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-Flames post-morning skate Tweets: Talbot starts, Husso to back up, Kane still out

The Detroit Red Wings face a stern test in battling the Calgary Flames this evening (7:30 PM EST on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit Plus/Sportsnet 360/97.1 FM), and the Red Wings’ morning skate included Patrick Kane (upper-body), but it didn’t appear that Kane was ready to return from his injury just yet.

As of right now, Cam Talbot is also slated to start, most likely opposite Dustin Wolf.

After the morning skate, the Red Wings’ coach and players spoke with the media…

Continue reading Red Wings-Flames post-morning skate Tweets: Talbot starts, Husso to back up, Kane still out

Griffins on a roll

TheAHL.com’s Patrick Williams posted a story about the Grand Rapids Griffins’ developmental machine this morning, discussing the resurgent Griffins’ winning streak of late:

The defensive foundation took hold early for the Grand Rapids Griffins, so the wins quickly followed – even if the goals did not.

Now the offense has arrived as well, and the Griffins are positioned to take a run at first overall in the AHL as this season’s first quarter reaches its conclusion. The Griffins are 12-4-1-0, including two separate five-game winning streaks, and have shown that they know how to avoid having one bad night turn into multiple bad nights.

Grand Rapids won four of its first five games despite managing only nine goals for. Thanks to a recent run of offense, the Griffins have risen to the middle of the pack, tied for 15th in the AHL at 3.06 goals per game, but fortunately it has not come at the expense of their defensive play. Along with a league-low 2.18 goals-against per game, Grand Rapids ranks second on the penalty kill at 89.7 percent, and their goaltenders’ combined .933 save percentage is tops in the AHL.

As always, Detroit Red Wings management has made sure to plant a deep group of veterans in Grand Rapids, players who are able to push prospects on and off the ice, but also be willing to take a back-seat role if needed in order to allow those young players key opportunities. But what is most encouraging for the Detroit front office is that it’s the drafted talent, amassed over several years since executive vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman’s return to the organization, who are driving much of this season’s success. Much like Yzerman did in helping to set up the Lightning to win back-to-back Stanley Cup titles, AHL development is paramount with his Detroit posting as well. Yzerman wants his draft picks to develop, and he wants them to do so in a winning, competitive environment, something that he made quite clear in publicly expressing his unhappiness with the Griffins missing the Calder Cup Playoffs in 2022-23.

Good teams have a knack for not letting one loss grow into two, three, or more. After a rare slip-up on Friday night – a 5-2 loss at home against Iowa – the Griffins made sure not to let that performance become something more concerning in a Sunday rematch. They built a 4-1 lead by the seven-minute mark of the second period and eventually took a 5-2 win.

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Press release: Griffins to hold ‘Red Kettle Game’ on Friday, December 6th

Per the Grand Rapids Griffins:

GRIFFINS TO HOST NINTH ANNUAL RED KETTLE GAME

Friday, Dec. 6, 2024 vs. Chicago Wolves
Red Kettle Game presented by The Salvation Army

Time: 7 p.m. at Van Andel Arena (doors open at 6 p.m. for the general public, 5:45 p.m. for season-ticket holders). 

Ninth Annual Red Kettle Game presented by The Salvation Army: Help raise awareness of The Salvation Army’s mission to provide programs and services to our West Michigan neighbors during the holidays and throughout the year by wearing red to the game. Several red kettles will be stationed throughout the lobby and concourse, some staffed by the wives and girlfriends of Griffins players (aka the Better Halves). The Salvation Army’s brass band will perform the national anthem and play a selection of holiday favorites on the concourse during intermissions.

Post-Game Jersey Auction: The Griffins will wear special Red Kettle jerseys for this game, a select number of which will be autographed and available for auction following the game in Sections 121 and 122. A select number of game-worn jerseys will also be available via the DASH Auction app, a digital auction platform. Fans can download the DASH Auction app via iOS or Android devices in the app store and select Grand Rapids Griffins as their favorite team. Fans can also text DASH to 66866 to download the app. All proceeds raised via the auction will benefit The Salvation Army. 

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Red Wings-Flames set-up and morning skate Tweets: Talbot likely to start, Kane skating

Updated at 10:51 AM: As the Red Wings prepare to face the 12-7-and-3 Calgary Flames tonight (7:30 PM EST start on Fanduel Sportsnet Detroit Extra/Sportsnet 360/97.1 FM), the Wings face a team that’s got other things on its mind.

Calgary’s coming off a 4-3 loss to Ottawa this past Monday, and while that game snapped a 4-game winning streak, the Flames have lost their last 4 road games. Some folks believe that the Flames will be distracted by an emotional set of games against Johnny Gaudreau’s Columbus Blue Jackets starting on Friday, but I’m not buying into that narrative.

According to CalgaryFlames.com’s Ty Pilson, the Flames are pissed off about the way in which that they lost to Ottawa on Monday night…

Twenty minutes. That’s how much time the Flames spent in the penalty box in a 4-3 loss to the Senators in Ottawa on Monday night to kick off this four-game road trip that continues tonight in Detroit. It was a recipe for disaster.

“It’s hard to win when you have 20 penalty minutes, right?,” said Rasmus Andersson after the game, before the team flew to the Motor City. “It’s one-third of the game in the penalty box. They have a good powerplay. I didn’t think we were playing our best, even at 5-on-5, I think they were a desperate team, they were a little bit more desperate than us to start.”

Yegor Sharangovich scored in his third straight game (click to read more on Sharky, his goals and his love of Lego), while Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri also talled in the loss. Kadri’s goal came with 38.1 seconds to play and Dustin Wolf pulled as the Flames pushed hard down the stretch.

“You don’t give yourself a chance to win,” said Head Coach Ryan Huska Tuesday after the team practiced and had off-ice workout at Little Caesars Arena. “I mean, we talked about that a little bit last night. You take nine minor penalties against a good powerplay, you’re not winning the game, you know. So, that’s on all of us, and that discipline side of things has to be better.

The loss snapped a four-game winning streak – all coming at the Scotiabank Saddledome – and dropped the Flames road record to 3-4-3.

MLive’s Tyler Kuehl’s game preview also notes the following about the Flames:

Continue reading Red Wings-Flames set-up and morning skate Tweets: Talbot likely to start, Kane skating

Via Red Wings Prospects: Rudy Guimond joins the Moncton Wildcats

Via Red Wings Prospects on Twitter:

Tweet of note: Red Wings hold ‘Black Friday sale’

FYI:

Tuesday fundraising

Okay, it’s time for the daily fundraising post. Aunt Annie and I are in tough due to my flu-induced absence (I finally got better after a week’s worth of heavy antibiotics), so if you can lend a hand, we’d be grateful.

The Malik Report needs your support to function. You receive quite a bit of information “for free,” but providing that information is not done for free. As such, we would like to ask that you kindly contribute to our monthly expenses.

If you’re willing to lend a hand, we have a PayPal option at https://paypal.me/TheMalikReport; there’s Venmo at https://venmo.com/george-malik-2; if you’re into the, “I don’t want to use any of those pages” option, here’s always the Giftly option by using my email, rtxg@yahoo.com, at https://www.giftly.com…

And in the banking options, you can contact me via email if you want to send me a paper check, or “Zelle” me via my email, rtxg@yahoo.com.

It’s my pleasure to provide you with as much information as I can give, but this is also a job, and it requires money, time, energy and effort (a.k.a. work). If you are willing or able to support this endeavor, it is greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your time.

Bultman on Axel Sandin Pellikka (and 9 more Red Wings prospects)

The Athletic’s Max Bultman checks in with 10 of the Red Wings’ top prospects at American Thanksgiving, and we’ll start at the top:

Axel Sandin-Pellikka, RHD, Skellefteå (SHL)

Since the moment the Red Wings drafted Sandin-Pellikka, the hope has been that he could grow into their top offensive blueliner of the future. After a season and a half, that possibility looks like more than just hope as Sandin-Pellikka scores his way into uncharted territory for a junior-aged defenseman in the SHL.

Through 22 games, he’s up to seven goals and 19 points, a production rate (0.86 per game) that has him on pace to shatter the SHL’s all-time U20 defense scoring record. The current mark is 31 points in 45 games, held by Dallas’ Nils Lundkvist in 2019-20 and narrowly trailed by the Red Wings’ own Moritz Seider, who had 28 in 41 a year later. It’s an extremely impressive production for the 19-year-old.

“He’s so smart,” Red Wings assistant director of player development Dan Cleary said. “He’s positionally smart, he’s got a real feel for time and space. Very deceptive, he can manipulate players and situations.”

Lundkvist does serve as a bit of a cautionary tale, though, that SHL production does not always translate to North America: the former Rangers first-round pick ended up being traded to the Stars shortly after coming overseas and has struggled to carve out an impactful role since, playing less than 14 minutes a night (with just one point) so far this season. I don’t point that out to rain on anyone’s Sandin-Pellikka parade, but rather to temper expectations, especially with regard to his timeline.

I would expect him to come over to North America next season, but likely to spend the whole season in Grand Rapids adjusting to the ice, speed and physicality of the North American game. From there, the key will be how many other dimensions Sandin-Pellikka can bring beyond his obvious aptitude on the power play. His ability to defend, in spite of his 5-foot-11 stature, could be what determines whether he can slot in as a consistent top-four blueliner in the future.

Continued (paywall)

Duff: Buchelnikov to take part in Russian hockey tournament

According to Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff, Red Wings prospect and Vityaz Moscow Region forward Dmitri Buchelnikov has been selected to play for the Russian team which will participate in the Channel One Cup:

It will be featuring the national teams of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, as well as a team made up of international players skating in Russia’s KHL. NHL coaching legend Mike Keenan will coach this latter team.

On Tuesday, Russia was revealing a preliminary roster for that event consisting of five goalies, 17 defensemen and 29 forwards. Among those 29 forwards is Red Wings draftee Buchelnikov (52nd overall, 2022 NHL entry draft).

Buchelnikov is currently in a tie for second in KHL scoring with 8-20-28 totals. A recent story in Russia’s Sport-Express was citing the Vityaz forward unit of Buchelnikov, Derek Barach and Ivan Chekhovich as the best line in the KHL. All three are among the league’s top-10 scorers.

Continued

NHL.com’s Stan Fischler engages in a Q and A with former Wing Doug Barkley

NHL.com’s Stan Fischler engaged in a Q and A with Red Wings alumnus Doug Barkley, and among the questions and answers are the following:

When did [your NHL] break come? “I almost quit hockey to take a job with a Calgary oil company, but my Calgary coach, Alf Pike, gave me all the confidence I needed. He played me between 50 and 55 minutes a game and just let me go out there and do my thing. I was only 25 at the time. You could say that I had become a minor league star with 74 points in 70 games and MVP in the All-Star Game, but my real break came when Chicago traded me to Detroit for Len Lunde and John McKenzie (on June 5, 1962), and I wound up at the Red Wings’ training camp.”

What was it like? “Wonderful. I was with very friendly players like Gordie Howe, Alex Delvecchio and Marcel Pronovost. Right off the bat, they asked me to golf with them, but I didn’t have any clubs, shoes or anything. Gordie, who had been hurt, made me feel right at home and gave me all his golf stuff. On top of that Sid Abel was a wonderful coach, easy to talk to and he gave me plenty of ice time. I finally felt I had made the NHL. I played 70 games and scored three goals and 24 assists for 27 points. Despite all the previous hardships, at last I felt I belonged.”

How sure were you? “I missed rookie of the year by a point to Toronto’s Kent Douglas. A year later I had 115 penalty minutes and 32 points and became the best scorer of Detroit’s defenders. I really was going strong well into the 1965-66 season with 20 points in 43 games and a ton of ice time. There were moments when I’d be dead-tired, but Sid would say, OK, Alex, Gordie, (Bill) Gadsby and Doug get on the ice.’ I’d go out there — and I pushed myself — mostly because I figured if Gordie could make it, I could do it.”

Continued