Of Red Wings-related note this morning, after Detroit’s 5-4 shootout victory over the Seattle Kraken:
- We start with the bad news of a sort. The Free Press’s Helene St. James notes that Red Wings coach Todd McLellan confirmed Frank Seravalli’s report that Jeff Petry’s injury required surgery, and that the veteran defenseman will be out for 6-8 weeks. St. James accentuates the positive, however:
Coach Todd McLellan said after Tuesday’s morning skate at Climate Pledge Arena that Jeff Petry, out since Jan. 2 with an upper-body injury, “won’t play for a while. He had surgery and he’ll be out for about 6-to-8 weeks depending on healing time. It’s unfortunate for him as an individual and it’s certainly for our team.”
The Wings have been rolling along without Petry, though, buoyed by the quick work McLellan and assistant coach Trent Yawney made of the defense pairings shortly after arriving on Dec. 26. They split up Moritz Seider and Simon Edvinsson, instead pairing Ben Chiarot with Seider and then finding, to their delight, what a good fit rookie Albert Johansson makes with Edvinsson. Justin Holl and Erik Gustafsson round things out on the third pairing.
“One, we found Albert,” McLellan said. “That allowed us to kind of settle everything out. Breaking up Simon and Mo was something we talked about on the flight in, when we got hired. They were getting a lot of attention as young defensemen – there was a lot of that was being asked of those two, and we forgot that we had some pretty good veterans, too. So a little bit of balance, make everybody important. Albert comes along and he does his thing, and it kind of just slots everybody in the right places. That’s how we got to that.”
2. MLive’s Ansar Khan took note of the historic nature of Patrick Kane’s shootout goal last night, with Kane scoring an all-time NHL-best 53rd shootout goal:
Kane beat goaltender Joey Daccord with a backhand shot off the post. It was the lone goal of the shootout.
“I think obviously going second, you get to watch the first guy go,” Kane told FanDuel Sports Network. “So, (Lucas Raymond) had him on his move. Just thought I’d kind of break down my speed a little bit and maybe shoot it quick or bring it to my backhand and get it up if he was coming out at me.”
McLellan, during his postgame interview on FanDuel, was asked what Kane brings to the lineup after missing five games recently with an upper-body injury.
“The poise, the calmness, the skill, the respect, too, from his teammates and the coaching staff,” McLellan said. “We miss him when he’s not in and we’re lucky to have him especially when the shootout comes around.”
SHOWTIME?!
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) February 5, 2025
SHOWTIME. pic.twitter.com/gn2IHbZ2FY
3. Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff looks back at the Red Wings’ significant 4-game road trip sweeps:
March 3-10, 1996
The Streak: Detroit 6 at Chicago 2 (March 3); Detroit 4 at Hartford 2 (March 6); Detroit 4 at Colorado 2 (March 8); Detroit 5 at Winnipeg 2 (March 10)
The last time the Red Wings were completing a sweep of a four-game road trip was in March of 1996, en route to what was then an NHL-record 62 victories.
Significant Outcome: Red Wings goalie Chris Osgood scored an empty-net goal against the Whalers. He’s the only Detroit netminder to score a goal in an NHL game
Season Outcome: Lost to Colorado Avalanche in Western Conference final
Chris Osgood scored the first goalie goal at the Hartford Civic Center in March 1996. Whalers vs. Red Wings. pic.twitter.com/VoieEdsuQb
— Hockey Night in Hartford (@HockeyNightHFD) April 15, 2024
4. And finally, the Hockey News’s Caleb Kerney discusses the Red Wings’ “kids“:
After the game, head coach Todd McLellan was asked about [Elmer] Soderblom’s and [Jonatan] Berggren’s contributions in his post-game scrum with the media present in Seattle.
“Trent Yawney and I don’t have past experience,” McLellan said. “Everything’s brand new for us. We just play them and see what we get out of them. They’ve responded. They’ve made good on their end of the bargain when they play hard and keep themselves in the lineup.”
The strategy has worked for Berggren and Soderblom, and Marco Kasper has also benefited from this mentality. His ascension to the top line is tough to ignore. The young forward recorded an assist in 19:03 against the Kraken.
