Author: George Malik

NHL.com’s staff writers picked potential “unsung heroes” who may step up during the star-studded Four Nations Face-Off, and they picked both of the Red Wings’ representatives as less-heralded players who may star in the tourney:

Dylan Larkin, Team USA

In a tournament like this, some stars must swallow their egos, accept lesser roles and excel in them. Canada has a history of success with it in best-on-best tournaments. Now the United States has the depth of talent and the height of expectations to do the same. Larkin could be a key example. He’s the captain and first-line center for the Detroit Red Wings. He’s one of the NHL leaders in power-play goals this season with 12, and he has been one of the top point producers in the League since the holiday break (24 points; 11 goals, 13 assists in 20 games), when Detroit hired coach Todd McLellan. With centers Auston Matthews and Jack Eichel ahead of him in the 4 Nations Face-Off, he probably will have to play lower in the lineup for the United States than he’s used to with Detroit, but he can contribute in all situations. Larkin is a fiery competitor eager to play big games on the big stage for his country. Here’s betting that he will find a way to make a difference no matter the role he is given. — Nicholas J. Cotsonika, columnist

Lucas Raymond, Team Sweden

By the time the tournament is finished, Team Sweden’s points leader might not be one of its perennial All-Stars like William Nylander, Filip Forsberg, Victor Hedman or Erik Karlsson. Instead, don’t be surprised if it ends up being the 22-year-old forward from the Red Wings, one of the NHL’s young stars in the making. Raymond leads Detroit this season with 58 (21 goals, 37 assists) in 54 games, ahead of more established names on the roster like Larkin (50), Alex DeBrincat (43) and Patrick Kane (30). Beyond that, Raymond’s versatility will be something coach Sam Hallam is expected to rely on, especially on special teams. He is tied for third in the NHL with 25 power-play points (five goals, 20 assists), trailing only Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov (32) and New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes (26). He’s also chipped in with a short-handed goal and could find himself on the penalty kill for Team Sweden. — Mike Zeisberger, staff writer

Continued

NHL.com’s Kevin Woodley spoke with several NHL goaltenders, including Red Wings goalie Cam Talbot, about managing “moments of chaos” in the crease:

Cam Talbot works daily to improve his vision using a specialized computer program and glasses, but the Detroit Red Wings goalie knows a big part of life in an NHL crease is surviving the chaotic moments when seeing the puck feels impossible.

In those moments of mayhem, with players from each team piling up around the crease and sticks whacking at wherever the puck has ended up behind that mix of flailing limbs and fallen bodies, time can slow down for the goalie. But not in a good way.

“In real time, it’s only one or two seconds but it feels like a lifetime until you can find that puck,” Talbot said. “When those scrambles are happening in front and you don’t know where it is, or you’ve located it but can’t get to it, you’re just kind of a sitting duck.”

It’s worse when the initial shot that creates chaos doesn’t make it all the way to the goalie. At least a goalie knows where a rebound is headed when the puck hits him, even if traffic in front prevents him from seeing it. When a shot hits a leg or stick in front, a goalie may have no idea where the puck will bounce next, and because they’re typically already down in a butterfly, the options to find a sightline are limited.

“You’re just seeing butts and knees,” said Colorado Avalanche starter Mackenzie Blackwood.

Continued

Per Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen:

J.T. Compher practiced with the Detroit Red Wings today and should be ready to play Saturday against the Tampa Bay Lightning (1 p.m., ABC).

Compher hasn’t played since Jan. 25 when he was injured on a hit by defenseman Emil Lilleberg. The Norwegian defenseman was suspended for two games for the hit, which earned him a penalty for interference. The added penalty came because it was a blow to the head, and it was late.

“In my mind (Compher is) cleared, he’s out there skating around,” Detroit coach Todd McLellan said. “I don’t know if the medical staff has signed off. If he doesn’t play on Saturday, I was wrong.”

Compher shows one goal and two points in his past 12 games, but coaches do appreciate his all-around game.

Both the Free Press’s Helene St. James and the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan wrote practice notebooks which discuss Elmer Soderblom’s emergence as an NHL-ready player on the Wings’ roster.

Here’s St. James’ take…

“He’s played really well,” coach Todd McLellan said. “That’s probably the simplest way of putting it.”

Söderblom, 23, used his second goal of the season in Tuesday’s Seattle Kraken outing to extend the Wings’ winning streak to seven consecutive games, catching a pass from Joe Veleno in the low slot area and flicking a backhand bar down.

“I was talking to him after the game,” Compher said. “It’s a really hard pickup on your backhand and it’s kind of right in his triangle, and he did a good job settling it and getting it under the bar.”

Against the Los Angeles Kings on Jan. 27, Söderblom, 6-foot-8 in bare feet and 7 feet on skates, used his big reach to snap a rebound into the net.

“Both of his goals have basically been the same thing — big man with good hands around the net,” McLellan said. “When you think about Elmer, you think about, ‘Well, can he use his size?’ He’s a big man. There’s different ways of using his size. When you talk like that, you think of these big hits and all that type of stuff, and he does do that. But he uses his size so effectively when he hunts pucks down. Players might be skating away from him, they may be a step or two faster, but out comes this long hook and they can’t skate through that. It’s off your tape and he’s got it again.”

And Kulfan’s:

MLive’s Ansar Khan discusses the Red Wings’ greater sense of self-belief under coach Todd McLellan:

Has the [team’s] immediate success surprised even the coach?

“The obvious answer is yes, but when you come in it’s hard to imagine or predict what might happen,” McLellan said Thursday. “You haven’t been around people. You don’t know what the environment’s like. You think you know players because you’ve watched them on TV, but that’s not where you really learn about them. You get to know them in practice and on the bench, their emotional level. Trying to predict or gauge where it might all go is impossible. You just come in and do your thing and react more than anything.”

The Red Wings (28-21-5) are 15-4-1 under McLellan, who said they’re close to forming an identity in the six weeks he’s been here.

“I think we can skate; I think we can play with pace,” he said. “Combine that with checking for chances, and taking pride in that, seems to be how we’re rolling out wins. Is that where we’re going? Seems to be, but we need a little more time.”

Some adjustments have been made structurally, but they haven’t revamped everything.

“We changed forecheck, we changed penalty kill, we do some things different in the neutral zone,” McLellan said. “The D-zone coverage, it’s not the whole five guys zooming all over the ice, there’s areas or certain points of emphasis in the D-zone. But not dramatic changes. Not just take a paintbrush and paint over everything. Just small adjustments. Players understand our language now, too, so we can fix things quicker. We can do it verbally instead of having to show video. … That’s maybe as important as all the changes in the system stuff.”

Continued (paywall);

And Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff discusses the Red Wings’ self-belief under their new coach as well:

The Free Press’s Carlos Monarrez suggests that Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman must be a “buyer” at this year’s trade deadline to reinforce the potentially playoff-bound Red Wings’ roster:

The trade deadline is March 7, which seems far away. But it really isn’t. There are only eight games left before the deadline because of a two-week leaguewide break (beginning Monday) for the 4 Nations Face-Off, the replacement for the All-Star Game this season. 

One of [coach Todd] McLellan’s core philosophies is to stay focused on the moment. So it made sense that he balked when asked if his team had done enough to warrant being buyers at the deadline. 

“I’m not prepared to answer that question right now,” he said. “That’s a March question. I think the trade deadline’s in March. I don’t even know when it is. … Yeah, so a full month away. We’ve got so much in front of us right now.” 

Things can certainly change for a lot of teams before then. The playoff race in the East is especially tight, with Buffalo the only team entering Thursday more than seven points of a playoff spot. 

So some teams currently on the fence might decide to become sellers if they nosedive before the deadline. But market circumstances shouldn’t affect the underlying principle for Yzerman — he needs to change his usually cautious (probably too cautious) mindset and become a buyer. 

I’m not saying he has to mortgage the future. And I don’t want to hear any jibber-jabber about upsetting team chemistry. What I’m really talking about is the philosophical shift Yzerman and the organization need to embrace. They need to be seen as a team doing whatever it can to end a franchise-record eight-year playoff drought, especially now that they have a coach and a team that seem exceptionally qualified to do exactly that.

Continued; again, I’m of the mind that the Red Wings don’t need to “buy” unless they can add players who become part of the long-term plan.

The Detroit News’s Connor Eargood posted a story about Red Wings prospect and Michigan State University goaltender Trey Augustine. Eargood suggests that Augustine has become the rock upon which MSU rebuilt its hockey program:

Augustine’s commitment [to Michigan State] was, frankly, program-defining for Michigan State. If [Spartans coach Adam] Nightingale is the architect of the Spartans’ ascent from the Big Ten basement to college hockey’s penthouse, then Augustine is the foundation. He’s the basis for everything this program has built since, whether that be the stops he makes on the ice or the easy sell of a recruiting pitch when asked to play in front of one of the world’s top goaltending prospects.

“It just kind of comes down to the culture part of it and what you want to be a part of,” Augustine said. “Obviously this place in the years before I was here wasn’t the best. Obviously, Coach Nightingale and the whole staff did a great job kind of getting back going the right direction the year before I came in. But I really thought I could be a part of change and make this place what it once was — a hockey powerhouse.”

Last season, Augustine backstopped the program’s first ever Big Ten regular-season title. He played a heavy hand in an overtime Big Ten Championship game win over the Michigan team he once committed to. He won Michigan State’s first NCAA Tournament game since 2008. This season, Augustine is a top candidate to win the Mike Richter Award as college hockey’s top netminder, a 14-4-3 record, .926 save percentage and 2.12 goals-against average all top 10 among goalies who have played 20 or more games. He hasn’t allowed more than three goals in a game all season.

“Sometimes young hockey players, they just follow the crowd, right?” Nightingale said. “And he saw what this place could be.”

Continued (paywall)

Red Wings forwards Jonatan Berggren and J.T. Compher spoke to the media after Thursday’s practice, as did coach Todd McLellan:

MLive’s Ansar Khan compares the statistical highlights of the Red Wings’ first 7-game winning streak under coach Todd McLellan to their current winning streak, and while the numbers are worth reading, I’m going to stick with the quotes Khan offers in his article:

The Red Wings (28-21-5, 61 points) are 15-4-1 since Todd McLellan took over as coach on Dec. 26 and coming off their first 4-0 trip since 1996.

“To go home with eight points in the bank, I’m not sure we thought we would get that when we left but we chipped away and chipped away, we won every game in a different form,” McLellan told FanDuel Sports Network.

The Red Wings have shown they can win with offense, defense, goaltending or special teams on any given night.

“We’ve been gutting out a lot of wins lately and it’s nice to see we can win in a lot of different ways,” goaltender Cam Talbot told media during the trip. “That obviously gives us a lot of confidence. We can win 2-1 games, 1-0 games, 5-2 games. We’re winning a whole different bunch of ways and that’s what good teams do this time of year.”

The variety of ways they’ve won has been evident during their streaks. They did it mainly with offense and the power play the first time around. They’re doing it mostly with strong goaltending from Talbot and Alex Lyon and solid defense during this latest run.

Continue reading for the statistical comparison…

NHL.com/de’s Stefan Herget asked several German NHL stars what they think about the possibility of playing in the 2026 Olympics in Milan, Italy, and how the German national team might perform in the Olympic ice hockey tournament. Moritz Seider gave a substantial answer:

Moritz Seider, Defender, Detroit Red Wings:

“This is a childhood dream that can come true for all the guys who will be there for the first time. I only know the stories of the other guys, and my girlfriend, who was lucky enough to have been to the Olympics three times. This is what they tell you about this: that is open to everyone and that is why they want to be part of the story. The biggest thing there is for an athlete is to win for his home country at the Olympics, and to be able to compete against the best in the world. You absolutely want to be there, and I will give everything for that. The league and the Players’ Association are on the right track to make this a great event. We still have to wait and see that everything comes together contractually. Then we will hopefully be there and have a great time.”

“Honestly, expectations in Germany have to be reduced somewhat. But the group stage can quickly go in one direction or another. Perhaps we can pester one or another opponent early. This always depends on what ice surface is played, whether the players from North America come up with ‘jet lag,’ and European food. Perhaps a team can take advantage of this. In the knockout phase, it’s a game in which a lot can always happen. You can keep your expectations open, but you can’t expect us to be a title candidate. But why not just look at what works, have a great tournament, and represent the country in the best possible way.”