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!

‘Razor’ on a roll

Both Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen and the Hockey News’s Sam Stockton took note of this Tweet from FanDuel SportsNet Detroit:

Per Allen:

Since Todd McLellan took over as Detroit’s coach, the team is 8-4. Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond both have registered in 10 of the 12 games. Larkin has eight goals and eight assists for 16 points, while Raymond’s total is six goals, 11 assists for 17 points. Patrick Kane has at least one point in nine of 12 games under McLellan. He boasts six goals and 10 assists for 16 points. The Red Wings play in Philadelphia Tuesday.

And, per Stockton:

Through 46 games this season, the young Swede has 19 goals and 31 assists.  Raymond won’t turn 23 until March 28th, so he has plenty of time to score the three goals necessary to surpass Dionne.  Creeping ahead of Howe would be a tall order but not entirely outside the realm of possibility, while present Detroit GM Steve Yzerman can sleepy soundly in the comfort that his 164 goals before age 23 will hold firm.

On some level, it’s a rather arbitrary milestone, but the underlying truth is clear and obvious: Raymond has been highly prolific from the moment he arrived in Detroit.  The organization needed him and [Moritz Seider] to contribute immediately in a fashion without precedent for the team in the 21st century.

And against the back drop, both players have thrived from the moment of their arrival.  As Larkin said back before the season began, as a young and blossoming star, “You slowly become looked at as a leader on the team and a part of the core.  I’ve noticed them be more vocal. Lucas at the end of last season—the way he played, the way he took over, started to dominate shifts, periods, and games. Mo with how he sacrifices the body, he’s always there for us. Those guys have continued to grow. I think they have more growth in them, but that’s any young 20-something in the NHL. We expect a lot out of them, and they’ve always answered, so I’m excited for them this season.”

I can’t emphasize enough that Seider had 5 shots, 11 shot attempts, 6 hits, a takeaway and 2 blocked shots in 22:36 played last night. The Red Wings’ #23 and #53 are playing their hearts out.

Stemming the tide of goals against a priority for coach McLellan

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan filed an off-day notebook which discusses the Red Wings’ struggles of late in terms of defensive play:

It’s on the defensive end that, possibly, bad habits from early in the season are beginning to resurface. McLellan, who took over Dec. 26 and the Wings immediately went 7-2-0 afterward, wants to stomp out those habits before they hurt the Wings again.

“We’re aware of that certainly, and it’s not unexpected,” McLellan said Sunday, after a sloppy first period led to the loss. “It’s hard to change habits. We’ve worked real hard on the mindset and we’ll need to keep doing that.”

What’s making it difficult for McLellan and his staff is the lack of practice time during this compact, busy schedule.

The Wings didn’t practice Monday, flying to the finale of this road trip Tuesday in Philadelphia (7 p.m., FSN/97.1). They won’t skate Wednesday either. With games basically every other day until early February, it’s going to be difficult to squeeze in full-tilt, quality practices.

“We haven’t had a lot of practice time because we’ve been on the road and playing nearly every other night, but that’s not going to change,” McLellan said. “Our learning will have to come from video and applying it in the game. We’ll keep on them and pushing them and we’re not going to accept slippage. It may occur but we’re not going to accept it.”

Turnovers or missed assignments were the cause for three first-period Dallas goals. The 3-0 deficit was too much for the Wings to overcome.

“What we gave up were some real egregious errors by individuals again, and the whole group pays the price for them,” McLellan said. “We’re a good team but we’re not a great one yet, and great ones can overcome stuff. Good ones struggle with it.”

Continued

Monday fundraising

Aunt Annie and I have to pay the bills, and this blog and the work I do for it is the way that we close the gap between what we make and what we need to make to get everything taken care of.

It’s not easy to do this, but here we are. I need to make a modest amount of money from the work I do to pay the bills.

If you can lend a hand, I would be very grateful; if you can’t, that’s okay.

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.

Red Wings know hard work must be done to snap 2-game losing streak

MLive’s Ansar Khan took note of Red Wings coach Todd McLellan’s comments made after the Red Wings’ 4-1 loss to the Dallas Stars:

“Right now, I think we’re a reactive team when a couple of weeks ago we were proactive,” McLellan told FanDuel Sports Network following Sunday’s 4-1 loss to the Stars. “We were getting after it and now we’re waiting to see what happens and reacting to it. We’ve got to fix that, and we will.”

The Red Wings (21-21-4) wrap up a challenging four-game trip Tuesday in Philadelphia (21-20-6), where they are 2-18-2 in their past 22 (7 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network).

“We obviously don’t feel good about ourselves right now, but we got a chance to play in Philly,” McLellan said. “Obviously, the team hasn’t played really well there lately, so we got an opportunity to break that streak and come home at .500 in a real tough trip.”

The Red Wings have scored only one goal in each of the past two games, but on Sunday, McLellan was more concerned about the other side of the puck. Two bad periods cost them – they allowed three goals in a span of 3:42 early in the second period at Tampa Bay and three goals in 8:52 in the first period at Dallas.

“The start that we had tonight, it’s hard because the team plays the price for a few individual errors,” McLellan said. “It reminds me a little bit of the San Jose game (6-3 loss Jan. 14). We start that way and put ourselves in a hole. We’re not a four-goal team. We talk about playing to three and if we would have kept it at that level maybe we had a chance, but I look at it more from the defensive side of it, the disastrous mistakes we made that ended up in the back of our net.”

The Red Wings are 8-4-0 since McLellan took over. The power play, despite going 1 for 9 over the weekend, has been potent, converting at nearly 42 percent during this stretch (18 for 43). The penalty killing continues to struggle (16 for 25, 64 percent).

Continued (paywall)

Red Wings weigh in on their Stadium Series jerseys

DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills asked Red Wings players and coach to weigh in on their Stadium Series jerseys, which they will wear when the Red Wings take on the Blue Jackets at Ohio Stadium on March 1st:

“I think it gets a little bit more real when those jerseys do come out,” Detroit head coach Todd McLellan recently told DetroitRedWings.com. “I know some of our guys were modeling. There’s a little buzz about it, a little excitement. Some of the helmets have been lying around. That just means it’s getting closer.

“It’s a real honor to play in those games. It’s special, different and unique. So many others participate in it. Family members come in and are a part of it, they get to skate on the ice. It’s such a welcome break, yet it’s a competitive night during the season. Teams that get to play in those games are really fortunate.”

Dylan Larkin was one of the players who modeled the Red Wings’ uniforms, and the captain had nothing but good things to say about Detroit’s new look.

“I think the jersey is beautiful,” Larkin said. “It’s classic. [The front crest with the ‘Detroit’ script wordmark] and the helmet are really cool. They did a great job designing them, and I’m just really excited to play at the Horseshoe in front of that many fans. It’s going to be a special night.”

Designed by Fanatics with input and alignment from both teams and the NHL, the uniforms highlight the cultural and historical identities of both Midwest cities. The automotive industry and rich hockey culture of Detroit drove the design of the Red Wings’ sweaters.

More information about the creativity that went into the Stadium Series jerseys is available here. Stadium Series jerseys will be available for purchase at the Red Wings Team Store, with select Stadium Series merchandise becoming available as early as February.

“They look good,” Andrew Copp said. “I think the game is going to be really exciting…Just a storied venue. You only get a couple of these outdoor games in your career, so you’ve got to enjoy it.”

Continued;

Slip-and-slide

The Hockey News’s Sam Stockton took note of comments made by Red Wings coach Todd McLellan and goaltender Alex Lyon after last night’s 4-1 loss to the Dallas Stars:

The Red Wings outshot their hosts 34–25 for the evening, but as McLellan pointed out, those shots on net failed to encapsulate the scope of Detroit’s defensive calamities.

“From my perspective or from our perspective [as a coaching staff], we looked at it from the defensive side and what we gave up, and some real egregious errors by individuals again, and the whole group pays the price for them,” McLellan said after the game. “I think the first goal is real preventable…We’re a good hockey club. We’re not a great one yet, and great ones can overcome that stuff.”

When asked about the challenge of preventing the frustration they’d just warded off at the start of the month to creep back in, goaltender Alex Lyon said, “It’s hard.  On a road trip, you’re playing good teams every night, so you just can’t take anything for granted.  You got another team that plays extremely hard here in two days, so we gotta hit reset quick.”

On the same subject, McLellan said simply, “We’re not gonna accept slippage.”

Continued; if you missed it in the wrap-up, here’s the post-game comment clip:

Bultman discusses the Griffins’ best prospects

The Athletic’s Max Bultman examines the 2024-2025 season performances of 5 Red Wings prospects who happen to play for the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins:

Nate Danielson, 20, C

Danielson is Detroit’s top prospect in Grand Rapids, and with that comes a bit of a microscope, especially when it comes to his production. And through that lens, it’s been an interesting season for him.

There was a point about a month ago, for example, where it looked like Danielson was really starting to pop statistically. After a quieter start, he had 12 points in 12 games from November 13 to December 13.

In the 14 games since, though, he has just 6 points. Some of that has been across the board for the Griffins, who have cooled off a bit of late, but I was particularly curious what Danielson’s offensive game would look like when I saw him Friday and came away impressed.

He had an assist, hit a post on another chance and used his speed wide to create potential looks as well. The Griffins’ night went sour after they gave up a 3-0 lead to lose 5-4 in a shootout, leading to a frustrated locker room, but I thought Danielson was one of the bright spots of the game.

“He’s been great,” Danielson’s linemate Austin Watson said. “It takes a little bit of time to get used to the physicality of the game — it’s a little tighter, a little quicker — but he’s a really good 200-foot hockey player. He doesn’t shy away from getting in on the battles, getting in on the forecheck, and he’s been a great player for us all year long.”

Continued (paywall); Bultman speaks with coach Dan Watson and forward Austin Watson (no relation) regarding Danielson, William Wallinder, Shai Buium, Elmer Soderblom and Sebastian Cossa.

Should the Wings ‘buy’ at the trade deadline?

Bleacher Report’s Lyle Richardson posted a list of 10 teams which he believes should “buy” or “sell” at the trade deadline, and Richardson suggests that Detroit should “buy”:

Buyer: Detroit Red Wings

The Detroit Red Wings are enduring their longest playoff drought in franchise history. They’re battling to remain in contention for a wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference but need to bolster their roster to avoid extending that drought to nine years.

Adding a reliable second-line center could be their most pressing issue. Andrew Copp currently fills that role but the versatile two-way forward would be better employed in a checking-line role.

During the Jan. 10 edition of Sportsnet’s 32 Thoughts: The Podcast, Elliotte Friedman reported the Red Wings and Buffalo Sabres scouted each other before the December holiday break. He said it got out that the Wings were scouting Cozens, with two sources claiming a deal may have been close at one point.

It remains to be seen if Cozens is available, but Friedman’s report suggests Wings GM Steve Yzerman is taking his need for an upgrade at center seriously, preferably one in his twenties with term left on his contract.

Continued; I’ve not bought into the Cozens rumors as of yet, mostly because the Sabres would want quite the haul for a player who’s had one good season…

But I don’t believe that Detroit’s going to “sell” at the trade deadline, regardless of whether they’re still in the playoff chase or not.

A bit of praise for Marco Kasper’s faceoff acumen

NHL.com’s Mike G. Morreale discusses faceoff stats in his “Rookie Watch” for Monday morning, and it’s worth noting that Marco Kasper’s holding his own in the faceoff circle–and everywhere else:

Marco Kasper, C, Detroit Red Wings: The No. 8 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft ranks second among NHL rookies with 348 face-offs taken and 165 face-off wins. The 20-year-old left-handed shot has 14 points (six goals, eight assists) and averages 14:03 of ice time in 41 games. He is second in neutral-zone face-off wins (63) and third in defensive-zone face-off wins (46).

Continued; I believe that production will come for Kasper eventually, but his competitiveness and work ethic already shine through.