Month: January 2025

Jets, Red Wings preach mutual respect ahead of second clash of the season

The Winnipeg Free Press’s Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe offer the following post-morning skate article form the Jets’ perspective ahead of tonight’s game between Detroit and Winnipeg (7 PM EST start on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit/Sportsnet West/97.1 FM):

We take you back to Oct. 30 in Detroit, where local product Kyle Connor had a huge night against his hometown club and eclipsed the 500-point mark for his career after recording a goal and two assists. You could tell the Winnipeg Jets winger had some extra giddy-up in his step that night.

So what might fellow Michigan product Connor Hellebuyck have in store tonight as his Jets host the Red Wings for the only time this season? We remind you that Winnipeg’s two-time Vezina Trophy winner needs but one victory to become just the 30th goaltender in NHL history with at least 300 wins and 40 shutouts.

“He’s been awesome for us. We just want to go out and play our game and give it our all,” forward Mark Scheifele said following his team’s optional morning skate.

Hellebuyck could have hit the milestone on Thursday night, but the Jets blew a late third-period lead and ultimately fell 4-3 in overtime to the Anaheim Ducks. That left the team winless in its last two (0-1-1) following a four-game winning streak, although they continue to lead the NHL with 56 points (and sit second in point percentage behind the Vegas Golden Knights).

Although the Jets took that initial meeting by a 6-2 score, don’t expect the Red Wings to roll over in this one. Detroit comes in red hot, relatively speaking, as they’ve rattled off three straight victories including a 5-4 triumph on Thursday in Columbus. Give some credit to new head coach Todd McLellan, who took over from Derek Lalonde just after Christmas.

“Really, their play without the puck is probably the biggest difference,” Jets bench boss Scott Arniel said of what has changed in Motor City. “They still have a real good skill-set, some top-end forwards, some real mobile young defencemen who can go, but you can see it, they’re not giving up odd-man rushes. Obviously, their buy-in without the puck has been big.”

McIntyre and Wiebe report that Alex Lyon will start for the Red Wings, and the Hockey News’s Sam Stockton offers this morning skate report from afar…

Continue reading Jets, Red Wings preach mutual respect ahead of second clash of the season

Video: Andrew Copp and Todd McLellan speak with the media prior to Wings-Jets

Red Wings forward Andrew Copp and coach Todd McLellan spoke with the media prior to the Red Wings-Jets game tonight:

Red Wings-Jets morning skate Tweets and previews: Jets starting Hellebuyck, aiming for home-ice rebound

The 16-18-and-4 Detroit Red Wings will battle the NHL-best 27-11-and-2 Winnipeg Jets this evening (7 PM EST start on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit/Sportsnet West/97.1 FM), and the Jets hit the ice at Canada Life Centre very early for an optional morning skate:

NHL.com summarizes tonight’s game thusly:

Continue reading Red Wings-Jets morning skate Tweets and previews: Jets starting Hellebuyck, aiming for home-ice rebound

All about Trey Augustine

EliteProspects’ Sean Shapiro wrote a superb profile of Red Wings prospect, Michigan State University goaltender and Team USA back-stop Trey Augustine ahead of tonight’s World Junior Championship semifinal vs. Czechia (7:30 PM on the NHL Network/TSN):

David Lassonde, USA Hockey’s national goalie coach, remembers the first time he watched Trey Augustine play goalie.

“He was playing for Honeybaked (as a 15-year-old), and just the maturity in which he approached everything, whether it was his game-day prep or practice habits,” Lassonde said. “He always dealt positively with the noise that surrounds him.”

And this weekend that noise could be deafening as Augustine and Team USA try to become the first American team, ever, to win back-to-back gold medals at the World Junior Championship.

“There’s never a moment Trey isn’t ready for,” Michigan State coach Adam Nightingale once told me. “That’s what makes him so great.”

Continued (paywall)

The Athletic gives the Wings a mid-season ‘D’

For what it’s worth, The Athletic is doling out mid-season grades for each and every NHL team, and their take on the Red Wings’ turnaround is predictable:

Detroit Red Wings: D

Most expected some kind of step back for the Red Wings, but their first half still fell well short of expectations. Detroit has issues with its roster, but there’s still more talent on the team than its bottom-10 record suggests. We’ll see if new coach Todd McLellan can help the Red Wings get back on track in the new year, even if the playoffs look tough to reach. — Max Bultman

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Duff on Kiiskinen’s contributions to Finland’s WJC quest

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff wrote an article about Red Wings prospect Jesse Kiiskinen, who apparently feels that he can contribute more to the Finnish cause at the World Junior Championship:

On paper, the evidence is suggesting that Detroit Red Wings prospect Jesse Kiiskinen is enjoying a strong IIHF World Junior Championship for Finland.

He’s leading the Finns in goals (four) and points (five). Kiiskinen, though, is summarily unimpressed with his performance.

“I don’t really know,” Kiiskinen told Finnish website Ilta-Sanomat. “I haven’t played my best yet. Fortunately, I have been able to help the team by scoring goals.”

The winger Detroit was acquiring last summer from the Nashville Predators in a deal for defenseman Andrew Gibson, Kiiskinen and the Finns are facing Sweden and Red Wings defense prospect Axel Sandin Pellikka in Saturday’s semifinals.

Kiiskinen was playing a significant role in getting Finland to this stage. In their 5-3 quarter-final win over Slovakia, Kiiskinen would score the game’s opening goal just 1:10 into the contest. He would then set up Jesse Nurmi to make it 2-0 before the game was four minutes old.

“This was my best game in this tournament,” Kiiskinen acknowledged.

Continued

Prospect round-up: Buchelnikov scores, Gylander stops 44 for Walleye, Finnie 1G+1A for Kamloops

Of Red Wings prospect-related note:

In the KHL, Dmitri Buchelnikov scored a goal on 4 shots, playing 17:08 in Vityaz Moscow Region’s 3-2 OT loss to Red Star Kunlun:

In the Swedish Allsvenskan, Maximilian Kilpinen finished even in 11:18 played as Ostersunds IK won 3-2 over Mora;

Liam Dower Nilsson finished at -1 with 1 shot in 15:03 played as IF Bjorkloven lost 2-1 in overtime to Almtuna;

In the ECHL, Carter Gylander stopped 44 shots in the Toledo Walleye’s 4-3 win over the Fort Wayne Komets;

Continue reading Prospect round-up: Buchelnikov scores, Gylander stops 44 for Walleye, Finnie 1G+1A for Kamloops

DeBrincat unleashed

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan filed a notebook article which discusses Alex DeBrincat’s new-found status as a point-per-game contributor to the Red Wings’ cause:

“I’m happy he’s on our team because (McLellan’s previous) teams were getting tired of playing against him,” McLellan said after Thursday’s dramatic 5-4 victory in Columbus.

DeBrincat had a goal and two assists in the game, pushing his team-leading total to 16 goals and tying Dylan Larkin with 31 points (behind Lucas Raymond’s 38).

Now in his second year with the Wings, DeBrincat is on pace to surpass last season’s 27 goals and is enjoying — to this juncture in the schedule — a more consistent campaign, avoiding the peaks and valleys of last season.

One particularly difficult stretch, from Feb. 29 to April 9, saw DeBrincat score one goal (with six assists) in 19 games. With the Wings missing the playoffs on a tiebreaker, even the slightest uptick in goal-scoring from DeBrincat could have proven to be a difference.

But DeBrincat, twice a 41-goal scorer in the NHL, has looked more like that type of player at times this season.

“You almost appreciate him more when you’re around him more,” McLellan said. “You see him shift after shift and there is more to his game than his shot and goals, which we all know him for. But the work he does in and around the blue paint, screens, his thought process on the power play, how he gets open, his shooting and competitiveness … I’m glad he’s on our team.”

Continued (paywall)