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!

Prospect round-up: Walleye win, Finne 1G, 2A; Augustine, MSU shut out Lindenwood

Of Red Wings prospect-related note in North America:

In the ECHL, Jan Bednar stopped 20 of 22 shots in the Toledo Walleye’s 3-2 victory over the Kalamazoo K-Wings;

In the OHL, the game between the North Bay Battalion and Soo Greyhounds was postponed due to weather;

In the WHL, Emmitt Finnie had a goal and 2 assists, finishing at +1 with 3 shots and a 13-for-22 faceoff record in the Kamloops Blazers’ 6-0 win over Regina;

In the USHL, Austin Baker had an assist, 2 shots and finished at +1 in the Sioux Falls Stampede’s 3-2 shootout win over Sioux City;

In NCAA Hockey, Brennan Ali finished at -1 with 2 shots in the Notre Dame Fighting Irish’s 5-2 victory over the Harvard Crimson. Kyle Aucoin finished at +1 for Harvard;

Larry Keenan finished at +1 in the UMass Minutemen’s 3-1 win over Army;

John Whipple finished at +1 in the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers’ 1-1 tie with Alaska-Fairbanks;

Kienan Draper finished at -1 with a 4-for-7 faceoff record as the University of Michigan Wolverines lost 4-1 to Western Michigan;

Owen Mehlenbacher finished even with 3 shots and a faceoff win, and Jack Phelan finished at +2 with 1 shot as the University of Wisconsin Badgers won 7-1 over Alaska Anchorage;

And Trey Augustine stopped 29 shots, and Red Savage finished even with 1 shot and a 7-for-12 faceoff record as the Michigan State Spartans won 4-0 over Lindenwood.

Recap: Griffins beat Milwaukee in a 10-round shootout

The Grand Rapids Griffins prevailed in a 10-round shootout, winning 3-2 over the Milwaukee Admirals on Friday night. Here’s the Griffins’ recap:

GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS 3 vs. Milwaukee Admirals 2 (SO)

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — In the 10th round of the shootout, Cross Hanas sealed a 3-2 victory for the Grand Rapids Griffins against the Milwaukee Admirals on Friday at Van Andel Arena in a battle between the top two teams in the Central Division. 

The Griffins claimed their second shootout win of the season, their first coming on Oct. 27 against Lehigh Valley when they prevailed 4-3. Amadeus Lombardi tallied his 13th point in the last 13 games (7-6—13) and extended his point streak to three (3-1—4). Austin Watson scored his second power-play goal of the year while Tim Gettinger skated in his first game for the Griffins this season and cashed in during the shootout. Sebastian Cossa earned his eighth win of the campaign (8-4-1-0) and turned away 25 shots alongside eight in the shootout. 

Neither team scored in the first period, however, the Admirals struck first when Jake Livingstone gave Milwaukee a 1-0 lead just 1:15 into the second frame. Sheldon Dries broke away from the Milwaukee defense with 3:49 remaining in the period but couldn’t find the back of the net. 

Continue reading Recap: Griffins beat Milwaukee in a 10-round shootout

Red Wings-Devils wrap-up: poor PK spoils Talbot’s 500th game, affords Devils a comeback win

The Detroit Red Wings probably should have earned a point against the New Jersey Devils on Friday afternoon/evening, but Detroit dropped a 5-4 decision in Cam Talbot’s 500th game because their penalty-kill still stinks, because the Wings played a passive second period, and because they were out-shot, out-worked, and out-physical-played.

For the 10-11-and-1 Red Wings, they can still salvage a 4-for-5 record on their home stand if they defeat the difficult-to-play Vancouver Canucks on Sunday, and perhaps save coach Derek Lalonde’s job in the process, but it’s not going to be easy by any means.

In terms of “making hay while the sun shines,” December’s schedule is tough; the Wings continue to play every other night until December 9th, and Detroit also has a rough set of divisional opponents over the next two weeks in Boston, Ottawa, Buffalo and Toronto.

Before the end of the month, the Wings will play Toronto twice, Montreal twice (back-to-back), and with 14 games over the course of 31 nights, we’ll be at the 35-game mark by the completion of the New Year’s Eve game opposite the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Wings simply need to play better, of course, in order to be anywhere near a Wild Card spot by the end of next month, but they’ve got to play a more aggressive, more efficient, less mistake-prone and more physical game–like the game the Devils played on Friday night.

New Jersey’s loss can be particularly illustrative going forward, because the Devils didn’t just beat Detroit–they also gave the Wings something of a blueprint as to how they’re going to need to play if they win with their A and B Games, and at least earn a loser point if they are to play their C Game like they did today.

Is that kind of improvement going to require coaching or player personnel changes? That’s a good question, and one that I don’t have the answer to. At this point, I’m looking at the present roster and present coaching staff, and suggesting that they can still improve enough to earn points in a game like today’s game. And I do believe that.

Anyway, that’s my take on what needs to happen next. On afternoon/evening, it was the Devils who were leaving Detroit smiling, as they told NewJerseyDevils.com’s Amanda Stein:

Continue reading Red Wings-Devils wrap-up: poor PK spoils Talbot’s 500th game, affords Devils a comeback win

Press release: Griffins’ Cossa bobbleheads stuck in customs

Per the Grand Rapids Griffins:

UPDATE ON SEBASTIAN COSSA BOBBLEHEAD GIVEAWAY

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Due to a customs delay, the first 2,500 fans in attendance for the Grand Rapids Griffins’ home game against the Cleveland Monsters this Sunday, Dec. 1 will receive a voucher for the Sebastian Cossa bobblehead giveaway rather than the actual item. The vouchers will be redeemable for the Cossa bobbleheads at a later date.

“The Sebastian Cossa bobbleheads were on track and scheduled to arrive on time, ahead of our game this Sunday,” Griffins president Tim Gortsema said. “However, the bobbleheads have been stuck in customs, and we are actively trying to find a solution to retrieve them. This unfortunate turn of events is disappointing, and we will provide an update as soon as we can.”

There is no timetable for when the bobbleheads will arrive in Grand Rapids. The team will provide more information as soon as it is available.  

Prospect round-up: Liam Dower Nilsson scores, Bicker plays 16:44 in European action

Of Red Wings prospect-related note in Europe today:

In the DEL, Kevin Bicker finished at -1 with 1 shot in 16:44 played as the Frankfurt Lowen lost 7-1 to the Pinguins Bremerhaven;

In the Swedish Allsvenskan, Maximilian Kilpinen finished with 7:26 played in Ostersunds IK’s 3-0 loss to Almtuna IS;

And Liam Dower Nilsson scored a goal, finishing at +2 with 4 shots in 14:01 played as IF Bjorkloven won 7-2 over the Nybro Vikings.

Red Wings-Devils quick take: growing pains doom Detroit in a 5-4 loss to New Jersey

The Detroit Red Wings faced a stiff test in battling the 15-8-and-2 New Jersey Devils on Friday afternoon.

The Red Wings hoped to make hay while the sun still shined upon its 4-of-5-games home stand, and the Devils and Sunday’s opponent, the 11-7-and-3 Vancouver Canucks, would provide the most difficult opponents (at least in theory).

On Friday afternoon, Cam Talbot gave up 5 goals on 31 shots against in his 500th game…

And the Red Wings learned a costly lesson, giving up 3 power play goals in 3 power plays against, scoring only 1 power play goal in 4 PP’s for, and surrendering a 2-0 lead in the 1st period, then a 3-2 lead in the 2nd period, all en route to a 5-4 loss to the Devils.

The Red Wings cannot lose the special teams battle any more–we know that–and they were far too passive in the 2nd, period, where the Wings were out-shot 17-6.

Ultimately, bad special teams play and passive play killed Detroit in this very long, winding game, and the Wings will have to salvage the home stand with a win against the difficult Canucks on Sunday.

Continue reading Red Wings-Devils quick take: growing pains doom Detroit in a 5-4 loss to New Jersey

Tweets of note: Fun with 500

Red Wings goaltender Cam Talbot is playing in his 500th career game today, and the Red Wings are having some fun with it:

Red Wings-Devils game-day previews and updates

Of Red Wings-related note just before the 3 PM game against New Jersey:

  1. The Devils posted a clip of coach Sheldon Keefe speaking with the media, as well as a “Devils Minute“;
  2. Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen posted this slate of pre-game notes…

Coach Derek Lalonde’s players will have their hands full when playing the New Jersey Devils at 3 p.m. (FanDuel Sports Network). The Devils are 7-3 in their last 10 and boast a 9-4 road record. Note: Lucas Raymond has scored in each of his past four games. If he scores today, his goal streak would be the longest by a Detroit player since he had a five-game stretch in 2023-24. The 4 Nations Face-Off hopeful has also scored the winning goal in consecutive games and can become the 10th player in franchise history to do so in three straight contests. The last to achieve the feat was Johan Franzen in 2007-08.

3. DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills also posted a game preview:

Continue reading Red Wings-Devils game-day previews and updates

Press release: Griffins swap Gylander, Alexander with Toledo

Per the Grand Rapids Griffins:

GYLANDER REASSIGNED TO GRAND RAPIDS, ALEXANDER REASSIGNED TO TOLEDO

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Detroit Red Wings on Friday reassigned goaltender Carter Gylander to the Grand Rapids Griffins from the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye. In addition, the Red Wings reassigned goaltender Gage Alexander to Toledo from Grand Rapids.

Gylander made his AHL debut on Oct. 27 at Lehigh Valley, earning a 4-3 shootout victory behind 33 saves and three stops in the shootout. He made his professional debut with Toledo on Oct. 20 at Bloomington, recording 38 saves in a 4-2 victory. Throughout his first eight games with the Walleye, the 23-year-old has a 5-1-2 ledger with a 2.35 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage. Gylander served as a senior at Colgate University last year and produced a 14-14-4 record with a 2.93 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage. Throughout his four-year collegiate career from 2020-24, the Beaumont, Alberta, native logged a 46-46-13 ledger with a 2.69 GAA and a .907 save percentage in 106 outings. Gylander was selected with the 191st overall pick by the Red Wings in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.

Last season, Alexander appeared in 19 outings with the Tulsa Oilers (ECHL) and showed a 5-8-1 record with one shutout to go along with a 3.76 goals-against average and a .887 save percentage. Alexander competed in 16 AHL games with the San Diego Gulls during the 2022-23 campaign and logged a 5-7-3 ledger with a 3.59 goals-against average and a .887 save percentage. Throughout his three-year pro career, the Okotoks, Alberta, native has an 11-19-4 mark with two shutouts to go along with a 3.67 goals-against average. Prior to turning pro, Alexander spent four seasons in the WHL from 2019-23 and totaled a 33-16-6 record with a 2.81 GAA and a .902 save percentage. Alexander was selected with the 148th overall pick by Anaheim in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft and, this past offseason, was acquired by Detroit from the Ducks in exchange for Robby Fabbri and a conditional 2025 fourth-round pick.

Black Friday Fundraising

The blog is back at work, and that means that fundraising is back as well. As I try to get back on my feet after missing a month with that stupid flu bug, we’re in some financial difficulty, so I’m hoping that you’ll be willing to lend a hand here on Black Friday/Small Business Saturday/Cyber Monday.

This part of the job is not fun, but it’s necessary, so:

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.