Of Red Wings-related note this morning:
- ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski posted an ESPN+ article which discusses the levels of playoff hope for the “NHL’s Bubble Watch” teams, and here’s what he has to say about the Red Wings, who “have work to do”:
Detroit Red Wings
Record: 21-21-5, 47 points
Playoff chances: 12.9%GM Steve Yzerman fired head coach Derek Lalonde after three seasons and a 13-17-4 record. Enter Todd McLellan, trying to end an eight-season playoff drought in the Motor City. While nothing has shifted dramatically in their underlying numbers, the Wings went 6-3-1 in a 10-game stretch under McLellan to keep pace in the East.
To his credit, the veteran coach is doing what he can to get their attention, with post-game comments such as: “Say you’re at your desk but you’re not working, then you’re useless. It’s one thing being there, it’s the other thing getting the job done.”
Playoff quality goaltending rating: Fair. The Red Wings’ goaltending depth chart looked like an “American Idol” audition earlier this season, but Detroit has settled on Cam Talbot and Alex Lyon as their tandem. Stathletes has both netminders under water in goals saved above expected; Money Puck’s numbers indicate they’re both better than expected. One thing is clear: McLellan is very familiar with Talbot, having coached him in Edmonton and Los Angeles previously.
Continued (paywall);
2. The NHL is going to reveal its “Quarter-Century Team” for the Detroit Red Wings later today, and if this player is not on the “second team,” I would be surprised.
One Lucas Raymond is about to make some history, as the Hockey News’s Caleb Kerney notes:
[Raymond] currently has 19 goals. If he records another one tonight, he will join Steve Yzerman and Marcel Dionne as the third player in team history to record at least three 20-goal seasons by the time he is 22. That’s very impressive company to keep.
In 47 games this year, he’s only been held pointless 13 times. This is a statement to the consistency of his production this season. Even when other players struggled at the beginning of the season, Raymond didn’t.
There’s a really good chance that Raymond etches his name alongside Yzerman and Dionne. Even if he doesn’t do that tonight, there’s a good chance he records at least an assist.
3. And Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff discusses Red Wings prospect Jesse Kiiskinen’s “good luck charm” today:
Before each game, the Finnish winger scrawls the word “Virru” on the shaft of his stick. Next to it, he draws a heart.
Niklas Virtanen is a forward with Finland’s Lahti Pelicans. Up until this season, he and Kiiskinen were teammates on the Finnish Liiga squad.
“We are really good friends,” Kiiskinen told Finnish website Ilta-Sanomat.
…
He and Virtanen would face each other as opponents for the first time in an early-season game between Pelicans and HPK.
“We played against each other for the first time this season, and we had a little laugh before the puck drop,” Kiiskinen said. “Five seconds later he crashed into the wing, and it went badly for him.”
Virtanen suffered a badly broken leg. He’ll be out of action at least a year.
Enduring a long hospitalization, Virtanen’s spirits were lifted by the frequent visits of his friend Kiiskinen. He’s sought to return the favor during his recovery process.
“He sends me lots of good-luck messages,” Kiiskinen said.
