Author: George Malik

My name is George Malik, and I'm the Malik Report's editor/blogger/poster. I have been blogging about the Red Wings since 2006, and have worked with MLive and Kukla's Korner. Thank you for reading!

Chris Chelios discusses possibility of pursuing coaching full time

Red Wings ambassador Chris Chelios engaged in a conversation with Yahoo Sports’ Eric Adelson, discussing his looming decision as to whether he wishes to pursue coaching on a full-time basis. At present, Chelios is serving as an assistant coach with Team USA’s Olympic hockey team, working with its defense:

“I have to make a decision sooner or later,” he said. “It’s the grind of the schedule; it’s the only thing stopping me. I wouldn’t want to be an assistant coach. Video, they do all the work; it’s a thankless job. I don’t like being told what to do. That’s the stubbornness in me.”

All that said, he didn’t hesitate to become an assistant in this setting, and he’s already thrilled with the role.

“When you’re with a bunch of guys with this much skill,” he said, “you want the skill to come out.”

Adelson continues…

Griffins Game-Day Preview video: Setting up Saturday tilt vs. Stockton

The Grand Rapids Griffins host the Stockton Heat tonight at 7 PM, and Griffins announcer Larry Figurski gets us ready for the game with a 4-minute game day preview video:

 

Article(s) from practice: Learn and move on

DetroitRedWings.com’s Dana Wakiji was the only Wings scribe that attended Saturday’s practice, and she offers a sound and solid notebook from said practice.

Wakiji reports that the Wings worked on their penalty-killing, that Henrik Zetterberg is OK after taking a maintenance day and that the Wings are wary of their Sunday opponent, the Washington Capitals.

Most noteworthy from Wakiji is this passage regarding the team’s attempts to put Friday’s debacle behind them:

“There’s not one thing you can about it, except for learn,” Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. “You can’t go get yesterday back in life. All you can do is learn from it and move forward. So we have to move forward. The lesson there, we got to make sure we’re disciplined and we gotta be ultra committed like playoff hockey to blocking shots. And then we’ve got to do lots of things we did. We played fast, we were one top of them.

“We played great hockey for certainly 40 minutes if not 55 minutes, even though they pushed a little bit in the beginning of the third. We’ve got to do the same thing tomorrow. That’s the hockey that makes us successful. I think our guys understand that. We gotta go tomorrow and play the same way.”

The Wings practiced Saturday morning at New Jersey’s Prudential Center before leaving for Washington, D.C., where they play the Capitals Sunday.

Naturally, one of the main points of focus was the penalty kill.

“Obviously, we gave up four there last night, so we want to make sure we get back to work at it,” Blashill said. “I would say the biggest thing is when the penalty kill is at its best, it’s making stands at the line, it’s forcing the puck out of opposition hand, getting it and getting it out of the zone. We gave up the entry too easy. So when you give up the entry, now you got opportunities for them to shoot and they have a real shooting power play with who I think is the best net-front guy (Anders Lee) in the league. The best way to avoid that is to not let them set up. Unfortunately last night, we let them set up too much.”

Wakiji continues at length, and her article is worth your time…

The Athletic’s Staple: Abdelkader, Bertuzzi in the clear fine-or-suspension-wise

Good news, I think, from The Athletic’s Arthur Staple:

HSJ interviews Kris Draper

The Free Press’s Helene St. James engaged in a Q and A with Red Wings special assistant to the GM Kris Draper recently, and Draper discussed the scouting side of his day job:

HSJ: What has been your focus this season?

KD: “I’ve worked a lot with Tyler on the amateur side. I’m trying to see all the high-end draft eligibles. Went to World Juniors. Been to the Maritimes to watch the top players there. Been out west to watch the top players there, and all throughout Ontario. So a little bit of everything.

“I enjoy the amateur side. I really enjoy the scouting side. That’s where I’ve gravitated the most to. Ken wants me to go see games and if I know players and if I like players, he wants me to make sure I speak up and I have knowledgeable input at all levels.”

HSJ: What do you look for in players?

KD: “Obviously I love skaters. You look at hockey sense. You look at skill. I talk to Hakan Andersson quite a bit — anytime we get a chance to sit with him, he is a big guy on hockey sense. I always argue about how fast this game is, but how can you argue with the success of Haks?”

Continued

Tweets from practice: Red Wings take a layover day in New Jersey

The Red Wings made a stop-over in New Jersey the day after their 7-6 OT loss to the New York Islanders, per DetroitRedWings.com’s Dana Wakiji:

If you’re wondering when you can start worrying about Zetterberg’s “maintenance days,” today is the day.

Also: Wakiji is probably the only person at practice because the beat writers had to get to Washington for tomorrow’s 3 PM-starting game against the Capitals.

Continue reading Tweets from practice: Red Wings take a layover day in New Jersey

Prospect round-up: Griffins win in OT; Walleye beat KC; Sulak 1+1; Pearson progresses

In the AHL, the Grand Rapids Griffins rallied from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits en route to a 4-3 OT win over the San Antonio Rampage. Matt Lorito scored 2 goals, including the OT winner, Colin Campbell, Dominic Turgeon and Ben Street had 2 assists apiece and Tom McCollum stopped 35 of 38 shots for Grand Rapids.

The Griffins’ website filed a recap:

Continue reading Prospect round-up: Griffins win in OT; Walleye beat KC; Sulak 1+1; Pearson progresses

Red Wings-Islanders wrap-up–Bertuzzi, Wings don’t play very s-m-r-t vs. high-scoring Islanders

The Detroit Red Wings lost a 7-6 overtime decision to the New York Islanders on Friday night, finding a way to lose a game that they led 3-0 and 5-2 at various junctures due to a horrific penalty-kill on a 5-minute major called on Tyler Bertuzzi:

After a game like this, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that the Islanders lauded Clutterbuck for getting hacked, as Mathew Barzal told the New York Post’s Kyle Schnitzer:

Continue reading Red Wings-Islanders wrap-up–Bertuzzi, Wings don’t play very s-m-r-t vs. high-scoring Islanders

So it was Tyler…

Tyler Bertuzzi did a very dumb thing on Friday, hacking Cal Clutterbuck in the leg.

Clutterbuck went down like he was shot and the Wings got a 5-minute penalty that ultimately cost the Wings a point against the New York Islanders.

Detroit lost 7-6 in overtime, and I’m going to write up a recap (I’m just getting back from a Noel Gallagher concert):

Bertuzzi spoke to the media after the game, per Fox Sports Detroit:

Coach Blashill was not happy about the turn of events…

As was Henrik Zetterberg…

Here are the game’s highlights from NHL.com:

 Tyler’s 22–I get that–but he’s played a lot of hockey at the AHL level (as Zetterberg notes), and he should know better than that.

Red Wings-Islanders open post: see you after Noel

TMR readers: I’m heading out in the heavy snow to go downtown and see Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds at the Masonic Temple. The doors open at 7 PM, so I’m going to be absent from covering tonight’s game…

I’d stick around due to the snow and game, but quite frankly, I haven’t seen Noel perform in over 10 years, and even hockey bloggers have to exit the house every once in a while.

If you wish to discuss the game during or after the event, here’s an open post for your comments.