Of Red Wings-related note this morning:
- The Free Press’s Helene St. James discusses Albert Johansson’s first NHL goal, which served as the 4-2 marker in last night’s 5-3 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks:
Raymond called it “an awesome moment. Everyone is extremely happy for him. It’s a special moment and a big accomplishment, so it’s fun to see.”
Fun, and a good step for Johansson as he tries to become a regular in his rookie season. The defenseman has been in and out of the lineup, appearing in three straight games partly because of an injury to veteran Jeff Petry. But Johansson, 24, is showing he isn’t just a fill-in. He played well in Tuesday’s game against the Ottawa Senators, then put together another good performance against the Blackhawks.
“Over and above the goal itself, he had really good instincts to go to that hole,” McLellan said. “But I just think he’s been playing better over nine periods now — every period has gotten better for him. Confidence is growing. He’s doing exactly what he needs to do so that we understand him as a player and feel good about him. So, goal — great; confidence — even better.”
At 6 feet and 168 pounds, Johansson isn’t the biggest of guys, which is why it’s vital for him to play well positionally.
“He’s got to be real smart and know where to go and what to do,” McLellan said. “The other night against Ottawa, he and (Brady) Tkachuk got tangled up below the goal line and that’s a pretty big load. He handled himself well. As long as he’s positionally sound, he’ll have no problem.”
ALBERT JOHANSSON FIRST NHL GOAL! #LGRW pic.twitter.com/D3xGhWflBD
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) January 11, 2025
2. MLive’s Ansar Khan also discussed Johansson’s marker as a point of emphasis for a young, developing defenseman who’s trying to earn a permanent spot on the Red Wings’ blueline:
“Anytime a young man scores his first goal in the league, everybody’s so excited, like the bench, trainers, coaches, and certainly Albert,” McLellan said. “We’re really excited and over and above the goal itself, he had really good instincts to go to that hole.
“But I just think he’s been playing better nine periods now. Every period it’s gotten better for him. Confidence is growing. He’s doing exactly what he needs to do so that we understand him as a player and feel good about him. Goal, great. Confidence even better.”
…
The rookie defenseman has been a healthy scratch in 21-of-41 games. An injury to Jeff Petry has enabled Johansson to play the past three games in a top-four role with Simon Edvinsson, his partner much of the previous two seasons in Grand Rapids.
“Maybe a little slow start, but I’m just trying to work hard,” Johansson said. “And since Todd came in here, been playing with Simon, and I know Simon really good since GR, so I think we kept our chemistry from GR into here. So last couple of games been good and real fun.”
McLellan credited new assistant coach Trent Yawney, who runs the defense, for pairing Johansson with Edvinsson.
“We wanted to keep the other pairs together because they had started playing fairly well together and some of their games were coming along well,” McLellan said. “And then to know that those two played a lot of minutes together in Grand Rapids over the years, also important.”
Grab that puck!
— NHL (@NHL) January 11, 2025
Albert Johansson has his first NHL goal! 🚨
📺: @NHLNetwork pic.twitter.com/WO5nzRUu0k
3. Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen took note of Friday’s post-game comments made by Lucas Raymond and coach McLellan; the coach is not necessarily satisfied with his team’s 60-minute performances as of yet:
They were 1-for-4 on the power play against Chicago, meaning they have scored at least one power play goal in all seven games McLellan has been behind the bench. They are 11-for-23 (47.8%) on the power play in that span.
“I think it’s not always going to be tic tac toe, right,” Raymond said. “If you look at tonight, it comes off almost a puck retrieval and we attack. I think that’s been a big part, retrieving pucks, taking shots, kind of having that shot first mentality. And yeah, it brings a lot of positive to the game. You can get momentum off your power play and your PK. ”
The Red Wings (19-18-4) now are sustaining the momentum they couldn’t find before Christmas. They are only two points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. They are only four points out of third in the Atlantic Division. With games against the Seattle Kraken (28th) and San Jose Sharks (31st) on Sunday and Tuesday, they are thinking big.
“We won six games or whatever, but we really haven’t had a true 60-minute effort,” McLellan said. ” We’re still in waves up and down, but the ability to go grab the momentum. Now, they understand they can do that by doing certain things. So that’s a good sign. “
4. And finally, the Hockey News’s Sam Stockton posted his customary morning-after-the-game notebook:
On Friday, Marco Kasper skated his first full game in a top line role beside Lucas Raymond and Dylan Larkin. “Marco plays with a lot of speed,” Raymond said, in praise of the rookie. “He’s a real good smart player. He also likes to get into the dirty areas and comes up with a lot of pucks, so it was fun to see him out there tonight.” The set up on Johansson’s goal showed that dirty area work in action, before Kasper was rewarded for his work for others with the empty-netter at game’s end.
“I think he’s looked really good,” assessed McLellan. “As far as having him out there [defending the one-goal lead late], he played the whole game against really good players, so I have no problem playing him in the last minute. He’s quite a responsible player. Sometimes maybe too defensive, but the good thing is he found a way to score. Now I know it’s an empty-net goal, but sometimes that does wonders…I think Kasp has some real good offensive instincts. He had great chances tonight…He’s put himself in a position to finish, and now it’s just that last part, and it’ll come.”
There were moments at which you could see Kasper’s lack of chemistry or familiarity with Raymond and Larkin, including a three-on-one chance on which they seemed almost on top of one another. Kasper probably isn’t best suited to playing the sort of rush game we’ve seen Raymond and Larkin thrive with, but that doesn’t mean he can’t help that line in other ways.
On Friday, he seemed to get better as the game progressed, and you could see the peak of Kasper’s value in the plays he made in the defensive zone to win back possession, as well as the work he put in down low in the offensive zone both on the forecheck and cycle. I don’t think Kasper is destined to spend his career as a top-liner, but he made clear Friday that he can have a positive impact in that role if called upon to fill it.
I would argue that Kasper is more likely to play as a second-line center of the Valtteri Filppula variety–as in a speedy, smart center who can produce offensively and skate well enough to get back defensively as well–but #92 has an edge to him, too.
