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!

Lather, rinse, repeat

I’m fully willing to admit that Vladimir Tarasenko’s first-half-of-the-season performance has been tremendously disappointing, but the job that The Athletic’s Sean Gentille and Dom Luszczyszyn do on him while engaging in a set of power rankings…Ain’t pleasant:

23. Detroit Red Wings, 18-18-4

Dec. 20 rank: 23
Sean’s ranking: 22
Dom’s ranking: 23

You would be forgiven if you forgot Vladimir Tarasenko was a member of the Detroit Red Wings — we certainly did with how quiet he’s been this season. Was there evidence he was probably washed last season? Definitely. And this year just feels like further proof of that. Maybe Todd McLellan can get more out of Tarasenko in the second half. But even if your expectations for him were already low, it’s hard not to be disappointed with just four goals and 14 points in 39 games.

Continued (paywall); I don’t believe in bagging on players to bag on them. Tarasenko’s got to step up and step up in short order, because the Wings need all the secondary scoring that they can get. But I’m not gonna go around saying somebody’s washed up because they’re struggling.

Video: Justin Holl and Todd McLellan speak after the Red Wings-Blackhawks morning skate

New father Justin Holl and Red Wings coach Todd McLellan spoke with the media after the morning skate ahead of tonight’s game between the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks (7 PM EST start on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit/CHSN/NHL Network/Sportsnet East/Sportsnet Ontario/Sportsnet Pacific/97.1 FM):

At this point, Petr Mrazek’s slated to battle Cam Talbot in goal…

Wings-Hawks post-morning skate Tweets and articles: Kane on Toews’ comeback; Caputo on Larkin; Gustafsson not underestimating his former team

The Detroit Red Wings host the Chicago Blackhawks this evening (7 PM EST on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit/CHSN/NHL Network/Sportsnet East/Sportsnet West/Sportsnet Ontario/97.1 FM), and MLive’s Ansar Khan reported nothing unusual during the Wings’ morning skate today.

After Detroit’s morning skate, and as the Blackhawks skated on Little Caesars Arena’s ice surface, the Wings’ players and coach spoke with the media, and Patrick Kane was asked about a former teammate’s comeback attempt:

Meanwhile, in the fantasy hockey department, NHL.com is suggesting that poolies pick up the Red Wings’ captain for tonight’s game:

Continue reading Wings-Hawks post-morning skate Tweets and articles: Kane on Toews’ comeback; Caputo on Larkin; Gustafsson not underestimating his former team

Trying to work through it

Good morning. I’m still dealing with a bit of depression and anxiety, and my therapist’s appointment was cancelled due to my therapist being ill today, so I’m not doing spectacular by any stretch of the imagination…But I’m going to try and gut it out and grind out some game day coverage.

I can’t promise that I’ll be consistent in every facet of the coverage, but I will do my best to push through this depression and anxiety and give you whatever I possibly can give.

I’m just trying my best here. Mental illness has no schedule and doesn’t flare up when it’s convenient. It tends to flare when you need to be working the most, and that’s what happened here.

I’m not going to apologize for dealing with the stuff I deal with, but I will ask for your patience as I work through it.

Red Wings-Blackhawks preview and morning skate Tweets: Gotta get while the gettin’s good

The 18-18-and-4 Detroit Red Wings host the 14-25-and-2 Chicago Blackhawks this evening (7 PM EST start on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit/CHSN/NHL Network/97.1 FM).

While the Blackhawks have had a difficult season, they’re feeling good about themselves after winning 2 of their last 3 games, having most recently defeated the Colorado Avalanche 3-1 on Wednesday, and all is well in Chicago: Connor Bedard and the resurgent Tyler Bertuzzi have found a connection, Petr Mrazek is healthy, and the Hawks’ “kids” are also contributing to the cause.

There’s also this, per the Blackhawks’ website:

The Blackhawks are 15-9-1 in their last 25 games against Detroit since the 2015-16 season. Chicago is also 4-3-0 in their last seven games at Little Caesars Arena. Blackhawks forward Ilya Mikheyev has seven points (2G, 5A) in nine career games against the Red Wings while Tyler Bertuzzi appeared in 305 games with Detroit from 2016-23, posting 202 points (88G, 114A), including a 30-goal season in 2021-22.

As this is an NHL Network game out-of-market in the U.S. (sorry, streamers), the NHL is hyping tonight’s game as the “game of the day”…

Continue reading Red Wings-Blackhawks preview and morning skate Tweets: Gotta get while the gettin’s good

Tweet of note: 32 Thoughts talks Cozens

Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, via Red Wings Prospects on Twitter:

From the Hockey News’s Michael DeRosa:

“There’s definitely not a lot that gets out of Detroit, and there’s not very much that gets out of Buffalo, but finally, it got coughed up to me that they believe the Red Wings were looking at Cozens. And it fits, I think there’s a lot of people looking at Cozens. And I will say this, there was a time that a couple people said to me they thought it was close.”

Friedman also clarified that he is unsure where trade talks between the Sabres and Red Wings are right now. 

“Now, I don’t know where it stands. I don’t know where it’s going to go. One thing I do believe is that Cozens is a guy, like everybody is looking for right-hand centers. So, at the very least, I’m sure Buffalo’s had even more of a stretch of people calling them and saying, What exactly are you thinking here, and what are we looking at?'”

This is undoubtedly a big update from Friedman, and it will be fascinating to see if the Red Wings continue to push for Cozens. It is no secret that they need help down the middle, and Cozens would provide them with that. However, the Sabres would need to ensure they get enough for the young center in a potential move, especially with Detroit being a division rival. 

Cozens, 23, has appeared in 42 games this season with the Sabres, posting nine goals, 21 points, 86 hits, and a minus-13 rating. 

Edvinsson a pleasant surprise

The Athletic asked its NHL writers which players have surprised in a positive way at the halfway point of the NHL season, and Max Bultman made an obvious choice regarding the Detroit Red Wings’ roster:

Detroit Red Wings

Simon Edvinsson: This is always what the Red Wings had hoped and envisioned for Edvinsson — but the surprise is how quickly he’s been able to reach this level. He spent most of the first half playing on Detroit’s top defense pairing, and even now that new coach Todd McLellan has split up Edvinsson and Moritz Seider, the 21-year-old blueliner is having a great season. Despite having just 25 games of NHL experience coming into the season, he’s been a very good defender right away, and he’s added 15 points in 36 games through Wednesday despite not getting any power-play time. Edvinsson looks like a top-pairing caliber defender for a long time to come. — Max Bultman

Continued (paywall)

HSJ in the morning: McLellan building a rapport with the Red Wings’ players

As Red Wings coach Todd McLellan attempts to establish a rapport with the Wings’ players, the coach has asked several players to come to his office to meet, as Jonatan Berggren and Marco Kasper told the Free Press’s Helene St. James:

“It’s always a little scary when the coach brings you in,” Berggren said. “So I was a little bit nervous, but it was a good meeting. He just wanted me to let loose a little bit and play my game. Don’t think about mistakes. He knows I’m an offensive player and he wants me to make plays, and don’t be afraid to make them. It was nice things to hear when you’re an offensive guy.”

Berggren had four goals, three assists and a minus-6 rating in 32 games under former coach Derek Lalonde. Berggren recently scored breakaway goals, including a game winner, in back-to-back games and also has an assist and a plus-1 rating under McLellan, who has increased Berggren’s ice time by about two minutes.

“He’s done a lot of really good things to increase our confidence level in him,” McLellan said. “You’re never in the same place twice, so you’re giving it back or you’re gaining it, and he’s done a good job at this point of gaining it in our eyes. That’s always a good thing for him and others if they approach it that way.”

It’s certainly Kasper’s approach, too. When McLellan wanted to send a message to players that their second-period performance against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday wasn’t good enough, he put Kasper on the line with Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond, and moved Joe Veleno to center the fourth line. (McLellan made sure Veleno understood it was not a demotion.)

“It’s a first for me to have a coaching change midseason,” Kasper said. “You just try to go on with what you’re doing. You try to play really well, practice really well. Work hard and show him what you can do on the ice. Right now, vibes are really good in the locker room.”

Continued; St. James also posted a video of Berggren, Kasper and coach McLellan’s remarks:

Hard times

My apologies for not covering last night’s game. My anxiety continues to persist, and I’m dealing with depression as well this week.

I tried to grind through things from last Friday on through the weekend and early this week, but things came to a head on Tuesday, and I was unable to do my blogging duties.

I’ll be back as soon as possible. I’m in a lot of pain and discomfort right now, and my medications aren’t helping at all.