Month: March 2025

The 30-23-and-6 Detroit Red Wings and 29-22-and-8 Columbus Blue Jackets are tied in the NHL standings as the teams play in the NHL’s Stadium Series tonight (6 PM EST start on ESPN/TVA Sports/FX-CA/97.1 FM).

The Red Wings are hoping to avenge an ugly 5-2 loss to Columbus on Thurdsay, and, quite frankly, spoil what is Columbus’ “coming out party” as a debutante on the NHL stage today. Today is all about Columbus, the Blue Jackets, Ohio State traditions and how the Blue Jackets are supposed to be the “story of the year”…

And it’s up to the Red Wings, who are playing in their 5th outdoor game, and their 4th as a visitor (what’s up with that?), to spoil Columbus’ party.

The Associated Press’s Joe Reedy discussed the significance of the Stadium Series game at Ohio Stadium to ESPN in his game preview:

The Stadium Series usually has significance due to the location, but it carries huge implications in the Eastern Conference playoff race. After Thursday night’s 5-2 victory, Columbus is tied with Detroit for the first wild-card spot. Both have 66 points, and are four points clear of Ottawa, Boston and the New York Rangers.

The Red Wings haven’t been to the Stanley Cup playoffs since 2016 while the Blue Jackets are in contention even while mourning the deaths of Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew in August.

Besides the Ohio-Michigan rivalry being manifested on ice, Ohio Stadium should provide a great backdrop because college stadiums seem to be more conducive to NHL Stadium Series games with not a lot of sideline room. The fans are also more on top of the rink and closer to the ice compared to when the outdoor games have taken place in baseball parks.

“The NHL does a really good job of finding these iconic settings. And ‘The Horseshoe’ just screams that,” Levy said. “If you’re naming five iconic college football stadiums, this is one. Just like ‘The Big House’ in Michigan (which has also hosted a Stadium Series game) is on that list.”

Continue reading Red Wings-Blue Jackets Stadium Series preview: Wings aim to spoil the Blue Jackets’ party

The Detroit Red Wings face off against the Columbus Blue Jackets in today’s Stadium Series game (6 PM EST on ESPN/TVA Sports/FX/97.1 FM), and last night, Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin spoke with the NHL Network’s Mike Rupp and Lauren Gardner about the game:

Dylan Larkin is ready to take the ice in his third outdoor game.

The @umichhockey alum spoke with @LGRed and @Rupper17 following yesterday's practice, and he made sure to get some Michigan-Ohio State trash talk in as well.@DetroitRedWings | #LGRW | #StadiumSeries pic.twitter.com/JIulmLtKxq

— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) March 1, 2025

The Free Press’s Carlos Monarrez praises Red Wings coach Todd McLellan for calling out Dylan Larkin after Thursday’s 5-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday, as only Monarrez can:

Larkin is a very good — sometimes excellent — player. He’s also the captain, which is a heavy burden on a team that has had very little success during his tenure. I would hope Larkin’s skin is thick enough and his mental fortitude is strong enough to take this kind of public criticism from his coach. If it isn’t, I can think of 69.6 million reasons why it should be.

If the Wings are going to make the playoffs for the first time since 2016, and then do something when they get there, they’re going to need Larkin to be at his best.

But this really isn’t about Larkin. This is about the guiding light the Wings have been waiting for. It’s about a coach who’s more interested in doing his job than keeping his job. The kind of tough love we’re seeing from McLellan — who also wasn’t shy about sharing his reasons for benching defenseman Justin Holl in January — is exactly what this team has needed.

And let me assure you it’s becoming increasingly rare for coaches to publicly criticize any player. The last time I remember a coach in Detroit castigating a high-profile player was when Jim Caldwell benched Matthew Stafford during a game in 2015. Caldwell paid the price when he was fired following the 2017 season, when Stafford refused to support him.

Stafford essentially won a power struggle with Caldwell because he understood he was playing on a Ford Family Scholarship and, thanks in part to his carefully curated image, had more organizational equity than Caldwell.

That’s the question we’re facing now with McLellan and Larkin: Who has more organizational equity?

Is it the franchise player who hasn’t gotten his team to the playoffs since his rookie season? Or is it the guy who’s the hottest coach in the NHL and has led the Wings to 17 wins and 36 points since Dec. 27? No team entered Thursday with more points or wins in that time.

Monarrez continues, and it’s not paywalled…

The NHL’s trade deadline hits on Friday, March 7th at 3 PM EST.

This morning:

1. Ahead of the deadline, Bleacher Report’s Sara Civian offers “6 mistakes [that] NHL teams should avoid” at the deadline, including some advice for the Red Wings…

DETROIT RED WINGS: The Athletic published a player agent poll earlier this week that confirmed at least two big shots in the hockey world hold the same opinion as a multitude of social media accounts: There are some doubts about the Yzerplan.

“They’re really unstable,” one said. “There’s no plan, although they may say there’s one.”

Take these things with a grain of salt. If anyone is going to have an agenda, it’s an agent. But you have to admit that the Yzerplan has been confusing and shrouded in mystery when it comes to direction.

Regardless, the hiring of Todd McLellan turned everything around to such an extent that whatever the Yzerplan was supposed to be has a real chance to end in success now. 

The biggest problems ailing Detroit before the coaching change were brutal lack of sustained zone time, a weak penalty kill, and some general lack of cohesion. Goaltending wasn’t—and still isn’t—perfect, but it’s not the gravest concern.

The Red Wings could help their present and future with a few skaters built to move the puck and to bridge the gap between their youth movement and veterans. Especially with center Andrew Copp out for the season, it’s time to target all-around players who are effective in entering the zone and protecting the net.

GM Steve Yzerman has a great opportunity here to clarify and strengthen his plan. Will he take it?

2. The Athletic also makes one “bold prediction” for each NHL team at the deadline:

Detroit Red Wings

Prediction: They will add a defenseman.

The attention in Detroit has been on the center position, especially after Andrew Copp was ruled out for the season after undergoing surgery on his left pectoral tendon. And they could look to do something there. But the Red Wings have more internal options available at center than they do on the blue line, which is already thinned out after Jeff Petry’s injury. We’ll see if the Red Wings do anything major at the deadline (in a similar position last year, they stood pat), but if they do, defense seems like the better bet. — Max Bultman

Having William Lagesson as the team’s 7th defenseman is not ideal, but I remain fairly sure that Yzerman isn’t adding anybody unless they’re part of the long-term future…

Though the most probable position to add a rental is definitely on the blueline.