The Detroit Red Wings tried to sustain a 3-game winning streak on Thursday night, hosting the 5-3-and-1 New Jersey Devils as Detroit kicked off a slate of 3 games to be played over the course of 4 days and nights.

The Devils were slated to employ the services of both Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce as injury returnees on Thursday night, and they hoped to rebound from an 8-5 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday;

The Red Wings had defeated the Predators and Islanders over the past week, so while the team’s 3-and-3 opening start wasn’t overwhelming, the Wings were hoping to hit their stride they closed out their October schedule with 3 of their 4 remaining games at home.

On Thursday night, the Red Wings may not have deserved to win, but they won nonetheless.

*ducks* pic.twitter.com/KjYi5FMgJK

— James Nichols (@JamesNicholsNHL) October 25, 2024

The Devils went 3-for-5 on their power play, scoring the game’s first goal and tying the game 2-2 and 3-3, but Detroit went 2-for-4 on its power play, Christian Fischer, Alex DeBrincat, Dylan Larkin, Patrick Kane and Michael Rasmussen (ENG) scored and Cam Talbot stopped 38 of 41 shots en route to a rousing 5-3 victory where the process mattered a little less than the result.

Michael Rasumussen scored an empty netter, leveled Jack Hughes, and channeled Muhammad Ali. https://t.co/t7IhdxisHM #redwings @mrasmussen16 pic.twitter.com/bRpVraSl6u

— David Guralnick (@DavidGuralnick) October 25, 2024

The Detroit Red Wings kicked off a slate of 4 games to be played over the course of 6 nights against the New York Islanders.

For the 2-and-3 Red Wings, the next 6 days are particularly consequential as the Islanders, Devils and Sabres all stand as potential Wild Card rivals; earning points against teams that may battle the Wings for playoff spots is an essential task.

On Tuesday night, the Red Wings won a particularly ugly 1-0 decision over the New York Islanders thanks to a 29-save shutout for Alex Lyon, Patrick Kane’s first goal of the season on only 10 shots for Detroit, and a 3-for-3 PK by a sleepy Red Wings team that played a sleep-inducing effort in front of an Islanders team that was booed out of its own rink.

It was ugly as hell, but an ugly win at that. Detroit’s now 3-and-3, including 2-and-1 on the road.

My apologies for being quiet on Sunday and Monday.

My flu bug has persisted and I’ve been experiencing body aches in the 5 to 7 pain range, sometimes as high as 8 on a 1-to-10 scale.

As soon as I can stand the pain and sit up, I will get back to work.

Per the NHL’s PR account:

1,514 games as a player and another 1,000 as a general manager for Steve Yzerman.

The @DetroitRedWings claimed a victory Saturday in Yzerman's milestone contest as a GM.#NHLStats: https://t.co/J2uPZGoaiZ pic.twitter.com/cOe0ufhmvD

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) October 19, 2024

The Detroit Red Wings and Nashville Predators faced off on Saturday afternoon in a battle of struggling teams. Detroit came into the game with a 1-and-3 record, while Nashville was facing significant pressure to earn its first win at 0-and-4.

Today, the Red Wings won a remarkable game to keep the Predators winless, sweeping the season series by a 5-2 tally. Nashville actually opened the scoring, but Vladimir Tarasenko (assisted by Marco Kasper), Dylan Larkin, Andrew Copp (2) and Simon Edvinsson scored for Detroit, and Alex Lyon stopped 37 shots, including this one:

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