Month: September 2023

Red Wings-Capitals preseason morning skate Tweets: waiting for the Wings’ lines as the Capitals ‘hold an optional’

The Detroit Red Wings take on the Washington Capitals tonight at 7 PM in Washington, DC (on the NHL Network for a bit, and the Monumental Sports Network, then DetroitRedWings.com).

In Detroit, the Red Wings are methodically shifting their two groups’ worth of players through morning skates…

But the Red Wings released their lineup for tonight’s game…

As did the Capitals…

Who are holding an optional morning skate:

Continue reading Red Wings-Capitals preseason morning skate Tweets: waiting for the Wings’ lines as the Capitals ‘hold an optional’

It looks like the TV/streaming situation for tonight’s Red Wings-Capitals game has changed

Tonight’s game between the Detroit Red Wings and Washington Capitals was supposed to air on the NHL Network as well as the Monumental Sports Network in DC, but it appears that plans have changed.

The Red Wings posted a streaming link in their game-day Tweet…

And the NHL Network is now promising to air Connor Bedard’s NHL debut at 8:30 PM:

So now it looks like we’ll see the first hour-and-a-half of the Red Wings-Caps game on the NHL Network, presuming that they don’t spend the entire time hyping Connor Bedard. Then it’s over to the computer to watch the Wings’ stream.

Roughly translated: Lucas Raymond speaks with Hockeysverige.se’s Uffe Bodin

Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond gave Hockeysverige.se’s Uffe Bodin an insight to his busy summer, and here’s a rough translation of the interview:

The Summer that will unlock Lucas Raymond’s NHL potential

His talent on the ice is indisputable, but to achieve his potential in the NHL, Lucas Raymond has had to put on a few extra kilos of muscle. This summer, he put in the extra work to take a big step toward a big breakthrough with the Detroit Red Wings–and to become the next Swedish NHL star.

“It’s a nice feeling to know you have more to give,” says Raymond.

Continue reading Roughly translated: Lucas Raymond speaks with Hockeysverige.se’s Uffe Bodin

Mills previews tonight’s Wings-Caps game

DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills previews tonight’s game between the Detroit Red Wings and the Washington Capitals in DC (7:00 PM EDT on the NHL Network/Monumental Sports Network):

Detroit opened its eight-game preseason schedule Tuesday with a 4-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins at Little Caesars Arena. Michael Rasmussen and forward prospect Nate Danielson scored even-strength goals, and captain Dylan Larkin and Moritz Seider netted power-play tallies for the Red Wings.

As expected in the first preseason game, Detroit had its ups and downs throughout Tuesday’s win. But according to Rasmussen, the Red Wings are much more comfortable in the second season of Lalonde’s system.

“Stuff to clean up, for sure,” Rasmussen said. “That’s just part of it. Maybe preseason game No. 1 this year compared to last year, it was pretty good and noticeable. I thought we did a pretty good job. Obviously, we’ll look at it and get better.”

The final score in preseason games is secondary for Lalonde, who said he is using these matchups as opportunities to experiment with different lineups and strategies while evaluating the club’s talent.

The Red Wings’ expanded roster features several promising young players, including defenseman prospect Simon Edvinsson, who tallied an assist in 17:30 of ice time on Tuesday.

“These games are really important,” Lalonde said. “Especially (Edvinsson) missing an entire summer of contact. So, some positives. He can do things you just can’t teach, but there are still some things in his game he needs to keep growing.”

Continued

A pair of ‘Athletic-y’ lists

The Athletic posted, well…Two Athletic-y articles this morning. As you might imagine, the Red Wings do not rank highly on Harman Dayal’s ranking of the NHL’s defensive corps by tiers, with the Wings falling into his 5th tier, “Question Marks”…

Detroit Red Wings

Jake Walman–Moritz Seider
Ben Chiarot–Jeff Petry
Shayne Gostisbehere–Justin Holl

Other defense options: Olli Määttä, Simon Edvinsson

Seider was underwhelming in the first half of the season but he started playing like a bona fide No. 1 again once he was paired with Walman, who’s been a revelation for the Red Wings.

Detroit’s second pair could be a little dicey. Petry is well-equipped for that role but Chiarot hurt any top-four pair he was on last year. Chiarot was a huge drag on Seider and had a similarly harsh impact on Filip Hronek prior to the latter getting traded.

The Red Wings’ third pair should be above average as they’re loaded with quality options like Gostisbehere, Holl and Määttä.

Continued (paywall); I don’t see why Chiarot would play with Petry…

And the other Athletic-y article of the morning comes from Sean McIndoe/Down Goes Brown, who’s made another list of all 32 teams’ offseasons as ranked by his “Bizarro Meter“:

Detroit Red Wings

The offseason so far: For the second straight year, they were one of the busiest teams in the offseason — and according to the numbers, one of the most successful. Alex DeBrincat was the big addition, but they also added names like J.T. Compher, Daniel Sprong, Shayne Gostisbehere and even James Reimer. They just keep getting better.

But their strangest story was: They keep getting better, but are they good? For a team that’s had two big offseasons in a row, they sure seem to be showing up in seventh place in a lot of Atlantic Division previews.

Bizarro-meter ranking: 4.1/10. I know, I know, we must not doubt Steve Yzerman. And to be fair, I’m not completely sure what more he could have done.

Continued (paywall); you can totally doubt Steve Yzerman these days. It’s in fashion, in fact, to bash the Yzerplan (it was this summer, anyway). But I’m not certain what more the Red Wings’ GM could have done given the free agent marketplace’s depth, or the lack thereof.

DeBrincat the catalyst

Bleacher Report’s Sara Civian has posted an article discussing players to “get excited about” on each and every one of the NHL’s 32 teams, and she’s picking Alex DeBrincat from Detroit:

Detroit Red Wings: Alex DeBrincat

Do I think DeBrincat will come in and be the best player on this burgeoning Red Wings roster? No, and that would be a bad sign if he did. It’s Moritz Seider szn, with a dash of Lucas Raymond.

Do I think DeBrincat will come in and make Seider szn, along with everything else, a heck of a lot easier? Indeed. Between the cheap-ish hometown deal, the opportunity to play for a team better suited for him and the spunky winger with a million goals still left in him ready to unleash, I’m pumped for this change of scenery. Not to mention the impact he could have on Raymond, should they play on the same line.


Continued; DeBrincat’s definitely an offensive catalyst. He passes, he forechecks, he hits–he’s not just a goal-scorer.

HSJ in the morning: on Rasmussen’s reset

The Free Press’s Helene St. James posted her customary morning article, and today, she discusses Michael Rasmussen’s return to the Red Wings’ lineup on Tuesday:

Rasmussen played just short of 13 minutes Tuesday in his first game in seven months and scored the decisive goal in the 4-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“I felt good,” he said. “I felt good in camp and it’s good to get a game in. There’s some stuff to clean up here and there, but it just felt nice to be out there with the guys.”

“The guys” Rasmussen found himself playing next to were Andrew Copp and David Perron. Rasmussen and Copp started playing on the same line in mid-January, with either Perron, Robby Fabbri or Jonatan Berggren on the other wing.

Coach Derek Lalonde explained his thinking in pairing Copp and Rasmussen. “We worked probably backward off the penalty kill,” Lalonde said. “Last year, those were our first two guys out, and it kind of helped the rhythm of our lineup. But then they started to have some chemistry and they worked well together, they liked playing together.

“We have a little more depth this year. We’re not married to anything. But those two have done some good things together.”

Continued

Duff: Rasmussen gave Nedeljkovic a ‘tap on the pads’

From Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff’s overnight notebook:

When the Detroit Red Wings were opening the NHL preseason on Tuesday at Little Caesars Arena against the Pittsburgh Penguins, they were also welcoming home an old friend. Alex Nedeljkovic, a Detroit goalie the previous two seasons, got the start and went the distance for the Penguins in their 4-3 loss.

So how did the Red Wings players acknowledge their old mate?

“You see him and it registers,” Detroit forward Michael Rasmussen said. “You give him a ‘hi’ or a tap on pads in warmup, but once you get out there he’s just a goalie.

Continued; once the puck dropped, there are no friends on the ice.

Tweet of note: Here’s the Capitals’ lineup for tonight’s exhibition game vs. Detroit

Here’s the Washington Capitals’ lineup for tonight’s game vs. the Detroit Red Wings in DC (7 PM on the NHL Network, Monumental Sports):