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!

Three notebooks and two videos: Wings guard against complacency

My apologies, but I was indisposed for a couple of hours. Here are a belated set of Saturday notebooks, ahead of Sunday’s 3 PM match-up against the Seattle Kraken. Seattle won 6-2 over the Buffalo Sabres earlier on Saturday, rallying from a 2-0 deficit by scoring 6 straight goals.

Anyway, to the notebooks!

  1. The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan reports that the Red Wings are well aware of their tenuous status as in the Atlantic Division/Wild Card playoff race, and as such, the team’s 6-game winning streak can only mean the start of something more:

“We’re one game over .500, have a negative goal differential of minus-16 goals. If that is the map to complacency, shame on us,” said coach Todd McLellan, when asked if the Wings have to guard against complacency given this current win streak. “We’ve worked to feel good. Do we want to give that back? I don’t know the group well enough to say we have it under control.

“We’re not going to win the next 41 games. That’s very unrealistic. If a loss does come, and it’s an honest loss, we have to move on from it. But if it’s a complacency loss or give yourself permission to be crappy on a certain day, and the group can do that too, we’ll deal with it.”

The Wings are 6-1-0 under McLellan, who took over for Derek Lalonde on Dec. 26. After an ugly loss against Toronto to open McLellan’s tenure, the Wings have won six consecutive games and changed the trajectory of their season.

Suddenly the playoffs are a possibility. They’re better offensively than they were at any point this season under Lalonde. But, simply, the mood around the locker room is livelier with the winning and optimism.

“We know we had the potential in this group and we’re starting to realize some of it,” defenseman Justin Holl said. “We can’t get complacent, like we’re the greatest team in the world. We just have to continue to play every night and keep this thing rolling as long as possible.”

McLellan and assistant coach Trent Yawney have largely made small tweaks into schemes Wings players have accepted and thrived in. But it appears, mainly, a new voice has done wonders for a group that was sinking in the standings.

“Every time you get change, whether it’s a new coach or trade or whatever, there’s some sort of energy that is injected,” Holl said. “We managed to take that energy and translate it into some wins. Those wins make you feel good about yourselves and there are better vibes around the locker room.”

2. MLive’s Ansar Khan wrote a notebook article which discusses the Red Wings’ suddenly prodigious power play:

Continue reading Three notebooks and two videos: Wings guard against complacency

Video: Holl, Kane and coach McLellan speak with the media after Saturday’s practice

The Detroit Red Wings held practice on Saturday afternoon at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center, and after practice ended, coach Todd McLellan stated that Alex Lyon is making progress in his recovery from injury, but Jeff Petry has yet to skate. MLive’s Ansar Khan and DetroitRedWings.com’s Daniella Bruce also reported that Ville Husso may start tomorrow.

The Red Wings will play the Seattle Kraken on Sunday afternoon (3 PM EST start on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit/KHN/KONG/NHL Network/Sportsnet/97.1 FM), and Seattle is in Buffalo, battling the Sabres today, so Detroit will have to pounce upon the mighty Kraken if they are to build upon their 6-game winning streak.

The Red Wings posted a clip of Justin Holl, Patrick Kane and coach McLellan speaking with the media:

Saturday’s post-practice Tweets: Lyon making progress, Petry still out for a bit

The 19-18-and-4 Detroit Red Wings prepared for Sunday’s mid-afternoon game against the Seattle Kraken (3 PM EST start on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit/KHN/KONG/NHL Network/Sportsnet/97.1 FM) with a busy practice on Saturday afternoon at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center.

The Red Wings are coming off a 5-3 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday, their sixth straight under coach Todd McLellan, but the Atlantic Division standings are so mashed together that the Wings will need to continue to win at a high clip in order to leapfrog the teams in front of them.

With Seattle and then San Jose coming to town on Sunday and Tuesday, respectively, the Wings will need to strike while the iron is hot.

Ahead of watching Seattle’s 2 PM game against the Sabres in Buffalo today as a “pre-scout” (yes, that means that tomorrow’s game is a back-to-back affair for the Kraken), the Red Wings’ players and coach spoke with the media:

Also of note, from Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen:

The Red Wings a six-game winning streak and plenty of positive numbers into their Sunday afternoon game against the Seattle Kraken (3 p.m., ET, FanDuel Sports Network). The Red Wings are averaging 4.16 goals during the winning streak. They have scored at least one power play goals in every win. They haven’t been out-shot since coach Todd McLellan took over. Patrick Kane boasts four goals, seven assists and 11 points during the winning streak. Lucas Raymond and Dylan Larkin have combined for 18 points.

I’m back, and so is fundraising

I’m back behind the laptop doing blog work, and, for better or worse, I’m doing it in part because the job I love is a job that makes a little money.

Last month, we were able to pay our bills due to fundraising here on TMR, and this month, we’re short on cash right now, and that’s because I was battling depression and anxiety on-and-off. No product = no fundraising, and now I’m back = I’ve gotta do what I’ve gotta do.

So it’s with an abundance of humility that I post this fundraising request. I know it’s not an ideal time, but we are where we are, and where we are is trying to survive.

So, here we go:

The Malik Report needs your support to function. You receive quite a bit of information “for free,” but providing that information is not done for free. As such, we would like to ask that you kindly contribute to our monthly expenses.

If you’re willing to lend a hand, we have a PayPal option at https://paypal.me/TheMalikReport; there’s Venmo at https://venmo.com/george-malik-2; if you’re into the, “I don’t want to use any of those pages” option, here’s always the Giftly option by using my email, rtxg@yahoo.com, at https://www.giftly.com…

And in the banking options, you can contact me via email if you want to send me a paper check, or “Zelle” me via my email, rtxg@yahoo.com.

It’s my pleasure to provide you with as much information as I can give, but this is also a job, and it requires money, time, energy and effort (a.k.a. work). If you are willing or able to support this endeavor, it is greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your time.

Tweets from Saturday’s practice: Khan reports ‘no changes’ thus far

The Detroit Red Wings hit the ice at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center on Saturday afternoon, hoping to build upon their 5-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday night.

The Wings host the 17-22-and-3 Seattle Kraken tomorrow at 3 PM EST, and Seattle’s playing in Buffalo today at 4 PM, so Detroit will hope to stretch their winning streak to 7 games as they look to gain ground in the crowded Atlantic Division standings.

Looking further ahead, the Wings will have one more home game on Tuesday vs. San Jose before embarking upon a 4-game road trip which will take them through Florida, Tampa Bay, Dallas and Philadelphia.

I found it very interesting that Red Wings coach Todd McLellan admitted to the media corps post-game that he is not yet satisfied with the Wings’ 60-minute efforts, though he does feel that the Wings are making progress toward playing full games’ worth of hockey.

It’s an interesting admission from a coach whose team is 6-and-1, and it’s a reminder that this team is still learning coach McLellan’s systems and philosophies of play.

Two Athletic things: Disappointing Tarasenko and Chiarot on peak performance

Of note from The Athletic this morning:

  1. The Athletic asked its NHL writers to name their respective teams’ most disappointing developments this year, or signings of the 2024 offseason, this morning. We all know that Vladimir Tarasenko is so snakebitten that he might as well have a rattlesnake chasing him up and down the ice…

Detroit Red Wings

Vladimir Tarasenko: Tarasenko was supposed to be the big offensive addition this past offseason, but it just hasn’t worked out that way. He was never going to be able to replace all the offense the Red Wings lost amid a salary cap crunch, but through the first 40 games, he has just four goals and 14 points. He’s mostly playing on Detroit’s third line, and for a player with a cap hit of $4.75 million (for another season, too) the impact just hasn’t been enough. What’s more concerning: Even with those numbers, he’s still seventh in scoring among Red Wings forwards. — Max Bultman

Continued (paywall); at this point, I just hope for the best for Tarasenko–i.e. that he’ll snap out of his slump and find an offensive streak at some point this year.

2. And The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa spoke to both Boston Bruins players and Red Wings defenseman Ben Chiarot about the methods by which NHL players attempt to remain most effective by preparing for exertion and then recovering from game action:

Continue reading Two Athletic things: Disappointing Tarasenko and Chiarot on peak performance

Morning news: On Johansson’s first goal, ‘thinking big’ and first-line Kasper

Of Red Wings-related note this morning:

  1. The Free Press’s Helene St. James discusses Albert Johansson’s first NHL goal, which served as the 4-2 marker in last night’s 5-3 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks:

Raymond called it “an awesome moment. Everyone is extremely happy for him. It’s a special moment and a big accomplishment, so it’s fun to see.”

Fun, and a good step for Johansson as he tries to become a regular in his rookie season. The defenseman has been in and out of the lineup, appearing in three straight games partly because of an injury to veteran Jeff Petry. But Johansson, 24, is showing he isn’t just a fill-in. He played well in Tuesday’s game against the Ottawa Senators, then put together another good performance against the Blackhawks.

“Over and above the goal itself, he had really good instincts to go to that hole,” McLellan said. “But I just think he’s been playing better over nine periods now — every period has gotten better for him. Confidence is growing. He’s doing exactly what he needs to do so that we understand him as a player and feel good about him. So, goal — great; confidence — even better.”

At 6 feet and 168 pounds, Johansson isn’t the biggest of guys, which is why it’s vital for him to play well positionally.

“He’s got to be real smart and know where to go and what to do,” McLellan said. “The other night against Ottawa, he and (Brady) Tkachuk got tangled up below the goal line and that’s a pretty big load. He handled himself well. As long as he’s positionally sound, he’ll have no problem.”

2. MLive’s Ansar Khan also discussed Johansson’s marker as a point of emphasis for a young, developing defenseman who’s trying to earn a permanent spot on the Red Wings’ blueline:

Continue reading Morning news: On Johansson’s first goal, ‘thinking big’ and first-line Kasper

Bultman on Kane’s resurgent play

Patrick Kane looks like he’s having fun and is fully healthy right now, which is a great thing for the Red Wings…

And The Athletic’s Max Bultman happens to have penned a late-night column in which he ruminates upon the above-listed topic that is #88’s resurgent mid-season performance:

Kane’s 36 now, and the days of him taking games over every single night may be in the past. But he still sees the ice like few ever have. And when he gets going, it’s something to behold.

Friday was a clinic in that. It started with him gliding through the neutral zone, beating his first man and then setting up Alex DeBrincat to open the scoring. Then it was Kane keeping a possession alive on the power play, disrupting a Chicago breakout, coming up with the puck and turning it into a three-on-one that Raymond finished off early in the second period.

But the real work of art was on Detroit’s third goal, at a moment when the game still felt perilously up for grabs. The Red Wings had dominated the second period but went into the third up just a goal. That’s when Kane took over, hanging onto the puck as he knifed across the offensive zone. There were four Blackhawks back, and no plays to be made. So, he waited until there was.

“He has unreal poise with the puck,” Red Wings coach Todd McLellan said. “There’s traffic, there’s people going everywhere, and guys are taking runs at him, and he’s just so calm. He can hold it a little longer, and while he’s doing that, he’s seeing things.”

That certainly applied here. Kane stickhandled and created space until defenseman Erik Gustafsson was alone up at the point. Then Gustafsson walked it in — making a couple of slick moves of his own to beat a defender and drag Petr Mrazek out of position — and then found Andrew Copp out front for a key insurance goal.

“That was all Patty Kane,” McLellan said. “Just slowing things down and creating opportunities for teammates.”

Continued (paywall)

Red Wings-Blackhawks wrap-up: a (mostly) satisfactory 6th straight win

The Detroit Red Wings took a 5-3 decision over the plucky Chicago Blackhawks on Friday night, earning their 6th straight win under coach Todd McLellan, and this one got hairy at times, but Detroit held the fort and learned…

Perhaps some difficult lessons in terms of underestimating their opponent at times. Given that Detroit remains a point behind the Canadiens for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference, Detroit will have to continue battling hard as they conclude their home stand with a Sunday matinee against Seattle and a Tuesday night tilt against San Jose.

For the Red Wings, at least, there’s hope of some sort of salvaging of their 2024-2025 season, however.

The Wings stand at 19-18-and-4, which isn’t altogether that terrible, and things are looking up; for the Blackhawks, who are 14-26-and-2, they’re definitely in the middle of a rebuilding season.

As the Blackhawks head home to play the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday, the Chicago Sun-Times’ Ben Pope reports that the Hawks were feeling gloomy after Friday night’s game:

Continue reading Red Wings-Blackhawks wrap-up: a (mostly) satisfactory 6th straight win