-5 structure in and a ton of special teams. Probably a credit to (Red Wings assistant video coordinator) Jeff Weintraub, who is kind of our behind-the-scenes camp organizer. I thought that went extremely smooth. Then we introduced some 3-on-3 and 4-on-4, which is part of our process along the way. We’ll get some video off it and some reps. I thought some pretty good things and all in all, a productive day.”
Sunday’s scrimmage format consisted of three 20-minute periods, with the Red Wings focusing on 5-on-5 play in the opening frame, special teams in the second and situational play in the third before concluding with a shootout competition.
“It went a lot smoother than I had anticipated,” Lalonde said about the new-look scrimmage. “Pace of the first game and special teams, probably a credit to the staff.”
Defenseman prospect Simon Edvinsson said the scrimmage was a continuation of what has been a “really competitive environment” at Detroit’s 2023 Training Camp.
“Everyone was sharp,” Edvinsson said. “I think everyone has been sharp. It’s been high tempo. Everyone is competing for roster spots, whether it’s in the NHL, AHL or somewhere else.”
Mills also continues; and the 9&10 News’s Jayden Jagtani offers a video report from the game as well.
