Author: George Malik

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen shared this note about Patrick Kane in his overnight notebook:

After going nine games without a point, Patrick Kane is starting to play like he did last season. He scored against Montreal to give him goals in back-to-back games and four points in three games. He has 10 shots on goal in those three games

Kane found room with a shot when there appeared to be no room.

“Exciting finish,” Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said.  “Obviously they had some looks trying to get them out in some certain situations, provide some offense. So unfortunately the tying goal found them again. And I do not want that group to get in a trading goals scenario because you’re going to have up and down play.” 

Kane’s goal was the 476th of his career, tying Joe Pavelski for the fifth-most among U.S.-born skaters in NHL history behind Mike Modano (561), Keith Tkachuk (538), Jeremy Roenick (513) and Joe Mullen (502). It was his 88th career game-tying goal, tying Mullen for the third-most by a U.S.-born player in NHL history behind Tkachuk (110) and Modano (105).

Continued; it’s absolutely essential that the Red Wings receive secondary scoring in order to win games.

The Red Wings acknowledged that they were shaken down by the Montreal Canadiens last night, losing 4-3 to the Habs.

Now that the Wings sit only a point ahead of Montreal in the Atlantic Division standings, MLive’s Ansar Khan notes that tonight’s rematch in Montreal (7 PM EST start on FanDuel Sportsnet Extra/NHL Network/Sportsnet East/City/TVA Sports/97.1 FM) is all but a must-win for Detroit:

“We got to be better with the puck,” coach Derek Lalonde said. “Just the margin of error is not there. We can’t have lapses in our game. We have to be good on special teams and obviously tonight we were not.”

The Red Wings went 0 for 4 on the power play, the last one coming with 3:53 to play. They also allowed a shorthanded goal to Jake Evans in the first.

“We had chances, but we didn’t keep enough out,” Dylan Larkin said. “And they get their power play in the third and they scored and we get ours and we don’t.”

Larkin is glad they face the Canadiens again tonight at the Bell Centre (7 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network).

“We just got to capitalize on our chances and play with a little more intensity, and minimize our mistakes,” Larkin said. “They get a little bit off the rush, but you look at the goals they score and there’s just some key breakdowns. A lot of it, we talk about not breaking the puck out well and coming back to the house and seeing and stopping and puck management. So, we clean those things up, put a little more intensity.”

Continued (paywall)

Of Red Wings prospect-related note on Friday:

In Europe, in the Finnish Liiga, Jesse Kiiskinen’s regular team, HPK Hameenlinna, won 2-1 over KalPa;

In the DEL, Kevin Bicker’s injured, but the Frankfurt Lowen won 3-2 over the Eisbaren Berlin;

In North America, in the OHL, Landon Miller stopped 34 of 39 shots in the Soo Greyhounds’ 5-4 loss to Guelph;

In the ECHL, Griffins-contracted goaltender Jan Bednar pitched a 25-save shutout as the Toledo Walleye won a 4-0 decision over the Wheeling Nailers;

And in the AHL, Ville Husso and the Grand Rapids Griffins had a rough game, losing 6-1 at home to the Milwaukee Admirals. The Griffins’ website posted a recap…

In their return home from a season-high six-game road trip, the Grand Rapids Griffins suffered a 6-1 loss to the Milwaukee Admirals behind a hat trick from Vinnie Hinostroza on Friday at Van Andel Arena. 

Joe Snively secured the lone tally for the Griffins, scoring his 10th goal of the season, while William Wallinder and Dominik Shine were credited with the assists. Following his stint with the Detroit Red Wings, Ville Husso returned to the crease for Grand Rapids. Despite the loss, Husso sports a 4-1-0 record with the Griffins this year. 

Midway through the first frame, Kieffer Bellows tallied a power-play goal at 10:36 to give the Admirals an early lead. The Griffins gained an 8-6 shot advantage but failed to score through the first 20 minutes. 

Grand Rapids earned a power play of its own at 4:08 in the second period but a turnover allowed Ozzy Wiesblatt to score short handed at 5:41. Milwaukee extended its lead to three when Hinostroza found the back of the net with 8:09 left in the second. Shine attempted to put the Griffins on the board with a breakaway chance at 15:20, but his shot hit the post, as Grand Rapids exited the frame down 3-0. 

Hinostroza secured his second goal of the night just 26 seconds into the final period and completed his hat trick at 6:56, giving the Admirals a 5-0 lead. Milwaukee continued scoring, as Jake Lucchini cashed in at 7:54. The Griffins prevented the Admiral shutout with 6:55 remaining, as Snively lit the lamp on a power play. A shot from Wallinder deflected off the netminder and Snively buried the chance. However, Grand Rapids failed to cut further into the deficit and fell 6-1. 

As well as a photo gallery, a highlight clip and an interview clip…

The now-13-15-and-4 Detroit Red Wings plain old got out-worked over the course of a 4-3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Friday night, and as the Wings head to Montreal for Saturday’s rematch (7 PM on FanDuel Sportsnet Extra/NHL Network/Sportsnet East/TVA Sports/97.1 FM), the Wings need to rededicate themselves to busting their butts better than their opponents do, and the Wings need to work on detail work, too.

Why? They now only lead the 13-16-and-3 Canadiens by 1 point in the Atlantic Division standings.

Saturday is essentially a must-win, and with 2 more games in the next 3 nights (Detroit wraps up its pre-Christmas schedule with a home game against St. Louis on Monday night), the Wings are going to have a hell of a character test here.

The good news, as you’ll find out below, is that the Wings are pissed off at themselves for blowing this game; the test will be whether they can do something about that.

As the Canadiens’ press corps didn’t travel to Detroit en masse (save the French press corps, whose recaps were sparse–I looked), we’re going to have to lean on NHL.com’s Dave Hogg’s recap for an English-language set of takes from the Canadiens’ players and coach:

The Detroit Red Wings hosted a Montreal Canadiens team that sat only 3 points behind the Wings in the Atlantic Division standings prior to tonight’s game, and the teams will go back at it tomorrow night in Montreal.

On Friday night, at Little Caesars Arena, the Red Wings were robbed of their 3-point lead by a plucky, tenacious Canadiens team that earned 1-0, 2-1 and 4-3 leads en route to a 4-3 victory for the Habs.

Cam Talbot was not as sharp as possible in stopping 29 of 33 shots, but he got little to no help in terms of deflections–like Patrik Laine’s one-timer that shattered Moritz Seider’s stick and beat Talbot–and the 0-for-4 power play, surrendering of a shorthanded goal against and 1-for-2 Habs PP yielded a major special teams loss.

Very long story long, tomorrow night’s game in Montreal becomes a must-win if the Wings are to not be passed by Montreal in the standings, and after getting out-worked by a significant margin tonight, Detroit has to earn their way back toward respectability here more than anything.

As insurance, most likely:

UPDATE: The #RedWings have recalled defenseman William Lagesson from the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins. pic.twitter.com/Hq03sICdmc

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) December 20, 2024

Here’s the press release:

RED WINGS RECALL WILLIAM LAGESSON FROM GRAND RAPIDS

  … Blueliner Has Played in 100 NHL Games with Oilers, Canadiens, Maple Leafs and Ducks Since 2019-20 …

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today recalled defenseman William Lagesson from the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins.

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan filed a notebook article in which he discusses Albert Johansson’s attempt to earn a more regular spot on the Wings’ defense while Simon Edvinsson is sidelined with an upper-body injury:

“I’ve liked Albert his last couple games out,” Lalonde said. “He had a stretch of games there where some things were finding him. That was a tough West Coast trip for him, but his bounce back from that was good. I’m fully confident he’ll have some more consistency in the game. The things we saw in camp, the things we saw from last year (in Grand Rapids), his ability to move a puck, just confidence and some assertiveness in his game and some consistency with it.”

This has been a different kind of experience for Johansson, who has always been a regular in whatever lineup he’s been in. But such is the life of most rookies in the NHL who must learn and develop what it takes to be successful.

Johansson is adapting to his role the best he can.

“You want to play every game and be out there,” Johansson said. “I just try to stay positive. First year, I kind of knew before (the season began) I was going to be a little bit in and out (of the lineup), and it’s a learning experience. When I’m not playing, I’m just trying to work extra on the ice and in the gym and stay positive and be ready when I’m in the lineup.”

Johansson agrees, with Edvinsson unavailable, it’s an opportunity for the other defensemen to get quality minutes. When Johansson is in the lineup, it’s up to him to play to his own strengths.

“He (Edvinsson) has been playing real good and big minutes out there, so it’s an opportunity for all of the other guys to step up and fill that role,” Johansson said. “(I have to) be aggressive out there, move my feet and try to be physical. I know I’m not the biggest guy but stay close to my opponents and shut down plays early. That’s the biggest key for me.”

Continued (paywall)

DetroitRedWings.com’s Daniella Bruce and play-by-play man Ken Kal discuss the Red Wings’ impending match-up with the Montreal Canadiens tonight, over the course of the latest episode of “The Forecheck”:

.@KenKalDRW & I preview tonight's matchup with the @CanadiensMTL!! Ft. a couple bad jokes🤣

– Cam Talbot starting tonight
– Simon Edvinsson out for the weekend (Upper Body)@DetroitRedWings #LGRW pic.twitter.com/pZEICb0JNW

— Daniella Bruce (@daniellabruce_) December 20, 2024

Update: DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills posted a game preview as well:

Puck drop between the Red Wings (13-14-4; 30 points) and Canadiens (12-16-3; 27 points) is set for 7 p.m., with TV broadcast coverage on FanDuel Sports Network Detroit and the Red Wings Radio Network (97.1 The Ticket in Detroit).

“It’s always neat playing Montreal,” Detroit head coach Derek Lalonde said. “An Original Six matchup, you get a home and away [game]. For me personally, I grew up 90 minutes from my doorstep to Montreal. Obviously, it’s bigger than life sometimes…For us, it’s an opportunity to try to keep our game in order.”’

Riding two-point nights from Lucas Raymond (one goal, one assist), J.T. Compher (one goal, one assist), captain Dylan Larkin (two assists) and Patrick Kane (one goal, one assist), the Red Wings defeated the Philadelphia Flyers, 6-4, on Wednesday. It was Detroit’s second straight win, and third in its last four games.

“The attitude in the room has been really good,” Ben Chiarot said. “I think we’ve been playing good for a while, honestly.”

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen posted a subscriber-only article discussing the not-so-great aspects of the Grand Rapids Griffins thus far, including the absence of Carter Mazur, Elmer Soderblom and Amadeus Lombardi’s scoring funks and the Griffins’ attempts to deal with a very crowded roster. The biggest issue for the Red Wings, most likely, is Mazur’s status as injured again:

Carter Mazur’s Absence

You are not alone if you are among those who hoped Mazur might have had a shot to play for the Red Wings this season. He’s a scrappy player with scoring instincts.  The Michigan native always seems to be where the action is around the net. Mazur netted 17 goals last season in 60 games.

But Mazur, 22, continues to have bad luck with injuries.  The Griffins don’t provide much information about injuries, but Mazur has missed 24 of the team’s 27 games with an injury.

Mazur also missed a chunk of time last season because of injury. He has lost a considerable amount of valuable development time. Counting both injuries, he has lost more than half of a season.

Continued (paywall)

I can’t embed it, but TVA Sports posted two video interviews in which Patrick Kane discusses Cole Caufield’s offensive slump, and Jeff Petry discusses his continued connections with Canadiens players.