Month: December 2024

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen offers the following note about Red Wings prospect and Michigan State University goaltender Trey Augustine:

Detroit Red Wings prospect Trey Augustine (41st overall, 2023) made 30 saves Saturday to help the No. 1-ranked Michigan State (12-2-0) Spartans down Wisconsin 3-2 on an overtime goal by Isaac Howard.

The win gave MSU against a Wisconsin squad that ended the Spartans’ nine-game winning streak Friday with a 4-0 triumph. Augustine gave up three goals in that contest, making 22 saves. This season, Augustine is 10-2 with a 1.83 goals-against average and .934 save percentage.

Augustine’s 30 saves included an overtime stop by Christian Fitzgerald.

Over two seasons at Michigan State, Augustine is 33-11-2. In Sebastian Cossa, Carter Gylander and Augustine, the Red Wings have three quality goalie prospects in the 22 and under category. Gylander made 23 saves to earn the 5-4 overtime road win for Grand Rapids Griffins against the Chicago Wolves Saturday.  He is 2-1 for the Griffins this season and 5-1-2 for the Toledo Walleye.

MSU plays at No. 4 Minnesota for two games next weekend.

Continued

I was incredibly relieved to hear Moritz Seider, J.T. Compher and coach Derek Lalonde crack a little bit in terms of their stoic facades last night, revealing the underlying frustration that lies beneath the Red Wings’ 0-3-and-2 record of late.

Coach Mike Babcock used to say, “Frustration is a waste of time,” and that may or may not be true, but the concept that a team and its players cannot or should not embrace a the motivation that comes from acknowledging negative emotions…

It’s kind of robotic, and it yields robotic results in terms of teams, players and coaches who continue to insist that they need to “trust the process” when it’s evident that their process isn’t working.

If this year’s Red Wings team is to turn around its 10-13-and-4 record, it’s going to have to not only embrace its work ethic and resolve, but also the emotions that the team is feeling.

It finally sounds like the Red Wings are willing to acknowledge that what they’re doing right now hasn’t facilitated successful results, and therein lies a kernel of hope…

Hope that the Wings will embrace the changes they need to make to their play in order to stop the losing streak and restart the team’s 2024-2025 season, starting with game 28 against Buffalo on Monday.

Now the 11-13-and-3 Sabres’ 5-2 loss to Utah on Saturday has the team’s fans ready to revolt against GM Kevyn Adams, and the Sabres are on a six-game losing streak, so the Red Wings are going to be heading into an incredibly hostile environment on Monday, with an opponent that will be absolutely desperate to break its winless streak.

But the first part of solving a problem is admitting that you have a problem, and that’s where the Red Wings’ acknowledgment of frustration and disappointment with how their season has gone thus far is in fact a beacon of hope.

Last week, Dylan Larkin said that the Wings have to play as if nobody’s coming in to save them, and that may be true, so it’s imperative that the Wings re-embrace their work ethic and the fundamentals of their game going forward.

It’s going to take hard work and the initiative to plain old out-hustle and out-grind their opponents in order to take the looming 2-game road trip (and then the home-heavy remainder of the team’s December schedule) and utilize it to prove that the current players and coach Lalonde and his staff can still earn their pay and earn their keep…

And there is nothing wrong with embracing a little anger in order to achieve their goals. Babcockian logic suggests that stoicism is the way, and that there’s no reason to play with a chip on your shoulder, but I happen to believe that too much “robot hockey” and “trusting of the process” can be absolutely deadly to a team’s hopes of playing competitive hockey in January, never mind February, March or April.

As Red Wings play-by-play broadcaster Mickey Redmond suggested, the Wings probably have a window until the end of December to turn their ship around without requiring significant intervention from their management group in terms of changing player personnel and coaching staff…

So perhaps the best thing the Wings can do is take their frustration and utilize it to give them the kick in the ass that they need to motivate themselves to recommit to the fundamentals of playing sound hockey.

Here’s hoping that embracing frustration, and using the energy it creates to facilitate change, actually works.

The Free Press’s Helene St. James posted an excerpt from her book, “The Franchise: Detroit Red Wings, a Curated History of the Red Wings” this morning, discussing the influence of trailblazing Marguerite Norris, who should be in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Why? Because she ran the Red Wings to two Stanley Cups as the first woman to run an NHL team, starting her 3-year tenure as the Wings’ active governor at all of 25 years of age:

On December 5, 1952, a headline ran across one of the pages of the Detroit Free Press: “Wings Lose Owner and ‘No. 1 Fan’ as Norris Dies.” James E. Norris, the man who in 1932 bought a fledgling hockey franchise in Detroit and used his money and power to make the re-named Red Wings successful, died at age 73 from a heart attack. The immediate presumption was that son James D. Norris— who went by Young Jim—would become the next head of the Detroit hockey club. Ten days after James E. Norris’ death, the contents of his will revealed his choice: his youngest child, Marguerite Ann Norris, would become the first woman ever to head a professional hockey team.

She was named president of both the Red Wings and Olympia Stadium. The announcement was made by general manager Jack Adams on behalf of the Norris heirs. “Marguerite Ann was selected to follow the prescribed wishes of her father,” Adams said in a brief statement that he telephoned to Detroit hockey writers.

A graduate of Smith College, Marguerite later had business training with Dun & Bradstreet in New York and West Farm Management in Chicago. When coach Tommy Ivan was introduced to Marguerite a few days later, he inquired how to address her. “What should I call you when we talk hockey,” he said. “Miss Norris? Miss Boss? Miss President? Miss Owner?” She replied, “Margo will do.” (Margo was “my father’s choice,” Marguerite explained, while “Marge is what my brothers and sister call me.”)

Marguerite Norris accepted her new role with aplomb. “One minute I’m thrilled and the next I feel rather humble,” the 25-year-old said a week into the job. “This is all so new and exciting, and I really can’t say a thing yet about team operations.”

Continued;

The Detroit Red Wings were out-shot 11-8 over the course of the 3rd period in last night’s 2-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche, with the vast majority of the Wings’ 8 shots coming during the game’s final 2 frantic minutes of play.

As Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff notes, the Avs’ relentless play during the 3rd period “taught the Wings a lesson” as to how to play with a lead:

Carrying a 2-1 lead into the third period, it was easy to decipher why Colorado is now 10-0 this season when leading after two periods. Instead of sitting back and sitting on their one-goal advantage, from the drop of the puck to start the final period of regulation, the Avs got after the Red Wings.

They were playing aggressively, attacking Detroit. It was a formula that wound up pinning the Wings in their own zone, wearing them down and winning shift after shift in closing out their 2-1 victory.

“They just won some shifts and they got some zone time,” Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said.

Detroit’s first shot on goal in the third period was by Alex DeBrincat at the 6:30 mark. The Wings wouldn’t register another until there was 2:31 left in the frame and they’d pulled goalie Ville Husso for an extra attacker.

“I think it’s something that we can learn from, what they did in the third,” Red Wings center JT Compher said. “It’s a close game, they’re only up a goal. They stayed aggressive on us and we didn’t execute well enough to get out of our zone quickly, and then they kind of get the momentum of rolling lines over on us, and we weren’t able to flip that fast enough.”

Continued; it was frustrating to watch the Wings come out and play so flat for the early part of the 3rd period, so it wasn’t simply the Avs imposing their will against the Red Wings…

But the Red Wings were also out-played and out-worked not only for the majority of the 3rd period, but also for the majority of the 60-minutes worth of play during last night’s game.

Detroit’s been out-worked for long stretches by the Devils, Canucks, Bruins, Senators and now the Avalanche, and that’s not acceptable. At least the team is admitting that it’s frustrated with its own play instead of continuing obliviously forward.

How so? MLive’s Ansar Khan took note of the other comments that the Red Wings made after last night’s game…

Continue reading The Wings may be frustrated by their own play of late, but they still care about getting better

The Associated Press has already posted a preview of Monday night’s game between the Red Wings and Buffalo Sabres:

BOTTOM LINE: The Detroit Red Wings head into the matchup against the Buffalo Sabres as losers of five games in a row.

Buffalo is 11-13-3 overall with a 3-3-0 record in Atlantic Division play. The Sabres are fifth in NHL play with 116 total penalties (averaging 4.3 per game).

Detroit is 10-13-4 overall and 1-4-1 against the Atlantic Division. The Red Wings have a -16 scoring differential, with 67 total goals scored and 83 conceded.

Monday’s game is the third meeting between these teams this season. The Red Wings won 2-1 in the previous meeting.

TOP PERFORMERS: Alex Tuch has scored eight goals with 16 assists for the Sabres. Jason Zucker has two goals and four assists over the last 10 games.

Dylan Larkin has 12 goals and nine assists for the Red Wings. Lucas Raymond has eight goals and four assists over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Sabres: 3-5-2, averaging 2.1 goals, 3.1 assists, four penalties and 9.7 penalty minutes while giving up 2.8 goals per game.

Red Wings: 3-4-3, averaging 2.5 goals, 4.2 assists, 3.8 penalties and 8.1 penalty minutes while giving up 2.8 goals per game.

The Detroit Red Wings have an 0-3-and-2 record over their past 5 games thanks to a 2-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night.

Detroit just can’t seem to get out of its own way right now. When they play great defensively, they can’t score. When they score, they can’t play defense. And their special teams remain mixed (Detroit was 0-for-1 on the PP and 0-for-1 on the PK), to boot, which can just kill momentum, as the Avs did when taking their 2-0 lead only 2:44 into the 2nd on a Cale Makar goal.

Ville Husso was very good on Saturday evening, too, stopping the 23 shots he saw; the Avs’ screens were the reasons why two pucks got past him.

The Avalanche had lost 4 of their past 6 games coming into Saturday night’s affair, so it wasn’t as if they were rolling along, but Colorado Hockey Now’s Aarif Deen notes that the Avs turned the ship around in a hurry:

Continue reading Red Wings-Avalanche wrap-up: frustrated Red Wings believe hard work is their solution

The Detroit Red Wings hosted the Colorado Avalanche at Little Caesars Arena for the Wings’ only home game for almost two weeks’ worth of play.

The 14-13-and-0 Avalanche have lost 4 of their past 6 games, but the Avs believed that the return of Ross Colton would stabilize their lineup. The 10-12-and-4 Red Wings hoped to snap an 0-2-and-2 streak while continuing to play without the services of goaltenders Cam Talbot and Alex Lyon, who will likely remain out until the Wings host the Maple Leafs next Saturday night.

On Saturday evening, the Red Wings dropped a particularly frustrating game to the Avs, losing 2-1 as the Avs took a 2-0 lead on goals by Nichushkin and Makar, and while Lucas Raymond’s chest tipped in a Dylan Larkin shot at 18:13 of the 2nd, Colorado out-shot Detroit 11-1 over the first half of the 3rd period, and Detroit rallied with 7 shots in the 2nd half…

But Alexandar Georgiev stopped 28 of 29 shots, Detroit was only afforded 1 power play, which went 0-for-1, the Avs scored on theirs…

And that was the game. Detroit sure tried hard to make their own breaks, but sometimes they couldn’t get out of their own way, and Colorado persisted and prevailed because they earned the upper hand.

Detroit is now 0-3-and-2 in its last 5 games, and the Wings head to Buffalo on Monday and Philadelphia on Thursday.

Continue reading Red Wings-Avalanche quick take: Georgiev, Avs stifle Detroit’s meager offense

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan spoke with Red Wings goaltender Ville Husso about his status as having returned to the Wings after spending a chunk of the 2024-2025 season with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins:

“It’s been a little crazy, not knowing (what’s next),” said Husso, who is healthy after fighting injuries that wiped away the second half of last season for him. “But now, I feel like it has calmed me down a little bit. And for me, whatever happens, happens.”

After the opening night loss to Pittsburgh (10 saves on 14 shots), Husso made a start Nov. 9 against the New York Rangers (20 saves, 4-0 loss), then relieved Cam Talbot on Sunday in an overtime loss against Vancouver (15 saves on 18 shots).

Husso started the 3-2 overtime loss Tuesday in Boston (season-high 32 saves) and Thursday’s 2-1 loss in Ottawa (30 saves), playing well enough to earn victories both times.

“(Husso) has done great for us,” Lalonde said. “Very tough circumstances and situation, and he’s gotten points in (two of three games) for us.”

The move to Grand Rapids was beneficial as it enabled Husso to knock some rust off after a long period of inactivity. Husso won all four his decisions with the Griffins (in five total appearances), with a sparkling 1.58 goals-against average and .944 save percentage.

“I had some good games in Grand Rapids, good practices,” Husso said. “But it was nice to come back here for sure.”

Continued (paywall)

Of Red Wings-related note this afternoon/evening:

1. MLive’s Ansar Khan filed a game-day notebook which discusses the Red Wings’ inability to win one-goal games of late:

The Colorado Avalanche are 8-1-0 in games decided by a goal. The Red Wings are winless in four (0-2-2) and each game was decided by a goal. Detroit’s past six losses were one-goal games, including three in overtime. Had the Red Wings (10-12-4) flipped even half of those games they might be sitting in a playoff position today.

“No doubt it increases the frustration level,” coach Derek Lalonde said. “The encouraging part is our process. We could be sitting here talking about a three-game winning streak. The underlying numbers are probably telling us we should have won all three games but we didn’t. We got to find a way to create our own breaks, make the play in the end which the opposing teams made and stay with it. But there’s no doubt about it, there’s definitely a huge frustration level to it because we’re a pretty good group on holding ourselves accountable on performance and we’ve done some good things.”

Defenseman Moritz Seider added: “I think we have to take away the positive first, that we are in every single game until the last second. And obviously, on the other side, we have to find ways to win those hockey games. I mean, you’re putting so much on the line, and it’s really frustrating when you don’t get the results you’re looking for. We just have to make sure we mature a little bit and find ways to win hockey games, because those are all winnable games.”

2. DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills posted a game-day preview as well…

Continue reading Red Wings and Avs game-day notebooks

Superb game preview from Daniella Bruce and Ken Kal as always:

The @Avalanche are in town and @KenKalDRW and & I preview the matchup. @DetroitRedWings #LGRW
Line up notes:
– Husso in net
– Veleno in, Fischer out,
– Gustafsson in, Johansson out pic.twitter.com/M2mPAEpoGx

— Daniella Bruce (@daniellabruce_) December 7, 2024