Author: George Malik

As an FYI: Former Red Wings forward Johan Franzen gave a rare interview to Expressen this morning, but the interview is behind a paywall.

The interview promises to go into Franzen’s concussion issues, bullying by Mike Babcock, the end of his career, winning the Stanley Cup with Detroit and his quiet life now, but we’ll have to wait for Swedish folks who can navigate the paywall to show us some excerpts from the interview.

The Detroit Red Wings aren’t going to hold a morning skate today ahead of tonight’s back-to-back match-up against the 28-16-and-1 Dallas Stars (8 PM EST start on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit/Victory+/Sportsnet/97.1 FM), but tonight’s game is definitely going to provide a challenge.

As you know by now, the Red Wings are coming off a 5-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday, but they aren’t the only team feeling the mugglywumps this morning.

Dallas is not happy with itself after dropping a 6-3 decision to the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday, and the Stars have lost 2 straight and 3 of their past 4, but they preceded their rough stretch with 7 straight victories, and I’m certain that the Stars believe that they can get back to “normal” against Detroit.

Field Level Media posted a game preview which distills some important quotes from the Stars’ loss to Colorado on Saturday night…

Matt Duchene scored on the power play 3:24 into the game to give Dallas a 1-0 lead but the Avalanche scored the next five goals.

“We’ve played these guys,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “We beat them in the playoffs (in the Western Conference second round) last year. We’ve played them a lot over the last two years. So anytime you play them, you want to give your best game. I’m not sure we learned anything tonight. We know how dangerous they are and they burnt us. They just made us pay for any of the mistakes we made.”

Jason Robertson scored two goals and set up another. Duchene also had an assist and Casey DeSmith made 30 saves for Dallas.

“They’re a skilled, fast team. We know that. We’re very familiar with it,” Robertson said. “I think we could have done a better job weathering instead of taking on so much water. It’s only a matter of time, if you can’t get enough pushback, that they’re going to break through.”

DallasStars.com’s Mike Heika posted some daunting stats ahead of tonight’s match-up, noting that the Stars have won 7 straight games against the Wings…

The Free Press’s Helene St. James spoke with Red Wings goaltender Alex Lyon about his health, his take on the Red Wings’ coaching change and his desire to continue as a member of Detroit’s NHL team past this season:

This is a a contract year for the 32-year-old Lyon, who until he joined the Wings on a two-year, $1.8 million deal in 2023 was a career minor leaguer with only 39 NHL games to his credit. He has played 60 with the Wings in 1½ seasons, rising from third-string to starter last season. Depending on what happens down the stretch this season, it’s a relationship that could continue. Cam Talbot is signed through next season, but Ville Husso is on an expiring deal, and given how he has struggled (1-5-2 with a 3.69 goals-against average and .866 save percentage), he will not be re-signed. The Wings have 2021 first-round pick Sebastian Cossa developing in the minors, but even if he’s deemed ready to join the Wings for 2025-26, the past couple years have shown the benefit of carrying three goaltenders, as the Wings have needed all of them.

…

Lyon, who spent three years at Yale, has figured out how to handle the turbulence, knowing it takes vigilance.

“I still don’t feel like I belong — I mean, I feel I belong in the NHL, I know I can play here, but I feel the same as I did when I was 23,” he said. “There were times when I wasn’t in the NHL when I felt like I should have been, and whoever’s fault that is — my fault — we could talk about it endlessly. But my approach remains the same. It has to. You have to separate yourself from a lot of things and so that’s what I continue to try to do. I see it as the big picture and I hope I can play 10 more years.”

Continued (paywall) with a video interview:

The Detroit Red Wings dropped a 5-1 decision to the Tampa Bay Lightning despite out-shooting Tampa 40-22 on Saturday night, with Detroit’s Atlantic Division/Wild Card playoff hopes taking a dent as a result.

Tampa’s Brayden Point would score only 2:02 into the 1st period, seemingly taking the wind out of the Wings’ sails, and after the Wings seemingly recovered for the balance of said 1st, Tampa Bay scored 3 goals in 3:52 of 2nd period play, thanks in no small part to the brilliance of Nikita Kucherov.

Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 39 shots as the Bolts faced 78 shot attempts, too, and while the Wings went 1-for-6 in 11:56 of PP time, Tampa was opportunistic in going 2-for-3 in only 2:31 of PP time.

The Bolts received 1G + 2A (a.k.a. 3-point) performances from both Jake Guentzel and Kucherov, who hit the 600-assist mark, and while they were penalized far more often than the Red Wings, the team bent and did not break thanks to Vasilevskiy’s fantastic goaltending.

Detroit’s only goal came from Lucas Raymond, who scored on a one-timer from Patrick Kane and Moritz Seider to make it 4-1 on a 2nd period power play. Tampa would close things out with one more power play marker, and they hung on for the balance of the 3rd period.

The Red Wings will head to Dallas to play the Stars tomorrow (8 PM EST start on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit/Victory+/97.1 FM).

As the Tampa Bay Times’ Eduardo A. Encina noted, the Lightning earned what will be an important win down the line against a team that they’ll see again next Saturday at Little Caesars Arena in no small part thanks to Kucherov…

Per the Detroit Red Wings on Twitter:

UPDATE: The #RedWings have assigned Ville Husso to the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins. pic.twitter.com/ufnMGixZYi

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) January 19, 2025

The Detroit Red Wings attempted to sweep Florida as they faced the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night, kicking off a stretch of back-to-back games on Gasparilla Day at Amalie Arena.

Detroit certainly got “pirated” in their own way by the Lightning on Saturday, out-shooting Tampa Bay 40-22 and earning a 6-to-3 power play advantage, but losing 5-1 to the Bolts.

Tampa Bay was incredibly effective in scoring a power play and two even strength goals in only 3:52 of 2nd period time, and between Nikita Kucherov’s brilliance (he hit the 600-assist mark tonight) and Andrei Vasilevskiy frustrating the Wings almost endlessly…

Detroit did register a power play marker to make it 4-1, from Lucas Raymond (via Patrick Kane and Moritz Seider), but the game’s score got no closer, and Taylor Raddysh’s goal 15:06 into the 2nd period gave Tampa 4 second period goals and, ultimately, a 5-1 victory.

Cam Talbot wasn’t really at fault for any of the 5 goals he gave up on 16 shots, and Alex Lyon stopped all 6 shots that he faced in relief; Vasilevskiy stopped 39 of 40 and faced SEVENTY-EIGHT shot attempts, but Tampa blocked 25 and Detroit fired 13 wide.

The other ugly stat: Detroit went 1-for-6 in 11:56 of PP time; Tampa went 2-for-3 in 2:31.

Detroit will fly to Dallas and regroup for tomorrow night’s game (8 PM EST start on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit/Victory+/97.1 FM).

The Hockey News’s Adam Proteau argues that the Red Wings “need help” in order to earn a playoff spot, and he’s not talking about earning wins through hard work and determination as the Wings face the toughest remaining schedule in the NHL:

And now that a playoff spot is within reach, Detroit GM Steve Yzerman needs to be a buyer at or before the NHL’s March 7 trade deadline. The Red Wings are projected to have approximately $9.15 million in salary cap space by the deadline, That’s more than enough to address their issues. And those issues include a defense corps that is hardly one of the league’s most imposing groups.

Would Yzerman be willing to spend that cap space on a veteran defenseman rental like Montreal’s David Savard? That’s an intriguing proposition. The Canadiens are aiming to secure a playoff spot for themselves, so Savard may not be available. But, there are other options for the Wings on ‘D’. For example, San Jose’s Mario Ferraro should be on the trade block, and his $3.25-million salary runs through the 2025-26 season, so he’s not a pure rental. However, he would be an upgrade for the Red Wings’ back end, and he can deliver 20 minutes per night at a relatively high level of play.

In any case, the Wings have to capitalize on this hot streak and get themselves over the finish line to make the playoffs for the first time in nine years. They haven’t come this far only to get this far, and it’s now on Yzerman to figure out how to have his group emerge as a playoff team by season’s end.

Detroit can’t squander the opportunity their hot stretch has provided them, and this next stretch of games will tell us whether or not this Wings team is a true contender, or merely a pretender destined for the NHL’s ‘mushy middle’ — not bad enough to land a top draft pick, but not good enough to be a post-season team. In sum, there’s no room for error, and nothing short of a continuation of the Red Wings’ excellent play is going to keep their playoff hopes alive.

The NHL is a zero-sum business, and the Wings now must prove they’re capable of succeeding in this high-stakes stretch. And if they do fall back to earth and lose out on a playoff berth, there could and should be notable changes next summer. 

A playoff spot is theirs for the taking, but failure to make it to the post-season will not reflect well on Yzerman’s blueprint for success. The pressure is on, and the way the Red Wings respond to it will dictate the organization’s short and long-term direction.

Continued; at this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if the GM makes an aggressive move to bolster the team’s defense and center ice positions, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he stands pat. It’s all about the cost of doing business, and what’s available out there.

DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills asked Red Wings coach Todd McLellan and Simon Edvinsson about the challenges which lie ahead as the team faces the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight:

“There’s always going to be setbacks,” McLellan said. “There’s no such thing as a perfect group or player, but the challenges they’ve accepted and have tried to apply themselves. I think [on Saturday], we’ll have another big challenge: a very good hockey club on the road. Coming off a little bit of a high for the group, we’ll see how they respond.”

Third in the Atlantic Division, the Lightning improved to 3-1-1 in their last five games after outlasting the Anaheim Ducks in a shootout, 4-3, on Thursday.

Riding a seven-game, 11-point streak, Nikita Kucherov leads Tampa Bay and ranks third in the NHL in scoring with 65 points (20 goals, 45 assists). Brandon Hagel (20 goals, 29 assists) is second on the club with 49 points and Brayden Point is next with 48 points (26 goals, 22 assists).

In 34 games this season, goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy has a 19-13-2 record with a 2.40 goals-against average and .913 save percentage with a pair of shutouts.

“They have some skilled players,” Simon Edvinsson said about the Lightning. “They have one of the best players with the puck and a great power play, so we’re going to play as we did last game. We need to win all our duels and just find a way to beat them, so it’s going to be a huge game for us [on Saturday].”

Edvinsson added that he’s excited for another chance to compete against one of his childhood NHL idols Victor Hedman. This season, Hedman has 35 points (seven goals, 28 assists) for Tampa Bay.

“I took some stuff from guys that I really like,” Edvinsson said. “Hedman was one of those guys. Just how smart he is with and without the puck, that’s something that I really want to take to my game as well.”

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan asked Red Wings goaltender Alex Lyon about Alex Nedeljkovic’s goal and assist registered in last night’s Pittsburgh Penguins win over Buffalo:

“He’s always been great at playing the puck, that’s been a staple in his game,” Lyon said.

For his part, don’t expect Lyon to go out anytime soon and aggressively try to duplicate what Nedeljkovic and Minnesota’s Filip Gustavsson, who scored earlier in the season, have done in scoring into empty nets.

“It’s not my thing,” Lyon said of handling the puck. “I’m always trying to get better with it. I know he (Nedeljkovic) has wanted to do that for a long time, so I’m just happy for him. And the assist, too. He was pretty hot, one-and-one, that’s good. (But) it’s not really in my toolbox.

“He was talking about it after the game and how he watched Marty Turco and (Martin) Brodeur and those guys, and they were amazing. It’s just something that I have not been drawn to. So, I’m always trying to get better at it, but no, there’s no huge desire to score a goal. But if I did, it would be cool.”

Penguins players, and Lyon himself, noted Nedeljkovic was only a fight away from earning a Gordie Howe hat trick (goal, assist, fight). And Nedeljkovic came close Friday with that, too.

“Kind of the nature of the goaltending position in 2025,” Lyon said.

Continued

After the morning skate ahead of tonight’s game between the Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning (7 PM EST start on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit/FanDuel Sports Sun/97.1 FM), the Lightning posted clips of defenseman Max Crozier and coach Jon Cooper speaking with the media.

Coach Cooper discusses his relationship with Todd McLellan, and he suggests that the Red Wings are going to be a bit of an enigma in terms of playing against them.

The clips aren’t embeddable, but you can click on the links above to watch the NHL.com-formatted videos.

The Red Wings posted a YouTube video of goaltender Alex Lyon and coach McLellan speaking with the media today: