All posts by 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-Jets quick take: Larkin 2G, Seider 3A in gutsy Red Wings win in Winnipeg

The Detroit Red Wings took on the NHL-best 27-11-and-2 Winnipeg Jets on Saturday, attempting to add to Winnipeg’s 0-1-and-1 streak while pushing the McLellan winning streak to 4 games.

On Saturday night, one could argue that the Red Wings rode their 1st period effort to a 4-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets, but the game is not that simple, and the Red Wings were better than that.

Dylan Larkin opened the scoring only 6:25 into the game with a power play goal, and Lucas Raymond scored a PP marker 4:33 into the 2nd to make it 2-0, but the Jets scored only a minute-and-change later to make it 2-1 on a Josh Morrissey goal, and things were tight after that.

Alex DeBrincat made it 3-1 at 7:14 of the 3rd, but the Jets hung in there and stuck around, with Ehlers scoring the 3-2 marker at 16:45 of the 3rd…

But with 28.4 seconds left, after some masterful defensive work, Dylan Larkin score the empty-net gamer from Seider, who had 3 assists on the night.

Alex Lyon stopped 21 of 23 shots, got help from 4 goalposts, and was generally very good, and the Wings had a superb stem-to-stern effort from the entire roster.

Continue reading Red Wings-Jets quick take: Larkin 2G, Seider 3A in gutsy Red Wings win in Winnipeg →

Red Wings wary of the test Winnipeg Jets provide

DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills posted an early-evening preview of tonight’s game between the Red Wings and Winnipeg Jets (7 PM EST start on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit/Sportsnet West/97.1 FM). The Red Wings hope to earn some revenge for a 6-0 home loss to Winnipeg on October 30th:

“We’re playing a lot better. Three in a row now, would be a huge win if we get one tonight and keep it going,” Andrew Copp said. “We’re feeling good about the direction we’re heading and some of the changes that were made. It’s up to us to find a way to keep some momentum going for January here.”

Playing with plenty of confidence since the calendar year turned to 2025, Detroit is coming off a 5-4 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday. The Red Wings saw their two goal first-period lead erased by the Blue Jackets, and the Eastern Conference clubs battled back and forth before Jonatan Berggren netted the go-ahead tally with 36 seconds remaining in regulation.

“When the spirit is high, you have an opportunity to advance as a team,” Detroit head coach Todd McLellan said. “You can give the players something new to bite off, adjust the forecheck and neutral zone or whatever you want. When the spirit is a little ragged, you spend a lot of time just on that. We have been able to advance. The spirit has been good. Obviously, winning helps but there will be ebbs and flows throughout the year.”

After Saturday’s morning skate, McLellan announced that Jeff Petry, who exited midway through the third period on Saturday, will not play in Winnipeg. As a result, Albert Johansson will take Petry’s place in the lineup.

“He’s been waiting patiently,” McLellan said about Johansson. “He’s worked really hard in practice and he’s going to get his opportunity, so we’re really excited about that.”

Continued

Jets, Red Wings preach mutual respect ahead of second clash of the season

The Winnipeg Free Press’s Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe offer the following post-morning skate article form the Jets’ perspective ahead of tonight’s game between Detroit and Winnipeg (7 PM EST start on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit/Sportsnet West/97.1 FM):

We take you back to Oct. 30 in Detroit, where local product Kyle Connor had a huge night against his hometown club and eclipsed the 500-point mark for his career after recording a goal and two assists. You could tell the Winnipeg Jets winger had some extra giddy-up in his step that night.

So what might fellow Michigan product Connor Hellebuyck have in store tonight as his Jets host the Red Wings for the only time this season? We remind you that Winnipeg’s two-time Vezina Trophy winner needs but one victory to become just the 30th goaltender in NHL history with at least 300 wins and 40 shutouts.

“He’s been awesome for us. We just want to go out and play our game and give it our all,” forward Mark Scheifele said following his team’s optional morning skate.

Hellebuyck could have hit the milestone on Thursday night, but the Jets blew a late third-period lead and ultimately fell 4-3 in overtime to the Anaheim Ducks. That left the team winless in its last two (0-1-1) following a four-game winning streak, although they continue to lead the NHL with 56 points (and sit second in point percentage behind the Vegas Golden Knights).

Although the Jets took that initial meeting by a 6-2 score, don’t expect the Red Wings to roll over in this one. Detroit comes in red hot, relatively speaking, as they’ve rattled off three straight victories including a 5-4 triumph on Thursday in Columbus. Give some credit to new head coach Todd McLellan, who took over from Derek Lalonde just after Christmas.

“Really, their play without the puck is probably the biggest difference,” Jets bench boss Scott Arniel said of what has changed in Motor City. “They still have a real good skill-set, some top-end forwards, some real mobile young defencemen who can go, but you can see it, they’re not giving up odd-man rushes. Obviously, their buy-in without the puck has been big.”

McIntyre and Wiebe report that Alex Lyon will start for the Red Wings, and the Hockey News’s Sam Stockton offers this morning skate report from afar…

Continue reading Jets, Red Wings preach mutual respect ahead of second clash of the season →

Video: Andrew Copp and Todd McLellan speak with the media prior to Wings-Jets

Red Wings forward Andrew Copp and coach Todd McLellan spoke with the media prior to the Red Wings-Jets game tonight:

Red Wings-Jets morning skate Tweets and previews: Jets starting Hellebuyck, aiming for home-ice rebound

The 16-18-and-4 Detroit Red Wings will battle the NHL-best 27-11-and-2 Winnipeg Jets this evening (7 PM EST start on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit/Sportsnet West/97.1 FM), and the Jets hit the ice at Canada Life Centre very early for an optional morning skate:

NHL.com summarizes tonight’s game thusly:

Continue reading Red Wings-Jets morning skate Tweets and previews: Jets starting Hellebuyck, aiming for home-ice rebound →

All about Trey Augustine

EliteProspects’ Sean Shapiro wrote a superb profile of Red Wings prospect, Michigan State University goaltender and Team USA back-stop Trey Augustine ahead of tonight’s World Junior Championship semifinal vs. Czechia (7:30 PM on the NHL Network/TSN):

David Lassonde, USA Hockey’s national goalie coach, remembers the first time he watched Trey Augustine play goalie.

“He was playing for Honeybaked (as a 15-year-old), and just the maturity in which he approached everything, whether it was his game-day prep or practice habits,” Lassonde said. “He always dealt positively with the noise that surrounds him.”

And this weekend that noise could be deafening as Augustine and Team USA try to become the first American team, ever, to win back-to-back gold medals at the World Junior Championship.

“There’s never a moment Trey isn’t ready for,” Michigan State coach Adam Nightingale once told me. “That’s what makes him so great.”

Continued (paywall)

The Athletic gives the Wings a mid-season ‘D’

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For what it’s worth, The Athletic is doling out mid-season grades for each and every NHL team, and their take on the Red Wings’ turnaround is predictable:

Detroit Red Wings: D

Most expected some kind of step back for the Red Wings, but their first half still fell well short of expectations. Detroit has issues with its roster, but there’s still more talent on the team than its bottom-10 record suggests. We’ll see if new coach Todd McLellan can help the Red Wings get back on track in the new year, even if the playoffs look tough to reach. — Max Bultman

Continued (paywall)

Duff on Kiiskinen’s contributions to Finland’s WJC quest

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff wrote an article about Red Wings prospect Jesse Kiiskinen, who apparently feels that he can contribute more to the Finnish cause at the World Junior Championship:

On paper, the evidence is suggesting that Detroit Red Wings prospect Jesse Kiiskinen is enjoying a strong IIHF World Junior Championship for Finland.

He’s leading the Finns in goals (four) and points (five). Kiiskinen, though, is summarily unimpressed with his performance.

“I don’t really know,” Kiiskinen told Finnish website Ilta-Sanomat. “I haven’t played my best yet. Fortunately, I have been able to help the team by scoring goals.”

The winger Detroit was acquiring last summer from the Nashville Predators in a deal for defenseman Andrew Gibson, Kiiskinen and the Finns are facing Sweden and Red Wings defense prospect Axel Sandin Pellikka in Saturday’s semifinals.

Kiiskinen was playing a significant role in getting Finland to this stage. In their 5-3 quarter-final win over Slovakia, Kiiskinen would score the game’s opening goal just 1:10 into the contest. He would then set up Jesse Nurmi to make it 2-0 before the game was four minutes old.

“This was my best game in this tournament,” Kiiskinen acknowledged.

Continued

Prospect round-up: Buchelnikov scores, Gylander stops 44 for Walleye, Finnie 1G+1A for Kamloops

Of Red Wings prospect-related note:

In the KHL, Dmitri Buchelnikov scored a goal on 4 shots, playing 17:08 in Vityaz Moscow Region’s 3-2 OT loss to Red Star Kunlun:

In the Swedish Allsvenskan, Maximilian Kilpinen finished even in 11:18 played as Ostersunds IK won 3-2 over Mora;

Liam Dower Nilsson finished at -1 with 1 shot in 15:03 played as IF Bjorkloven lost 2-1 in overtime to Almtuna;

In the ECHL, Carter Gylander stopped 44 shots in the Toledo Walleye’s 4-3 win over the Fort Wayne Komets;

Continue reading Prospect round-up: Buchelnikov scores, Gylander stops 44 for Walleye, Finnie 1G+1A for Kamloops →