Author: George Malik

The 1-and-3 Red Wings will try to extend the 0-and-4 Nashville Predators’ misery today (2 PM EDT start on Bally Sports Detroit/Bally Sports South/97.1 FM).

Nashville most recently lost a 4-2 decision to the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday, while the Red Wings lost a 5-2 decision to the New York Rangers on Thursday.

As MLive’s Ansar Khan notes, both teams’ starts have been disappointing, but the Predators may be facing more pressure heading into today’s game:

“I’m sure they’re desperate, but we’re desperate, too,” Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said. “This does not feel good. It’s sporadic play. It’s frustrating where we are with our results. I think it’s two teams that are going to be playing very desperate in an important game early on.”

The Red Wings are coming off back-to-back losses to the New York Rangers while trying to navigate through a tough early season schedule.

Nashville had high hopes after its summer spending spree. First, the Predators locked up franchise goaltending Jusse Saros to an eight-year, $62 million extension. Then they went hog-wild in free agency, inked longtime Lightning center Steven Stamkos (four years at $32 million), right wing Jonathan Marchessault (five years at $27.5 million) and defenseman Brady Skjei (seven years at $49 million).

Stamkos has no points in four games. Saros is 0-3 with a 3.83 goals-against average and .878 save percentage.

The Red Wings’ stats since defeating Nashville 3-0 last Saturday aren’t any better, as the Free Press’s Andrew Birkle notes:

Marco Kasper told DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills that he didn’t take being sent down to Grand Rapids too personally…

Kasper said he wasn’t disappointed that he was assigned to Grand Rapids after Training Camp, pointing out the talent at the top of and within the Red Wings organization.

“We have a really good team now,” Kasper said. “We have a lot of young players pushing each other to develop. That’s really good. Just trying to give my best to get the call back up here and to work hard.”

Proud of the work he’s put in to earn this opportunity, Kasper said he feels more confident and prepared for the NHL than ever before.

“I had a way better preseason this year,” Kasper said. “It helps, obviously. Always fun to score some goals. I think just trying to build on preseason. The first game in Grand Rapids was good, we won that. Just trying to build on stuff like that and be ready for the games up here now.”

Kasper felt the excitement of his NHL debut on April 2, 2023, then the disappointment of a lower-body injury he sustained in that game, which sidelined him for the remainder of the 2022-23 campaign. Since his initial NHL experience was so brief, the young forward admitted this “feels like a debut.”

“Knowing that I’ve played one game takes the nerves out of it a little bit,” Kasper said. “Trying to do my best now.”

Continued

Marco Kasper received praise from none other than the captain of the Red Wings today, as MLive’s Ansar Khan noted:

“He worked his tail off for it,” Larkin said. “He was one of the few that stood out like he wanted a job. We’re kind of in a spot where we need him now.”

Larkin said Kasper has a good tool set.

“He’s a good skater,” Larkin said. “Probably the thing I like the most is how competitive he is. He uses his body really well. He’s a worker. It’s impressive to see. He plays with an edge. He plays hard every night. It’s something we need right now.”

Kasper (6-1, 197) embraces the gritty side of the game.

“Just trying to play with some urgency, win some battles, make some stuff happen,” he said. “That’s part of my game, just getting in there winning battles, going to the net, trying to do my best with it.”

Kasper was home in Grand Rapids eating breakfast, preparing for Griffins practice and their game tonight when he got the call. He quickly packed for the two-game trip (they play at the New York Islanders on Tuesday), hopped in his car and made it to Little Caesars Arena 20 minutes before practice.

“It feels a little bit like a debut but still knowing that I’ve played one (NHL) game takes the nerves out of it,” Kasper said.

Continued

Daily Faceoff’s Tyler Yaremchuk and Frank Seravalli discussed the Red Wings’ defensive woes earlier today:

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen discusses what Marco Kasper might need to do to remain with the Red Wings on a long-term basis:

“Not necessarily one game,” Lalonde said about Kasper’s stay. “I just think it’s a significant role. We’ll see him in our top nine, both special teams. I think there’s a reality of developing on the fly in the NHL but it’s a person that can help us, too. On that cut day, we took only 12 forwards. In reality, if we had the roster space, we could have had 14, maybe even 15 that could help us early.”

Fans wanted the Austrian center to make the team out of training camp because he brings energy to his shifts, and he plays with grit.  Although he hasn’t proven yet he can be an elite scorer, there is hope that he can score enough to develop into a No. 2 NHL center.

“Even in practice today,” Lalonde said. “I’m sure from up top he was noticeable, he’s got some pop with his skating, some high compete, so it makes sense in a lot of ways.”

…

Kasper played with Jonatan Berggren and Michael Rasmussen in practice. Kasper played with Berggren in the playoffs last season.

“I think Ras can complement anyone because he forechecks, he gets you second touches with pucks, he’ll get the puck for you, he goes to the net, he does some hard things,” Lalonde said. “With Marco, we want to give him an opportunity to succeed. Berggren has been making a lot of plays. I know it hasn’t translated into a lot of offense but he’s been creating some of those chances for. I like the combination of it. But we have the potential with 11 and 7 to get guys throughout. I’m not opposed to getting Marco on the wing at times with some other type players. I think he can generate some energy and touches.”

At the same time…

“I still need him to play within himself,” Lalonde said. “Early last year, this was new for him. He tried to do too much. There just wasn’t time and space. Probably what we ask of the other guys – manage your game, don’t turn pucks over, play with energy, get above, be on top. A little help with some forecheck, just some pop in his skating, some energy. We’ll be cautious with how we judge him. This is his second NHL game. Just be himself. Don’t push too much pressure on you, play with energy. I think he’s going to bring that for us.”

Continued

The Hockey News’s Connor Eargood discusses the Red Wings’ particularly putrid penalty-kill this afternoon:

The penalty kill trouble runs a little deeper for Detroit. The unit has allowed five goals on 14 penalty kills, a 64.3% rate that ranks third from last in the NHL. Four of those goals came against New York’s top power play, three of which came in that one really bad outing Thursday.

Naturally, Detroit’s goal is to improve that penalty kill, even if the Rangers are one of the top power play teams. And in practice Friday afternoon, the Red Wings spent their usual amount of time working on special teams. But fixing the penalty kill isn’t as simple as taking more reps.

For a situational unit where success is tied so much to reads and instincts, there is only so much that can be simulated directly on the ice. And even when it can, that practice time is also used to coach other special teams that limit what teams can actually do.

There’s a constant tug of war between practicing the penalty kill and the power play with the full complement of players. A number of the best players play on both units — for instance, captain Dylan Larkin or defenseman Moritz Seider — and this makes for a tricky decision of where to place them in practice. On one hand, you want them to practice the PK, but you also need them to construct a good enough power play to simulate good enough reps to be worthwhile.

“One’s not more important than the other, but that’s just how it shakes out,” forward Michael Rasmussen explained Friday. Lalonde expressed a similar message. “We’ve always had that balance. It’s easy to rep power play a lot of times. You lose a little bit of getting your reps and your routes on the penalty kill.”

Continued

The Grand Rapids Griffins’ posted a two-minute-long Twitter video of the Griffins’ players sharing their names and hockey nicknames:

Names & Nicknames 😉 #GoGRG pic.twitter.com/eShSugWOsP

— Grand Rapids Griffins (@griffinshockey) October 18, 2024

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan filed an afternoon article which further the narrative begun by the Hockey News’s Sam Stockton and the Free Press’s Helene St. James regarding Marco Kasper’s emergency recall ahead of tomorrow afternoon’s game vs. Nashville:

“He was the one that earned it most, the one that made most sense from (training camp),” Lalonde said. “He was a step ahead of some of the other guys down there and played two real good games (for Grand Rapids). It just makes sense right now.”

Andrew Copp (ill) and Tyler Motte (upper-body injury) both missed practice Friday. Lalonde is confident Copp will be ready for Saturday’s game in Nashville (2 p.m./BSD/97.1). Motte is being re-evaluated, said Lalonde.

“It’s a significant role, we see him (Kasper) in our top-nine (forwards), both special teams,” Lalonde said. “He’s a person that can help us. On the cut-down day (to the regular season), we only took 12 forwards and, in reality, we could have easily, if we had the roster space of 14 or 15 forwards, we had in our vision that he could help us early on.”

Kasper centered a line with Michael Rasmussen and Jonatan Berggren during Friday’s practice. Kasper was eating breakfast Friday in Grand Rapids when he was told about driving to Detroit and joining the Wings.

“I packed up and grabbed my bag and just got here,” said Kasper, who had already played one NHL game, two seasons ago. “It’s real fun, for sure, to get going and get in here for practice. We were preparing for a game tonight (in Grand Rapids), so I was just getting ready for that. They called and it’s good to come here. I’m just really excited to get the call and get to play here and I’m looking forward to it and just doing my best.”

Take this for what you will:

Saturday’s game in Nashville is a crucial early-season game for both teams. The Wings are 1-3-0 and Nashville 0-4-0, heading into a game where both teams need a victory to end a season-opening slide.

“I’m sure they are desperate, but we’re desperate too,” Lalonde said. “This does not feel good. It’s frustrating we are where we are with our results. It’s two teams that will be playing a desperate, important game early on.”

The Detroit Red Wings practiced on Friday at Little Caesars Arena ahead of a consequential game against the Nashville Predators tomorrow (2 PM EDT on Bally Sports Detroit), and they did so with roster emergency recall Marco Kasper, but without Tyler Motte or Andrew Copp.

After practice, coach Derek Lalonde told the media that Jeff Petry will return to the lineup tomorrow, that Alex Lyon will start opposite Juuse Saros, and that the team may go with 11 forwards and 7 defensemen depending on the health of Motte and Copp.

The Hockey News’s Sam Stockton kicks off our survey of the Red Wings beat writers’ notebooks from today’s practice:

After Christian Fischer went down with an injury earlier this week, Lalonde noted that they likely wouldn’t call up a player like Kasper as a short-term fill-in because it would come at the cost of significant minutes in Grand Rapids.  What’s different now?  Per Lalonde, the difference is that a “significant role” is on offer for Kasper to step into.  “I think we’ll see him in our top nine, and we’ll see him on both special teams,” he said of what that role could look like.

As for what he’s looking for from Kasper, Lalonde said, “I still need him to play within himself.  I think early last year, this was new for him.  He tried to do too much.  You saw there just wasn’t time and space.  Probably what we ask of the other guys: manage your game, don’t turn pucks over, play with energy, get above, be on top.  I think a little help with some forecheck, just some pop in his skating, some energy.  We’ll be cautious with how we judge him.  This is his second NHL game.”

And in lieu of a practice report, the Free Press’s Helene St. James posted a 2:21 video of Marco Kasper speaking with the media:

Update: Here’s more in written form from St. James:

The 1-and-3 Detroit Red Wings practiced at Little Caesars Arena before embarking upon a 2-game road trip which begins tomorrow in Nashville against the 0-and-4 Predators (2 PM EDT start on Bally Sports Detroit), and concludes on Tuesday on Long Island, where the Red Wings will battle Patrick Roy’s New York Islanders (7:45 PM on what will then be FanDuel Sports Detroit).

The Red Wings were still stinging from Thursday’s 5-2 loss to the New York Rangers, who swept the teams’ home-and-home series, and the Wings were shorthanded up front as well:

Andrew Copp (flu) and Tyler Motte (being assessed for an upper-body injury) missed Friday’s practice, so the Red Wings brought up Marco Kasper from the Grand Rapids Griffins on an emergency basis, and Kasper, Moritz Seider, Simon Edvinsson and coach Derek Lalonde all spoke with the media ahead of the plane ride to Nashville.

According to coach Lalonde, Jeff Petry will play on the Wings’ defense on Saturday, and Alex Lyon will start opposite Juuse Saros.

Anyway, here’s coach Lalonde’s press conference…

And here are Alex Lyon, Dylan Larkin and Marco Kasper speaking with the media:

Also, here’s a bonus Tweet of note:

"I'm really excited to get out there and give my best."

🎥 » https://t.co/JJkbfHe2uW pic.twitter.com/eL527MVEWR

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 18, 2024