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-Sabres preseason game #1 Tweetcap: Detroit cruises past the Sabres 5-2 thanks to vets & youngsters

The Detroit Red Wings dressed their “A Team” for Thursday night’s game against the Buffalo Sabres, and yes, Dylan Larkin scored a goal, Lucas Raymond had 2 assists, Andrew Copp had a goal and an assist, and Detroit cruised to a 5-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres…

But Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, Axel Sandin Pellikka, Emmitt Finnie, Amadeus Lombardi and the Grand Rapids Griffins-contracted Jacob Truscott all had good games, Michal Postava pitched a 10-save shutout in the second half of the game, and the youngsters looked very, very bright as Detroit ended up going 3-for-5 on the PK and 1-for-4 on the PP.

Cam Talbot also had 6 stops; Mason Appleton opened the scoring on a shorthanded goal at 5:39; Brandsegg-Nygard scored from Sandin Pellikka and the also quite good Nate Danielson; Jacob Bernard-Docker’s “around the world” play yielded Dylan Larkin’s game-winner; and Moritz Seider led the team with 21:48 played, landing 5 hits, tied with Finnie for the team lead in that regard.

Long story long, for the second time in 3 nights, the Red Wings out-worked, out-hustled and out-executed their opponents.

Now Detroit will send one team to Pittsburgh tomorrow afternoon for the 7 PM game on Friday night (on FanDuel Sports Network Detroit), and then another team to Buffalo for a 3 PM matinee on Saturday (on DetroitRedWings.com).

1st period: The Red Wings came out with some “oomph”…

Continue reading Red Wings-Sabres preseason game #1 Tweetcap: Detroit cruises past the Sabres 5-2 thanks to vets & youngsters

Just a stupid cold-type thing

Hi, everybody. I’ve been out of action since Monday due to what’s become a particularly bad…something that I’m not sure whether it’s a cold or a flu bug.

Whether it was the 14-hour days during training camp or the Walgreens run this past weekend, the body has rebelled, and I haven’t been able to sit up and work.

I have a fever, body aches and pains, and I can’t do much other than sleep, occasionally check in on Aunt Annie, and go right back to sleep. I sleep uncomfortably and toss and turn.

I managed to get the “Tweetcap” of the Wings-Blackhawks game together, but I paid for it Wednesday in the form of exhaustion and discomfort.

I’ll try to at the very least take in the Wings-Sabres game as a “data point” for those of you who can’t watch it yourselves, and do some sort of “Tweetcap” again, but until I can sit up behind the computer without great effort, the in-between time will have to wait.

I hate missing time from illness, but this happens more often than it should, so I’ll minimize the absence by resting and recovering.

Then I’ll get my shit together and get back to regular work full-time. I miss doing caregiving and blogging together. They balance each other out.

Red Wings-Blackhawks preseason game #1 Tweetcap: Detroit wins 3-2 over Chicago thanks to strong performances by its youth (Finnie and MBN in particular)

The Detroit Red Wings’ “B Team” battled Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night at Little Caesars Arena, and while it took the Wings 43 shots on the valiant Arvid Soderblom, the Red Wings would prevail by a 3-2 tally.

Carter Mazur (from Emmitt Finnie and John Leonard) gave the Wings a 1-0 lead on the PP at 14:26 of the 1st; Bedard would score to tie the game early in the 2nd on the PP; Nate Danielson would respond (from Wallinder and Brandsegg-Nygard) 4:21 into the 2nd, and when Wyatt Kaiser scored at 6:26 of the 3rd to tie the game, Detroit put their collective foot on the gas, and Emmitt Finnie would score on a gorgeous rebound of a shot from Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, off a keep-in from Ian Mitchell, to make it 3-2 Detroit…

And while he stopped 15 of 17 shots, Sebastian Cossa was strong early, strong late, and the goals he gave up were anything but soft.

Here’s the “Tweetcap”:

1st period:

Continue reading Red Wings-Blackhawks preseason game #1 Tweetcap: Detroit wins 3-2 over Chicago thanks to strong performances by its youth (Finnie and MBN in particular)

Video link: Red Wings-Blackhawks preseason game stream

Here’s the stream link for the Red Wings’ preseason home game against the Chicago Blackhawks at Little Caesars Arena this evening:

https://www.nhl.com/redwings/video/detroit-red-wings-live-stream-6336964314112

Also:

Monday Red Wings round-up: summarizing the storylines from a rare preseason ‘off-day’

Of Red Wings-related note from an “off day” Monday which devolved into a 10-hour nap for me:

DetroitRedWings.com: Jonathan Mills filed a recap of the Red & White Game:

Along with Sunday’s Red & White Game, Tanguay said Training Camp provided the group with a great opportunity to lay the groundwork for the 2025-26 season.

“I thought that playing every day raised their competitive juices a little bit,” Tanguay said. “For the most part, it was a very competitive camp. We’ve asked guys to give us their best. Show us why you need to be in the NHL. Leave a calling card, and some guys have. Some of the guys, we’ll see in the exhibition here, how it plays out. But I think for the most part, the first four days have been very successful.”

For example, Emmitt Finnie is a player who is making a positive impression this fall, as Sunday marked the second straight day that the seventh-round pick (No. 201 overall) in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft skated on a line with Larkin and Lucas Raymond.

“He probably, more than some of the guys, he’s brought his best aspect forward,” Tanguay said about the 20-year-old forward prospect. “He’s a good skater and puck retriever. He showed it [at the 2025 NHL Prospect Games] and [at Training Camp] and again [on Sunday]. We put him on a good line, and he showed he was able to retrieve pucks and drive the pace with his speed and size. He gave Larks and Razor some touches.”

With the Red Wings ready to begin an eight-game preseason slate on Tuesday night, it’s important that every player keeps building their game as Opening Night (Oct. 9) gets closer on the calendar.

“This is [head coach Todd McLellan’s] team now, so he’s set his priorities and the tone for Training Camp,” Tanguay said. “It’s been good to have our whole staff together for most of the summer and for the preparation but also, seeing our guys. There are some real expectations for us and for our group to grow. We’ve said a lot of things over the course of the last few years and now, the expectation is that you must put those words into action. It’s still very early. We haven’t played any other teams yet, but guys have been enthusiastic, and we’ve liked the response that we’ve gotten so far.”

MLive: Ansar Khan discussed Sebastian Cossa’s need to step up ahead of a pivotal 2025-2026 campaign:

Continue reading Monday Red Wings round-up: summarizing the storylines from a rare preseason ‘off-day’

Tweet of note: FanDuel Sports Network Detroit confirms 3-game preseason broadcast schedule

This morning, FanDuel Sports Network Detroit is confirming its 3-game broadcast slate for the Red Wings’ preseason…

But an earlier press release from the Red Wings stated that 7 of the 8 preseason games will air on either FanDuel Sports, DetroitRedWings.com, or the NHL Network:

Axel Sandin Pellikka’s looked human over the course of training camp

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff filed an overnight column which duly notes that Red Wings prospect Axel Sandin Pellikka hasn’t dominated over the course of training camp.

That’s not surprising given that the 5’11,” 185-pound defenseman is all of 20 years old, but some fans did expect fireworks as soon as ASP hit the ice in Traverse City, and, thus far, Sandin Pellikka’s been…

All of 20 years old, skating in a training camp with NHL players for the first time. Is he taking a step back from last year’s North American pro debut with Grand Rapids? That’s not necessarily the case:

“He’s a smart player, like, really smart,” assessed Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin. “And you see the way he moves on the power play, see how he walks the blue. I’ve been impressed with how he breaks the puck out. I think he’s gotten better every day. And as a young guy coming in, it’s difficult, but he’s really done a good job.”

What hasn’t been evident in Sandin Pellikka’s game, even going back to his late-season debut with the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins last spring, is that wow factor. And the Red Wings want to see that from him.

“There’s pros to Axe’s game, and we’re certainly looking for that,” Red Wings coach Todd McLellan said, “because if we’re not seeing what really makes him special as a player, then he’s probably playing very safe.”

Players with high-end skill operate on a different plane than mere mortals. They must be given some rope, some opportunity to be taking risks with the objective of making a spectacular play.

“Those types of plays a lot of guys don’t make, he can do that,” Griffins coach Dan Watson said.

Sandin Pellikka himself is indeed keeping a level head:

“I want to play good,” Sandin Pellikka said. “I want to show the staff that I can play hockey on a good level and I want to do my best out there.”

Even if it doesn’t happen right away for him, not to worry. Simon Edvinsson’s first NHL camp didn’t go spectacularly, but after serving an apprenticeship in GR, he’s become a fine NHL defenseman.

Continued; I’m just not surprised that ASP had a pedestrian Prospect Games, and hasn’t been spectacular thus far during training camp. Sandin Pellikka hasn’t played with NHL’ers yet, and there’s a shock factor to competing against the best of the best.

He’s got more than enough pro experience with Skellefta AIK in Sweden, but skating against players who put dinner on the table by shutting down the Sandin Pellikkas of the prospect world on a smaller rink, with less time and space = the adjustment period has definitely been evident in his game thus far.

That’s okay. He’ll get better.

It’s not difficult to ‘get excited’ about Lucas Raymond

Bleacher Report’s Lyle Richardson offers “1 player on every NHL team to get excited about ahead of the 2025-2026 season,” and the Red Wings’ participant is an obvious choice:

Detroit Red Wings: Lucas Raymond

Detroit Red Wings fans haven’t had much to get excited about with their team mired in a nine-season playoff drought. However, the play of Lucas Raymond should help them get their hopes up entering this season.

Raymond is among a group of rising young Red Wings that includes defensemen Moritz Seider and Simon Edvinsson and center Marco Kasper. The 23-year-old right wing has steadily improved, leading the Wings in scoring in each of the last two seasons, including a career-best 80 points in 2024-25.

A talented play-maker, Raymond’s consistent development makes him the Red Wings’ best offensive player. He should remain a threat to reach 80-plus points this season, and will be a key factor in the Wings’ hopes of ending their long postseason drought.

Continued; Raymond’s probably the team’s best goal scorer, too, so there’s that…