DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills posted a game preview ahead of tonight’s tilt with Pittsburgh (7 PM in Pittsburgh on Bally Sports Detroit)…
“You’re going to have some of these back-to-backs, which is fine,” Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde said after Tuesday’s morning skate at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center. “It’s just kind of spreading them out. We’ll try to avoid some three [games] in four [days] for some guys. We’re trying to balance what we’re trying to get accomplished in camp with obviously making sure guys have their best opportunity to perform in camp and avoid some potential injuries.”
As the Red Wings continue to prepare for Opening Night against the Penguins on Oct. 10, Justin Holl said the intensity of this year’s Training Camp will prove valuable for the players when the regular season begins.
“It’s been challenging physically,” Holl said. “I feel like Training Camp is always difficult, just in the sense that you try to prepare yourself as best you can in the summer. There’s really no way to replicate what you’re doing on the ice when Training Camp starts and the amount of workload you’re putting your body under. It has been difficult, but I would expect nothing less.”
Pace and skating have been two key areas of emphasis from the Red Wings coaching staff that have stood out to Holl throughout Training Camp.
“You’re doing difficult drills where you’re going up and down the ice maybe a couple times, then it’s a hard lap in between,” Holl said. “It’s kind of the accumulation of all these things, then at the end of the skate you’re doing conditioning. It’s meant to be hard. That’s the idea, and it’s meant to test us physically and mentally.”
In 2023-24, his first season with Detroit, Holl had five points (all assists) in 38 games. The 32-year-old defenseman said he’s entering this season with a narrow focus.
Continued; here’s the Wings’ lineup:
Tonight's lineup in Pittsburgh.
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 1, 2024
Puck drops at 7pm on @BallySportsDET. pic.twitter.com/vp9wrfhbSm
And the Hockey News’s Connor Eargood posted a game preview that ties in well with Mills’ preview:
Continue reading Two previews of tonight’s ‘skeleton crew’ game vs. Pittsburgh