Author: George Malik

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Per Hockeysverige.se and Hockeynews.se, Red Wings prospect Michael Brandsegg-Nygard will not be taking part in the Norwegian National Team’s February participation in the Four Nations Tournament in Oslo.

Norway GM Tobias Johansson tells TV2 that, and I quote:

“We have made the decision that Michael will stay with Skellefteå. He has been through a year that has contained a lot. Therefore, we agreed that he will remain in Sweden and train. It is both best for him and for us in the long term,” says the national team manager.

“So there is nothing dramatic about rejecting him,” adds Johansson.

Daily Faceoff’s Anthony Trudeau suggests that the Red Wings are, at best, a “long shot” to earn one of the Eastern Conference’s Wild Card spots, per an article which attempts to handicap the teams battling for said spot:

Detroit Red Wings

The Detroit Red Wings wanted to play a more disciplined defensive game this season, but that resulted in a lineup full of guys who were gripping their sticks too tight and generally afraid to make plays. Before they fired Derek Lalonde, the Wings were outshot by five attempts per game and had the second-worst goal differential in the NHL. In the immortal words of John Tortorella, “safe is death,” and the Red Wings’ season was on life support before Steve Yzerman pulled the plug on Lalonde.

Under Todd McLellan, they’ve been far more proactive, outshooting the bad guys and riding a sizzling power play (41.9% since the coaching change) back to the .500 mark. Patrick Kane looks rejuvenated (6 G, 16 P in 12 GP under McLellan), Lucas Raymond is a star (50 P in 46 GP), and Marco Kasper (3 G, 5 P in last 5 GP) has been a revelation on Dylan Larkin’s left wing.

So, why are the Wings a long shot? Just look at the schedule. The Red Wings have beaten some good teams including Florida and Washington on their road back to relevance, but the hard part starts now. Detroit has the toughest remaining schedule in the NHL, and losses to Tampa Bay and Dallas by a combined score of 9-1 over the weekend served as a reminder that even with McLellan on board, this team can be prone to sloppy, turnover-prone hockey. There will be growing pains, and for a team that probably can’t survive a three or four-game skid, that’s a problem.

Continued; we all know that the Red Wings are facing the toughest remaining schedule in the league in terms of quality of competition–the Wings’ broadcasters keep telling us that–and I do not disagree that coach McLellan is engaged more in a salvage job than he is engaged in a playoff run…

But I choose to believe that the Wings can at least stay relevant over the second half of the season.

The Philadelphia Flyers’ media corps posted some game-day stories ahead of tonight’s game between the Flyers and the Detroit Red Wings (7 PM EST on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit/NBCSP/Sportsnet One/97.1 FM), starting with a video preview from the Flyers’ website:

The Hockey News’s Siobhan Nolan described tonight’s rubber match thusly…

The Philadelphia Flyers, surging with momentum and confidence, are set to host the Detroit Red Wings in what promises to be another exciting matchup.

Last time these two faced off against each other, Scott Laughton enjoyed a four-goal game, and while Laughton won’t be available tonight due to a personal matter, the Flyers will be looking to continue collecting points to move themselves more comfortably into a playoff spot.

Noting that goaltender Samuel Ersson has a challenge ahead of him…

Updated at 5:52 PM: The Detroit Red Wings face the Philadelphia Flyers this evening (7 PM EST on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit/NBCSP/Sportsnet One/97.1 FM). Among today’s game-day notebooks:

1. DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills spoke with Wings coach Todd McLellan about the team’s outlook heading into tonight’s game:

“I know I sound like a broken record, but I’m not in there looking at the standings or the stats,” Detroit head coach Todd McLellan said. “I’m watching video to make sure that the team is trying to get better night after night. That’s the only way we’re going to get wins.”

The Red Wings are in the City of Brotherly Love vying to get back on track after getting swept in their weekend back-to-back set, which ended with a 4-1 loss to the Dallas Stars on Sunday. Detroit fell behind early in Dallas, allowing three goals before the 15-minute mark of the first period, and ultimately couldn’t recover.

“On this trip, we’ve been able to beat the Stanley Cup champs but the two other teams, in a weight class that’s maybe a little more elevated than ours, we haven’t had success,” McLellan said. “So that’s a little disappointing. We’ve had to fix some things. Do it via video, a little bit on ice and challenge a few players. Now, we’ll see what happens here tonight.”

One player that will be embracing the challenge on Tuesday is Elmer Sodberlom, who the Red Wings recalled from the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins prior to morning skate at Wells Fargo Center.

According to McLellan, Soderblom “has earned the right to come up here.”

“The last two to three weeks, really starting to come into his own and we’re hoping he can do that here,” McLellan said about Soderblom. “Obviously, a different league but he’s experienced it before. Hoping that he provides a little injection of life into the group, too. I think that will come out as the game goes on.”

2. The Free Press’s Helene St. James also wrote an article about Soderblom’s recall…

The Detroit Red Wings face off against the Philadelphia Flyers this evening (7 PM EST start on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit/NBCS Philadelphia/Sportsnet One/97.1 FM).

The teams’ morning skates revealed that Samuel Ersson will start in goal for the Flyers, who are absent one Michael Laughton; Alex Lyon will start for Detroit, who will play the recently-recalled Elmer Soderblom.

After the Red Wings’ morning skate, Wings players and coach Todd McLellan spoke with the media:

Elmer Soderblom will be inserted into the line up tonight. On a line with Rasmussen and Fischer. Raz will be bumped to the center position. pic.twitter.com/2Wj0xWjUoN

— Ken Kal (@KenKalDRW) January 21, 2025

NHL.com also offers this preview of tonight’s match-up:

Detroit Red Wings at Philadelphia Flyers (7 p.m. ET; FDSNDET, NBCSP, SN1)

The Red Wings (21-21-4) have lost three of four after a seven-game winning streak. Detroit forward Lucas Raymond‘s 90 goals in 284 NHL games are the third most by a Sweden-born player before age 23 behind Mats Sundin (125) and Filip Forsberg (91). The Flyers (21-20-6) are 4-0-1 in their past five games; Matvei Michkov leads rookies with 14 goals and has 33 points in 45 games.

The 21-21-and-4 Detroit Red Wings face off against the 21-20-and-6 Philadelphia Flyers this evening (7 PM EST on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit/NBC Sports Philadelphia/Sportsnet One/97.1 FM). Detroit’s on a two-game losing streak, and as you’ll find out below, the Flyers have been doing very well of late.

The Red Wings recalled Elmer Soderblom this morning, and we’ll find out shortly whether Soderblom will play this evening. In the interim, PhiladelphiaFlyers.com’s Bill Meltzer posted “5 Things” to watch in tonight’s game, including the following:

Entering Tuesday’s game, the Flyers have gone 4-0-1 over their past five teams to climb back into the Eastern Conference Wild Card picture. The Red Wings had been scorching hot as they rattled off a seven-game winning streak. However, the club is just 1-3-0 over its last four games including a 5-1 loss in Tampa on Saturday and a 4-1 setback in Dallas on Sunday.

…

Between the pipes: Since the league-wide holiday break and a return from a recurring lower-body injury, Flyers netminder Samuel Ersson has posted a 6-1-0 record, 1.66 goals against average, .930 save percentage and one shutout (vs. Anaheim). Overall for the season, the Swede has improved to 13-7-2 with a 2.79 GAA and .889 save percentage.

On the Detroit side, ex-Flyer Cam Talbot is 4-1-0 over his five appearances. He turned back 41 of 43 shots in an upset road win against the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers but got roughed up by Tampa (five goals on 16 shots) before being relieved by fellow ex-Flyer Alex Lyon.

Lyon got the start in Dallas on Sunday, stopping 21 of 25 shots in the 4-1 loss. Dating back to the Christmas break, Talbot has made six starts to five for Lyon.

…

Between the pipes: Since the league-wide holiday break and a return from a recurring lower-body injury, Flyers netminder Samuel Ersson has posted a 6-1-0 record, 1.66 goals against average, .930 save percentage and one shutout (vs. Anaheim). Overall for the season, the Swede has improved to 13-7-2 with a 2.79 GAA and .889 save percentage.

On the Detroit side, ex-Flyer Cam Talbot is 4-1-0 over his five appearances. He turned back 41 of 43 shots in an upset road win against the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers but got roughed up by Tampa (five goals on 16 shots) before being relieved by fellow ex-Flyer Alex Lyon.

Lyon got the start in Dallas on Sunday, stopping 21 of 25 shots in the 4-1 loss. Dating back to the Christmas break, Talbot has made six starts to five for Lyon.

Flyers coach John Tortorella shared information in his pre-morning skate press conference…

Daily Faceoff’s Matt Larkin lists the Red Wings as one of 8 potential destinations for Philadelphia Flyers trade target Rasmus Ristolainen:

Detroit Red Wings

Why he makes sense: Did anyone aside from Steve Yzerman actually think Justin Holl was going to cut it on the right side of that blueline when he signed in 2023? He’s been every bit the disaster we knew he’d be. Erik Gustafsson has never been a big minute muncher, either, and has played the left side of late anyway, so Detroit badly needs to upgrade at right defense. This team desperately wants a playoff berth this season, but the extra years of Ristolainen at least make him less of an “all the eggs in one basket” target. It’s never a bad thing for a bubble team to secure help for more than one season. Having missed the playoffs eight consecutive campaigns, the Wings also have an incredibly deep pool of prospects to dangle Philadelphia’s way, including plenty in the right price range to include in a Ristolainen deal.

Gustafsson’s come alive of late, and has been actually competent on defense while producing offense. And, of course, Simon Edvinsson and Albert Johansson have played particularly well together.

Fly in the ointment: The Wings rank among the worst defensive play-driving teams in the NHL. Would throwing Ristolainen at the problem actually repair that? It’s debatable whether he’d be enough, even though he’s improved defensively. I get that Detroit wants to halt its postseason drought, but is it worth paying a significant price just to nudge a middling team into the final Wildcard spot and get bulldozed by the top seed in the East in Round 1? More of a cautious buying posture would make more sense. As an example: you could pay less and target someone like Will Borgen. The Wings would also need to send some money the Flyers’ way to fit Ristolainen’s cap hit onto the books; I see no reason why the Flyers would need to retain money on Ristolainen given their strong bargaining position.

Continued; the fact that the Red Wings and Flyers are competing for the same Wild Card spots rules out this kind of deal as far as I’m concerned, never minding the cap concerns–and Ristolainen earns $5.1 million for the next two years.

Per the Red Wings on Twitter:

UPDATE: The #RedWings have recalled Elmer Soderblom from the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins. pic.twitter.com/Z3jCh7sJ0F

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) January 21, 2025

The Grand Rapids Griffins confirm:

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday recalled left wing Elmer Soderblom from the Grand Rapids Griffins.  

Soderblom, the 159th overall pick by the Red Wings in 2019, has 17 points (5-12—17), 29 penalty minutes and a plus-four rating in 38 games with Grand Rapids this season. The 6-foot-8 forward is currently on a three-game point streak with the Griffins (2-2—4) and has nine points in his last 10 appearances (4-5—9). Last season, the Gothenburg, Sweden, native totaled 29 points (13-16—29) in 61 regular-season games with Grand Rapids before showing two points (1-1—2) in seven Calder Cup Playoff contests, making his postseason debut on May 3, 2024 against the Rockford IceHogs. Throughout parts of three AHL campaigns with the Griffins, Soderblom has produced 54 points (23-31—54), 47 penalty minutes and a plus-two rating in 119 games. 

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff suggests that Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond has a bit of Henrik Zetterberg in him:

Seeing Raymond at work on a daily basis has proven to be an eye-opening experience for his new coach.

“Now that I’m here, you see the tenacity that he plays with,” [Red Wings coach Todd] McLellan said. “He’s got an abrasiveness to him that I wasn’t aware of. He’s obviously got all the skills and all that other stuff.”

McLellan’s first tenure with the Red Wings was as an assistant coach from 2005-08. And he was reaching back into that time to find a player he’s coached that he views as a comparable to Raymond.

“For me, he’s got some of . . .” McLellan stopped himself in mid-sentence before continuing his thought process. “I’m going to use a name, and he’s not that player, but I see a little bit of (Henrik) Zetterberg in him like that determination and that little bit of abrasiveness, the fire kind of. So throw in all the other skills and that’s what I see in Lucas.”

It’s high praise, indeed. McLellan was coaching Zetterberg when the former Detroit captain was at the zenith of his abilities. In 2007-08, as he was helping lead the Red Wings to their most recent Stanley Cup title, Zetterberg was also winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as NHL playoff MVP.

Continued; Lucas Raymond is Lucas Raymond, just as Moritz Seider is Moritz Seider. But when you see a little bit of Zetterberg in Raymond, or a little bit of Lidstrom in Seider, you aren’t wrong.