Author: George Malik

The Red Wings shook up their lines on Friday, with Pius Suter centering the top line between Tyler Bertuzzi and Lucas Raymond. After practice, coach Jeff Blashill explained his rationale for doing so to MLive’s Ansar Khan…

“He’s our most experienced center right now,” Blashill said. “He did a good job last year playing with Patrick Kane and good players (in Chicago), so we just thought potentially the make-up of that line gives him some beef a little bit with the strength of Bertuzzi, and potentially it gives the other line a little bit of beef as well.”

Joe Veleno centered the second line in practice with Fabbri and Filip Zadina. The Red Wings have scored only one goal the past two games and have registered only 26 shots on goal in their past five periods.

“One by one, each guy has to find a way to bring it to another level,” Blashill said. “If it takes a little bit of line juggling, then it takes a little bit of line juggling. We don’t want to do that too much, but it gives opportunities for new looks and maybe it’ll spark somebody. I hope it sparks the whole lineup.”

With Raymond (five goals, 10 points) and Bertuzzi (six goals, nine points) driving the offense, this is a good opportunity for Suter, who played on the same junior team as Bertuzzi (OHL Guelph) for two seasons.

“You got to be close, because he’s going to win those battles and those pucks back to you,” Suter said. “If you are in position once he gets it, you can make a play. Get open so you can create some offense right away or get to the net.”

To Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen…

As MLive’s Ansar Khan and the Free Press’s Helene St. James note, Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill provided a general update on Jakub Vrana’s status today, and it was on the same day that Washington Capitals forward Anthony Mantha underwent a shoulder surgery of his own.

Per Khan:

Washington Capitals forward Anthony Mantha is out indefinitely after undergoing shoulder surgery Friday. He will miss Thursday’s game in Detroit and possibly his team’s other appearance at Little Caesars Arena on New Year’s Eve.

Mantha has two goals and four assists in 10 games this season.

Meanwhile, the Red Wings’ Jakub Vrana is going through rehab after having shoulder surgery earlier this season.

“I think generally those surgeries are anywhere between four-to-six months,” Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said of Vrana’s status. “It depends on how the rehab goes and where we’re at and obviously if we’re late into January you’re starting to get into that Olympic break. I would be more apt to give you a closer timeline once we get past the New Year.”

And St. James:

“I would not even put a timeline on it right now,” Blashill said Friday. “It will be significant time.”

The timeline provided in September was four months, which would have meant around the end of January. The NHL is shutting down in February for the Olympics. 

“I think generally those surgeries are anywhere between four-to-six months,” Blashill said. “It just depends on how the rehab goes. And obviously, if we’re late into January, you’re starting to get into that Olympic break. I would be more apt to give you a closer timeline once we’re past New Year.”

The Wings acquired Vrana, 25, as part of last year’s trade-deadline deal that sent Mantha to the Capitals. Vrana looked like an immediate fit, contributing 11 points in 11 games. General manager Steve Yzerman signed Vrana to a three-year deal with a $5.25 million annual average value in August. 

Vrana’s absence did open an opportunity for Lucas Raymond to play in Vrana’s spot on a line with Dylan Larkin and Tyler Bertuzzi. Raymond, a first-round pick from 2020, aced the audition. He scored his fifth goal of the season in Thursday’s 5-1 loss at Boston, giving him a team-leading 10 points in 11 games. 

Of Red Wings prospect-related note in Europe today:

In the Finnish Liiga, Otto Kivenmaki finished at -1 with 1 shot in 18:04 played as the Lahti Pelicans lost 5-1 to Tappara.

The Red Wings changed their lines during Friday’s practice, and afterward, coach Jeff Blashill updated the status of Marc Staal (maintenance day), but did not update the status of Dylan Larkin (on personal leave).

Blashill spoke with the media as his team is on an 0-3-and-1 streak heading into tomorrow night’s game vs. the Buffalo Sabres (7 PM EDT start on Bally Sports Detroit/MSG-B/97.1 FM), and the Red Wings posted Blashill’s 9-minute availability:

Update: Here’s Pius Suter, too:

The Red Wings shuffled their lines ahead of tomorrow night’s game vs. Buffalo (7 PM EDT on Bally Sports Detroit/MSG-B/97.1 FM) during Friday’s practice, with the Wings looking to snap an 0-3-and-1 winless streak which was punctuated by last night’s 5-1 loss to Boston…

Red Wings lines/pairs for practice in Buffalo today

Bertuzzi-Suter-Raymond
Zadina-Veleno-Fabbri
Namestnikov-Stephens-Gagner
Smith-Rasmussen-Erne
Rowney extra

Leddy-Hronek
DeKeyser/Lindstrom/Seider rotation
Oesterle-Stecher— Max Bultman (@m_bultman) November 5, 2021

After practice (in addition to finding out that former Wing Anthony Mantha will miss Thursday’s reunion game with the Wings as he, like Jakub Vrana before him, has had shoulder surgery), we received good news regarding Marc Staal…

Jeff Blashill said today was a maintenance day for Marc Staal and he is expected to be in the lineup tomorrow. @DetroitRedWings #LGRW— Daniella Bruce (@daniellabruce_) November 5, 2021

And, well, no news regarding Dylan Larkin is no news regarding Dylan Larkin, as distressing to the fan base as it might be:

The Detroit Red Wings skated in Buffalo the afternoon after dropping a 5-1 decision to the Boston Bruins, and The Athletic’s Max Bultman reported that there were a couple of changes in the Wings’ lineup, with Pius Suter being promoted to the first line, and the second defensive pair absent one Marc Staal:

Red Wings lines/pairs for practice in Buffalo today

Bertuzzi-Suter-Raymond
Zadina-Veleno-Fabbri
Namestnikov-Stephens-Gagner
Smith-Rasmussen-Erne
Rowney extra

Leddy-Hronek
DeKeyser/Lindstrom/Seider rotation
Oesterle-Stecher— Max Bultman (@m_bultman) November 5, 2021

I’m still baffled that the Red Wings haven’t prioritized the adding to center position over the last couple of seasons, but that’s just me…Here’s hoping that Suter gets his shit together on the top line.

A brief note here: this article slipped under the radar, but on Wednesday, Hockeysverige.se’s Leo Buttafoco Ohlsson reports that Mora IK coach Johan Hedberg explained why Red Wings prospect Albin Grewe hasn’t played of late–he’s being held out of Allsvenskan action with a suspected concussion:

“It’s probably a small concussion he’s been battling, that’s what we think. He has a bit of a history with it, so if you get a hit, it’s best to be careful. He’s felt hung over,” says coach Johan Hedberg to DT.se, and he continues:

“It’s not a game. I have lots of friends who’ve had head injuries. You have to follow the rules and recommendations that exist, with brain injuries and so on.”

Grewe left the ice when Mora played BIK Karlskoga at home last Friday, and was not on the team when they played against Almtuna on Sunday. However, it won’t be too long before Grewe is expected to return immediately after the [Karjala Cup] break.

“He felt a little better today, according to the reports I’ve received. Hopefully he’s ready for next week, when we start again.”

This is a “keep the lights on” effort, and it’s simply necessary, so: I’m attempting to raise funds this week/weekend, and if you’re willing to lend a hand, I plain old need assistance paying the bills this weekend.

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NHL analyst Kevin Weekes breaks down three weekend games that he will be watching, and he breaks them down for NHL.com. According to Weekes, Sunday’s match-up between the Red Wings and Vegas Golden Knights will be one to watch:

Vegas Golden Knights at Detroit Red Wings (Sunday, 6 p.m. ET; BSDET, ATTSN-RM, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)

Detroit (4-5-2) hosts Vegas in the second of a back-to-back for each team. The Red Wings are much improved from last season, led by rookies Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider. Raymond, a forward, leads all rookies before games Friday with 10 points (five goals, five assists) and Seider, a defenseman, is second with nine (all assists). Forward Tyler Bertuzzi is also off to a fast start with nine points (six goals, three assists) in eight games. The Red Wings, though, have lost three straight after starting 4-2-2 and visit the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday before playing the Golden Knights.

Vegas acquired center Jack Eichel in a trade with the Sabres on Thursday and although he won’t be in the lineup for at least a few months, it sent a huge message to the team that management believes they can still win the Stanley Cup this season. Forwards Mark Stone, Max Pacioretty and William Karlsson are out with injuries and the Golden Knights are tied with the Ottawa Senators for 24th in the NHL in scoring (2.50 goal per game). After getting shut out 4-0 by the Maple Leafs on Thursday, they bounced back with a 5-1 win against the Senators on Thursday to even their record at 5-5-0. Robin Lehner made 38 saves and could start, although the Golden Knights will also be playing the second of a back-to-back after visiting the Montreal Canadians on Saturday.

Continued;

The Athletic’s Max Bultman broke down Moritz Seider’s game vs. the Boston Bruins last night via video, and here’s how he sets up said article:

Seider is off to a stellar start to his NHL career. As he skates around this morning, his eight points in 10 games are tied for second among all NHL rookies, trailing only his teammate, winger Lucas Raymond. Seider is also playing huge minutes for the rebuilding Red Wings: at 22 per night, he’s already in a legitimate top-pair role.

One of the league’s bottom-dwellers in recent seasons, the Red Wings got out of the gates hot this season at 4-2-1. But now they find themselves in the midst of a three-game losing streak, coming off perhaps their worst showing of the season.

Seider wants to stem that tide. When he was asked Wednesday about winning the league’s top rookie honor for October, he began his answer by saying, “Obviously, it would be way nicer to win more hockey games.”

This is a player who, at 20, has stepped into the NHL with a bright spotlight on him. It is clear, however, that he is not seeking it, and may not even like it all that much right now. When a question about his own play came up Wednesday, he said. “(I’ve) played, I think, pretty OK, but it’s definitely not about me. I don’t want to put myself in front of the team or want to talk about myself. I think we have to just find ways to win hockey games, and that will make us a better team in the end.”

Nonetheless, that spotlight on Seider is already here. And especially as he keeps progressing, it’s not going to vanish any time soon. Shortly after wiring a practice one-timer under the bar this morning, he will step off the ice, only to find Bally Sports Detroit waiting for him for an interview.

Continued (paywall)