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.
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The Habs are in trouble. Having most recently dropped a 4-2 decision to the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday, and they instituted a Montreal-wide panic by demoting Cole Caufield to the AHL on Monday in an effort to get the still-Calder Trophy-favorite rookie’s confidence back. Montreal coach Dominique Ducharme explained the move to NHL.com’s Sean Farrell:
This statement just came out from the NHLPA this evening:
NHLPA STATEMENT FOLLOWING EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING
TORONTO (November 1, 2021) – On the NHLPA’s Executive Board call today, Don Fehr recommended that an independent investigation be commenced by outside legal counsel in order to review the NHLPA’s response to the Kyle Beach matter. The Executive Board is currently voting on this matter.
As you guys and gals and folks in between know by now, I don’t have any commercials on this blog, and, as a result, I rely upon my readers to fund this endeavor.
I got away from the practice of asking for help keeping the lights on last month, and that’s caught up with me to some extent, so:
With an aunt’s tax bill to help pay (at a total of about $300 a month) and a new cell phone to purchase (I’m not thrilled with it, but I’ll have to drop about $500), I’m not even at a point where I can reinvest in the blog, save some overdue trips to Grand Rapids this month.
But I need your help to keep the lights on over my head (and with the aunt’s situation, staying in my home), and if you enjoy the coverage that you receive generally without a single ad, I’d really appreciate your assistance.
I have the Red Wings’ schedule as my wallpaper, and you’ll see that Detroit’s schedule over the next two-and-a-half weeks is absolutely nuts:
The Red Wings play 4 games over the course of the next 6 days, and proceed to play a total of 11 games over the course of 19 nights–and of those 11 games, 8 take place in different cities.
The Wings embark Tuesday on a stretch of seven games over 12 days. They’ll play 11 games (seven on the road) in 19 days.
The challenge will be to stay fresh.
“We’ll have to work to balance it, work with our sports science people in terms of where our guys are at from a body standpoint and get enough practice time but where our guys maximize energy in games,” Blashill said. “We may have to look at flipping some guys in out (of the lineup) just to make sure guys stay fresh and are at the top of their game.”
Updated at 7:03 PM: The Detroit Red Wings will face a 2-and-8 Canadiens team tomorrow night in Montreal (7 PM EDT on Bally Sports Detroit Plus/TSN2/RDS/97.1 FM), a team that will be skating without Cole Caufield (AHL stint), Cedric Paquette (suspension), hat-trick-scorer Mathieu Perreault (eye injury) and other players who took part in last week’s 6-1 shellacking of the Wings…
But the Red Wings spoke with the media on Monday very wary of tomorrow’s home team, which will be looking to stomp on Detroit to begin to climb out of one of their worst starts to a season in team history.
The Wings (4-3-2) had, on the whole, a good October. They played competitively, showed fortitude when they trailed, and rolled four lines and three defense pairings. [Coach Jeff] Blashill described the offense (3.22 goals-per-game average) as “not bad” and the power play (15.2%) as “hasn’t been great, but hasn’t been bad.” His biggest concern is that, “I think we’ve given up too many goals.”
Of the 31 goals surrendered, nine have come during the 34 times the Wings have been shorthanded.
“I actually think our PK has been pretty good,” Blashill said. “We’re improving in our structure on our PK forecheck. My gut (feeling) is generally if you can stay with it even when the goals go in on the PK, if the process is good and you can stay with it, it will even out. I believe that will happen with our PK. Certainly the number of times you give teams power plays, you’re playing with fire. It’s something we’ve talked about since the beginning of the season, is staying out of the box.”
The flip side is making the most of man advantages. Filip Zadina leads the team with two power-play goals after converting against the Maple Leafs, when he connected on a pass by rookie defenseman Moritz Seider for a second time this season.
“It was great to score the goal,” Zadina said. “It gave me more confidence going forward.”
Zadina always draws a little more scrutiny when he plays in Montreal, because when the Canadians didn’t pick him at No. 3 in the 2018 draft, he vowed to “fill the nets” of those who passed on him. He has one goal in five career meetings, and says at this point, he views it as another game. He is trying to take more shots on net, and has looked more dangerous on power plays because he has been set up numerous times by Seider’s slick puck work.
“He’s passing the puck well,” Zadina said. “He sees the options where he can make a pass. He sees the right timing for the pass and it’s easy for us to put the puck on net and create chances.”
I had to step away from the blog for a couple of hours because of what NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly said and didn’t say during today’s media availability:
Bettman and Daly spoke with the media for the better part of an hour, addressing Kyle Beach’s abuse at the hands of Brad Aldrich, the NHL’s decision to fine the Chicago Blackhawks $2 million, the resignation of Joel Quenneville from the Florida Panthers’ head coaching job and more. It was a combination of intense legalese, evasion from blame and self-exoneration from a league that failed its players.
In other words, it was painful to watch, and it made me feel very bad about being an NHL fan. At the same time, I’d suggest that, should you have an hour, your watch as much of it as you can, because Bettman and Daly’s remarks remind us of how much hockey’s culture has to change. We can’t simply expect someone who’s been abused to bravely step forward like Beach did, and say that hockey’s culture is fine otherwise.
It’s not. We still live in a world where sexual abuse is endemic–and very common–and the NHL’s corporate culture and safeguards for its employees, be they players or otherwise, need to change.
Now a lot of the responsibility for changing the culture falls on the shoulders of the NHLPA, which will hold an executive board meeting this evening to examine executive director Donald Fehr’s culpability in the Beach abuse, but the NHL can do a lot more to change its ways to ensure that all of its employees are safe from harm and safe from sexual predators, and having a hotline for abuse is simply not enough.
The NHL and NHLPA alike need to make systemic changes to the way they operate to ensure that everyone who needs help with life issues get the help they need, be they suffering from addiction issues, psychiatric illnesses, from other trauma and especially from sexual or domestic abuse–among other issues–and I’m not sure that Gary Bettman or Bill Daly or Donald Fehr should be the people leading the league or the players’ union any more.
The Red Wings might be without another significant piece of the lineup Tuesday when they face the slumping Montreal Canadiens.
Dylan Larkin didn’t participate in Monday’s practice, and coach Jeff Blashill wouldn’t say if Larkin would be available.
“Maintenance day,” said Blashill after Monday’s practice, as to why Larkin didn’t skate. “Right now, he didn’t practice today and I’ll leave it at that.”
Blashill said he’d have a better idea of Larkin’s status after Tuesday’s morning skate, and also more on forward Adam Erne, who didn’t play in Saturday’s 5-4 loss in Toronto.
Erne’s injury is undisclosed, but he was visibly in pain after blocking several consecutive shots late in Friday’s loss to the Florida Panthers.
Blashill also offered this about the 2-and-8 Canadiens, who beat Detroit 6-1 a week ago Tuesday:
“I’d start by saying the last time we played them they kicked our butts,” Blashill said. “So that’s all I really worry about. They kicked our butts, and that’s what sticks in our minds. Our guys aren’t watching them play on a consistent basis or watching their record or anything like that. What they have fresh in their minds is we got our butt kicked and we better come in here with a sense of urgency.”
Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill spoke with the media after Monday’s practice in Montreal, in which Dylan Larkin did not skate with the team, and coach Blashill explained to the media that it was a “maintenance day” of sorts for the Red Wings’ captain:
Jeff Blashill said what his players have fresh in their mind is getting their butts kicked in Montreal. They need to come ready to play tomorrow. #LGRW@DetroitRedWings— Daniella Bruce (@daniellabruce_) November 1, 2021
Right now Jeff Blashill said Joe Veleno will play tomorrow, but reminds us it is a day to day league. #LGRW@DetroitRedWings— Daniella Bruce (@daniellabruce_) November 1, 2021
Dylan Larkin didn’t practice today; Jeff Blashill said it was maintenance day & will have further update Tuesday. Adam Erne did skate. Wings at Montreal Tuesday.— Helene St. James (@HeleneStJames) November 1, 2021
Might be more to this. Blash originally said maintenance day, but ends his availability saying he will have a better update on both Larkin and Erne tomorrow. #LGRhttps://t.co/jlbw1iKr2P— Daniella Bruce (@daniellabruce_) November 1, 2021
The Canadiens practiced without Cole Caufield (assigned to the AHL), Mathieu Perreault (injury), Cedric Paquette (possible suspension), Jeff Petry and Joel Edmundson (???) on Monday. They’re coming off a 4-2 loss to Anaheim on Sunday:
The Habs are a mess right now, but they’re looking to rebound vs. the Wings tomorrow evening.
#Habs injury updates: Gallagher & Petry — gametime decisions Tuesday vs Detroit. Edmundson — suffered a setback and is 10 days – 2 weeks away. Norlinder — cleared for full contact practices. Depending on his progress he might see game action.@TSN_Edge— John Lu (@JohnLuTSNMtl) November 1, 2021
