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!

Red Wings-Avalanche post-morning skate Tweets: It’s (probably) Husso’s crease for the next three games; Gustafsson and Veleno are ‘in’ tonight

The Detroit Red Wings are starting Ville Husso and making one lineup change two lineup changes (Erik Gustafsson is in, Albert Johansson will sit, and Joe Veleno is in for Christian Fischer) as they prepare to host the struggling Colorado Avalanche this evening (7 PM EST start on FanDuel SportsNet Extra/Altitude/97.1 FM).

After Detroit’s morning skate, the players and coach Derek Lalonde spoke with the media:

The Avs website’s Coby Maeir posted a Colorado-centric game preview as well:

Continue reading Red Wings-Avalanche post-morning skate Tweets: It’s (probably) Husso’s crease for the next three games; Gustafsson and Veleno are ‘in’ tonight

Red Wings-Avalanche morning skate Tweets and game preview: Husso starts, Johansson-Gustafsson rotation continues

The 10-12-and-4 Red Wings host the 14-and-13 Colorado Avalanche tonight (7 PM EST on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit Extra/Altitude/97.1 FM). As you know by now, the Red Wings are 0-2-and-2 over their past four games; the Avs have lost 4 of their past 6 games, too, most recently having lost a 5-3 decision to Carolina on Thursday.

The Avs have brought in Scott Wedgewood to try to stabilize their goaltending, and Valeri Nichushkin recently returned from the NHLPA’s Player Assistance Program, so Colorado is a lot like Detroit–they’ve been on the skids of late, but they hope to turn things around in a meaningful manner as they play game 4 of a 5-game road trip tonight.

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen took note of the Avs’ struggles in goal thus far:

Detroit players are looking to shake off a four-game losing streak (0-2-2) tonight when it faces the Colorado Avalanche at Little Caesars Arena (7 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network). Detroit has scored two or fewer goals in 14 of 26 games (53.8%). But maybe coach Derek Lalonde’s squad has a higher probability of scoring against the Avalanche. They have surrendered three or more goals in 18 of 27 games (66.7%) this season.

The Red Wings hit the ice at Little Caesars Arena around 10:30 AM for their morning skate…

And it appears that the Albert Johansson-or-Erik Gustafsson rotation continues:

There are no changes for the power play, however…

If you’re interested, here are the NHL’s Game Notes, all 79 pages of them:

Continue reading Red Wings-Avalanche morning skate Tweets and game preview: Husso starts, Johansson-Gustafsson rotation continues

It’s not exactly a barn-raising, but the Red Wings need to build themselves up going forward

Among the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan’s Friday notes is this interesting passage:

“[Thursday’s loss] was a tough one,” captain Dylan Larkin told reporters. “Really tough to lose in that fashion and to get zero points. The mindset in our room is we got to get two points, start winning hockey games and getting on a roll here. We’ve been in this position before. I don’t think there’s anyone coming in to save the day.”

There were definitely positives Thursday from the Wings’ perspective.

Husso put together his second real good start, allowing only four goals in the process. The Wings’ penalty kill, an issue the entire season, killed all five Ottawa power plays (one of the best units in the NHL). And with DeBrincat’s goal, the Wings’ power play continued its impressive run.

But, ultimately, one mismanaged play led to a tough defeat. Though, in the obscenely tightly bunched Eastern Conference, the Wings Friday were only three points behind the final wild-card spot.

Somehow, the Wings need to keep driving forward.

“We have to find it from within and show what we’re capable of,” Larkin told reporters. “We have a tough matchup at home on Saturday (against Colorado), then we’re back on the road and then we’re at home until Christmas. It’s time to start playing some hockey and not just set the bar for an overtime loss or getting one point.”

Continued

Via A2Y: Some final Trouba talk

I’m going to be completely honest with you: around 3 PM, 30 or so minutes before the Jacob Trouba trade to Anaheim, I just plain tapped out.

Thursday was a very busy day for my family as Aunt Annie had an echocardiogram at the cardiologist’s office, and getting her dressed and ready, out the door with her walker, into the car, into the office, through the procedure, and then slowly home actually took a lot of energy. It’s funny what it means to essentially be the sherpa for an 82-year-old with two hips that are almost healed (we hit the 8-month-mark in 10 days, woo!)…

But the long story long here is that I got tired and took a nap.

So I missed out on Trouba’s press conference, and, while recording the latest episode of the Flying Octopus Podcast, we missed Trouba’s interview on ESPN+ about his trade to Anaheim.

As such, I’m swiping this from Paul Kukla of Abel to Yzerman:

I think that Steve Yzerman went down an old road in terms of seeing whether there could be a fit for Trouba and the Wings given that the team was obviously interested in Trouba during the summer, but that window clearly closed.

Let’s move on now.

Friedman: Trouba not waived

Well, the drama continues…There must be trade talks underway with multiple teams.

Duff says “No” to Trouba

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff suggests that the Red Wings should not acquire Jacob Trouba from the New York Rangers:

Hockey people love them some comparables, so let’s get to it. Look at those numbers. Try and decipher one area of the game in which Trouba would provide a major uptick over Chiarot.

Neither has scored a goal this season. Chiarot has three assists, while Trouba shows six helpers. They both log about the same amount of ice time. Chiarot is playing 20:53 per game, while Trouba clocks in at exactly 20:00 per night.

Trouba is -3, while Chiarot is -11, but certainly toiling for a much poorer club. Trouba averages just under three giveaways per game (2.87), while Chiarot is just shy of four (3.75). Trouba has blocked 68 shots and Chiarot has got in the way of 58 shots. Chiarot’s SAT percentage is 41.4, while Trouba is at 45.9.

The physical element of the game is a factor the Trouba supporters are pushing as an upgrade. Well, he’s delivered 39 hits this season, three more than Chiarot. Let’s also remember that Trouba is skating in a third pairing for the Rangers, while Chiarot is logging top-four minutes for Detroit. Chiarot is playing against better opposition.

Not we’re not trying to say that Chiarot’s game hasn’t gone off a cliff this season. It most certainly has taken a downturn. At the time, Trouba isn’t anywhere near the defender he once was.

At this juncture, we still haven’t even talked about the money factor. Chiarot has one more season after this one at $4.75 million. That pact is the cause of no end of anguish among the Detroit faithful, and we’re not saying you’re wrong on that account.

Continued

Khan on ‘winnable games’

MLive’s Ansar Khan discusses the fact that the Red Wings are finding ways to lose “winnable games” of late:

They lost 5-4 at San Jose on Nov. 18 on Macklin Celebrini’s goal 46 seconds into overtime. Brad Marchand snapped a tie with 8:30 remaining in the third period for a 2-1 Bruins’ victory Nov. 23.

New Jersey scored three power-play goals including the winner by Jack Hughes in the third period for a 5-4 win last Friday. Two days later, Erik Brannstrom tied it with 3:20 to play in regulation before Jake DeBrusk scored in overtime to lift Vancouver 5-4. They lost 2-1 Tuesday in Boston on Pavel Zacha’s OT goal, following a non-call after they thought Alex DeBrincat was tripped behind their net.

And then Thursday they suffered their most frustrating loss, 2-1 at Ottawa, when Josh Norris whipped in a shot from the slot off the rush with 42 seconds left in the third period.

“It seems like we give up two points a lot of nights and that was one of them,” DeBrincat told FanDuel Sports Network. “We played well enough there to get the win.”

The fact the Red Wings (10-12-4) are only three points out of the final wild card spot speaks to the parity in the Eastern Conference and the inability of many teams to gain separation. Still, having six clubs between them and that last playoff spot makes their task all the more difficult.

Continued (paywall)

A bit more Trouba talk as Trouba 2.0 comes to a head

We’re doing a running Twitter-monitoring thread for Trouba watch 2.0, and the Fourth Period has an entry-worthy article regarding potential deals for the New York Rangers‘ soon-to-no-longer-be-captain:

On Thursday evening, the Rangers appear to have options from multiple teams available to them to trade Trouba to, but all four clubs are believed to be on his no-trade list and require him signing off on a deal. A decision is expected Friday by midday.

The Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres, San Jose Sharks and Ottawa Senators are among the teams that have spoken with the Rangers about Trouba. Sources have suggested Columbus is one of the teams that has a tentative deal on the table for him.

Trouba, 30, owns a 15-team no-trade list as part of his contract, which comes with an $8 million salary cap hit and expires after the 2025-26 season.

However, as first indicated by Arthur Staple of The Athletic earlier today, the Rangers have informed Trouba that he will be placed on waivers if he does not accept a trade to one of the teams Rangers management has agreed to, in principle.

And, in case you missed them…

On Larkin and Raymond’s Four Nations Face-Off selections

DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills filed an article which discusses Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond’s being selected to play in the Four Nations Face-Off for the U.S. team and Swedish teams, respectively:

“Very happy for [Larkin and Raymond], very well-earned,” Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde said after Thursday’s morning skate at Canadian Tire Centre. “I think both are going to play significant roles for their federations, but [I] also have a little empathy for the guys that didn’t make it. We have a handful of guys in that room that would be right on that bubble, so it’s a good moment for those guys, for sure.”

Larkin said he’s extremely humbled to wear the red, white and blue at 4 Nations Face-Off.

“It’s a great honor,” Larkin said. “To see the list of players and be part of that is a great accomplishment. It’s something I’m very proud of. I thank my wife, my family and my teammates. It’s been a pretty cool honor.”

Raymond expressed similar feelings of pride and gratitude.

“Obviously excited,” Raymond said. “Any time you get the chance to represent your country and play in a tournament like that, it’s always a lot of fun.”

Continued