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!

Tweet of note: WXYZ’s Galli posts 8-minute interview with Patrick Kane

Excellent work by WXYZ’s Brad Galli here:

Red Wings-Penguins morning skate Tweets: Husso starts, Wings to face challenge vs. Pittsburgh

The Detroit Red Wings will open their 2024-2025 season tonight at 8 PM EDT against the Pittsburgh Penguins, and tonight’s game isn’t going to be simple or easy:

Pittsburgh lost their home opener 6-0 to the New York Rangers last night, so they’re going to be in a spoiler’s position this evening.

Tonight’s game has been moved from its original 7 PM start to 8 PM EDT (on Bally Sports Detroit/Sportsnet-Pittsburgh/WWJ Newsradio 950) to accommodate today’s Tigers playoff game, which starts at 6 PM EDT at Comerica Park…

But parking is going to be an expensive nightmare downtown, so even if you’re planning on heading to Little Caesars Arena for the pregame party that starts at 4:30 PM, plan ahead for a real cluster-you-know-what downtown.

Tonight’s game kicks off a stretch of 3 games to be played over the course of the next 5 nights, against the Pens this evening, the Predators on Saturday, and in Manhattan against the Rangers on Monday, so the Wings better be wearing their figurative “work boots” starting tonight.

Per Red Wings play-by-play announcer Ken Kal, the referees for tonight’s game are Chris Rooney and Pierre Lambert, with Derek Nansen and Tommy Hughes working the lines:

Also of Red Wings Twitter-related note this morning:

I’ll try to post the Lalonde interview when it pops up on WJR.com.

DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills posted a game preview as well:

Nothing creates anticipation and excitement like the beginning of a new NHL campaign, and Lucas Raymond said the Red Wings are eager to get going.

“You’ve been waiting all summer, especially how last year ended,” said Raymond, who re-signed an eight-year contract extension with Detroit last month. “I think everyone is a little extra excited to get out there Thursday.”

Detroit finished last season fifth in the Atlantic Division with a 41-32-9 (91 points) record, an 11-point improvement from its 2022-23 campaign. The Red Wings battled for a Stanley Cup Playoffs spot late last season but fell just short, as the Washington Capitals earned the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot because of the regulation wins tiebreaker (32-27).

Michael Rasmussen said he learned a lot from that playoff push.

“I haven’t really experienced that kind of hockey,” Rasmussen said. “For me, and other guys feel this way too, that’s something you’re yearning for and wanting. There’s nothing worse than playing meaningless hockey. We’ve been in those spots in years past, and last year was the most fun hockey I’d probably say a lot of us have played.”

Several players from last season are back and aiming to contribute even more this season, but there are some new faces in the fold. This summer, the Red Wings added defenseman Erik Gustafsson, forwards Tyler Motte and Vladimir Tarasenko, and goalie Cam Talbot.

Anyway, the Red Wings hit the ice at Little Caesars Arena around 10:30 AM this morning…

Tweet of note: Red Wings post tribute to Ferris Bueller in ‘Take the Day Off’

Very cute:

Wings prospect Max Plante out 4-6 weeks with an upper-body injury

Red Wings prospect Max Plante made his University of Minnesota-Duluth debut this past weekend, registering 2 assists while playing alongside his brother Zam on the Bulldogs’ second line…

But the Duluth News-Tribune’s Matt Wellens reports that Plante was injured during the game, and that he will miss significant time:

After initially saying Sunday that freshman wing Max Plante would be out “a while” with an upper body injury, Minnesota Duluth men’s coach Scott Sandelin tossed out a more precise — but still vague — timeline on Wednesday during his weekly press conference at Amsoil Arena.

Plante, a 2024 second-round NHL draft pick of the Detroit Red Wings, is estimated to miss the next 4-6 weeks with an upper body injury after being shoved into the end wall Saturday in a 4-3 overtime loss to Bemidji State at Amsoil Arena. The Bulldogs were on a power play with 4:40 remaining in regulation when the legal hit occurred. Plante left the game and briefly came back for a shift in overtime before returning to the bench.

Based on the timeline Sandelin provided Wednesday, Max Plante could return for the second week of NCHC play — a road series at Miami — or not until UMD is at Arizona State in December.

“We’ll see, we’ll see,” Sandelin said.

Continued; rough news for Plante.

Sniffly update

My apologies for the lack of posts today. Both Aunt Annie and I are suffering from a flu bug that’s causing us extreme fatigue, fever and significant body aches.

At this point I have decided to let myself rest until game day in order to maximize recovery time. We’ll see how well this plays out as there are two very sick people in my home and we both need to recover ASAP.

Tweet of note: Toledo Walleye open training camp

From the Toledo Walleye:

Waiting for the ‘juice’

USA Today’s Mary Clarke posted a set of preseason power rankings this morning, and she ranks the Red Wings 16th overall:

16. Detroit Red Wings: We’re entering Year 5 of the Yzerplan, with the Red Wings just barely missing out on a playoff berth at the end of last season. Expectations continue to rise in Detroit, with the team even adding Stanley Cup champion Vladimir Tarasenko in free agency this past summer. The Red Wings should be on the cusp of the playoffs once more; the question remains is if they have enough juice to get there for the first time in eight years.

Continued; not much to say here other than, “Yep” and to remind you that if it’s Year 5, the Red Wings theoretically are in the middle of an 8-to-12-year rebuilding phase.