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!

Talbot thrust into the breach

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevvin Allen discusses the Red Wings coaching staff’s decision to go with Cam Talbot in goal tomorrow night vs. Nashville (7 PM EDT start on Bally Sports Detroit/Bally Sports South):

Talbot’s .911 save percentage last season had to be attractive to a Red Wings team that finished at .902. GM Steve Yzerman gave Talbot a two-year deal worth an average of $2.5 million per season. Detroit’s other goalies, [Ville] Husso and Alex Lyon, are in the last year of their contract.

Detroit’s nightmarish beginning against the Penguins wasn’t all on Husso. Despite emphasizing tighter defensive play throughout the preseason, the Red Wings could sustain defensive consistency for three full periods.

“It’s just one of those nights in which could not sustain any momentum,” Coach Derek Lalonde said. “Had signs of it, had some spurts of it, but just couldn’t sustain it. “

The Red Wings are starting the season with a challenging schedule. After facing Nashville, they have a home-and-home series with the New York Rangers, another game against the Predators and then contests against the New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils.

Video: Veleno, Lalonde speak with the media after Friday’s practice

The Detroit Red Wings switched up their defensive pairings during Friday’s practice as Jeff Petry (upper-body) is unavailable for Saturday’s game vs. Nashville, and coach Derek Lalonde told the Wings’ media corps that defenseman Justin Holl will be recalled for the Wings’ showdown with the Predators (though Albert Johansson will be rotated into the defensive corps at some point soon), with Cam Talbot earning the starter’s duties on Saturday night.

Still smarting from Thursday’s 6-3 home-opener loss to Pittsburgh, and in the middle of a 3-games-in-5-nights stretch, both forward Joe Veleno and Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde spoke with the media on Friday afternoon:

Video: Fox 17 reports from Van Andel Arena ahead of the Griffins’ home opener

The Grand Rapids Griffins open their 2024-2025 season against the Milwaukee Admirals tonight at Van Andel Arena, and Andy Curtis discussed the Griffins’ promotions for this evening and the “revenge factor” surrounding tonight’s game as the Admirals ousted the Griffins from the playoffs last spring:

Friday’s post-practice Tweets: Holl to be recalled, Talbot to start vs. NSH

The Detroit Red Wings shuffled their lineup slightly over the course of Friday’s practice (which took place without Jeff Petry, and with Cam Talbot in the starter’s net).

After the Wings’ mid-day skate, the coach spoke with the media, and the news about the injured Jeff Petry (upper-body) was…good?

The Red Wings will host the Nashville Predators (who lost 4-3 to Dallas last night) on Saturday, and then they’ll play the 1-and-0 New York Rangers in Manhattan on Monday night; the Rangers will come to town next Thursday, and then Detroit heads to Nashville to wrap up its season series with the Predators next Saturday.

Meanwhile, in Grand Rapids, Holl was taking part in the Grand Rapids Griffins’ game-day skate ahead of the season opener vs. Milwaukee (he’s in picture #3)…

Kind-of-sort-of praise for Axel Sandin Pellikka

EP Rinkside’s Jimmy Hamrin offers a “stock watch” assessment of various NHL prospects playing in Sweden today, and here’s what he has to say about someone whose stock “remains steady”:

Axel Sandin-Pellikka, D, Skellefteå AIK (Detroit Red Wings)

Axel Sandin-Pellikka is an interesting case, as many undersized skilled defencemen from Sweden have failed to live up to hopes of becoming the next Erik Karlsson over the past 6-7 years. However, Sandin-Pellikka seems to have better odds, as his offensive game is borderline elite. His skill and mobility along the blue line are top-notch in the SHL, and he consistently makes smart decisions with the puck. He is poised and rarely rushes a bad pass, scanning the ice and staying in control. If teams aren’t ready to defend the neutral zone when Sandin-Pellikka has the puck, he’ll hurt them.

The question for his NHL future is his ability to defend the rush, battle in front of the net, and retrieve pucks in the corners against bigger and faster opponents on the smaller rink. He isn’t an elite skater like Karlsson, and how he adapts to these situations will determine his NHL success. So far this season, his puck skills have progressed, but I have yet to see him dominate defensively or in puck retrievals.

Continued (paywall); I’m going to be honest here. I don’t think that Axel Sandin Pellikka is the next Erik Karlsson, despite his tremendous skating. He’s going to take some time and seasoning in North America to really bear down defensively, and I’m not going to freak out because he’s not the most elegant SHL’er when it comes to “dominating defensively” on the big ice.

Tweets from Friday’s practice: Petry absent from post-Pens skate; Talbot starts vs. Nashville

The Detroit Red Wings hit the ice at the BELFOR Training Center underneath Little Caesars Arena at noon on Friday, hoping to learn lessons from Thursday’s 6-3 loss against the Pittsburgh Penguins in short order:

The heralded Nashville Predators will come to town tomorrow night (7 PM EDT on Bally Sports Detroit; Nashville lost its home opener 4-3 to Dallas), and then the Wings then head to New York to battle the Rangers (who defeated Pittsburgh 6-0 on Wednesday) on Monday evening.

The Wings will then host the same Rangers next Thursday, and head to Nashville to wrap up their home-in-home series against the Predators next Saturday night.

Detroit’s obviously not going to receive any favors from their highly-ranked opponents over the next week, so the Red Wings dug in during Friday’s practice in order to rebound from an embarrassing home opener:

Continue reading Tweets from Friday’s practice: Petry absent from post-Pens skate; Talbot starts vs. Nashville

A bit of praise for the Wings’ ‘playing the long game’ with Sebastian Cossa

FloHockey’s Patrick Williams offers a slate of goaltending prospects to watch in his AHL season preview, and Sebastian Cossa makes Williams’ list:

Sebastian Cossa – Grand Rapids Griffins (Detroit Red Wings)

Led by Steve Yzerman, Red Wings management has shown a willingness to take a very long-term outlook with prospects.

Yzerman did that with Tampa Bay, and he has done that again in Detroit. That philosophy meant that Cossa went to the ECHL as a rookie in 2022-23 even though he was the 15th overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft. Once Cossa had shown that he was ready to move higher, the Red Wings sent him to Grand Rapids last year. That patience paid off as Cossa had a strong year and took charge of the Grand Rapids net. Now the challenge will be to build on that and take the Griffins deep into the postseason.

Continued;

Update: Chris Peters also names Nate Danielson a rookie to watch this year in the AHL:

Nate Danielson, C, Grand Rapids Griffins (DET)

Selected ninth overall by the Detroit Red Wings in 2022, Danielson wrapped up a strong junior career in the WHL last season. A former captain of the Brandon Wheat Kings, Danielson finished out his junior career with the Portland Winterhawks where his offensive game flourished, highlighted by his 24 points in 18 postseason contests. Danielson has sneaky skill and the ability to score, but also has a mature game away from the puck. He’s a critical piece of Detroit’s future and we’re going to learn a lot more about him as a pro this season.

Red Wings launch ‘The Conversation Line’ podcast

The Detroit Red Wings are producing a new podcast this year called “The Conversation Line,” and here’s the description of their first episode:

Detroit Red Wings broadcasters Daniella Bruce, Ken Daniels, and Ken Kal sit down to preview their new podcast, The Conversation Line. The trio discuss the unique paths that led them to the broadcast booth. Plus, we learn about Kal’s DJ alter ego, Doug Deep, and just how often the Kens are mistaken for one another.

Shapiro on the Red Wings’ three-headed goaltending monster

EP Rinkside’s Sean Shapiro profiled the Red Wings’ three goaltenders today, discussing Cam Talbot, Ville Husso and Alex Lyon’s respective statuses as on Shapiro’s Shap Shots blog:

At the end of the day, the cruel reality in the goalie world is that there is only one net, one crease, and as friendly as Talbot, Husso, and Lyon are with each other, only one can play at a time.

And for now, all three seem to be OK with that. All three have plans to compete, to try to win the No. 1 job and more starts, but they each have a healthy respect for the goalies sitting next to them.

Talbot signed up for this setup, Husso knew Red Wings management would question his health and performance, and Lyon has been use to people questioning him his entire career.

“You get it, you really do,” Lyon said. “You kind of have to be ready, understand how this all works, and that if you don’t seize the chance, you can be sitting for a while without a game.”

Continued (paywall)