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!

On the Wings’ inability to generate balanced scoring

I’m trying to squeeze all of the Red Wings beat writers’ practice notebooks into one blog entry today, but this quip from coach Jeff Blashill made me think, “You know what, maybe people will want to talk about this individually.” Here’s what Blashill had to say about the Wings’ lack of secondary scoring thus far, per the Free Press’s Dana Garuder:

While the first line has been highly productive, the Wings would like a more balanced offense. The second line of Pius Suter, Robby Fabbri and Filip Zadina has produced only two goals. Suter, who had 27 points in 55 games as a rookie with Chicago last season, is still seeking his first point as a Red Wing.

“They just have to stay with it and work to continue to build up their own production,” Blashill said. “They can be a really good line.”

Vladislav Namestnikov has three of the four goals on the third line, playing with Adam Erne and Michael Rasmussen. They’re often matched up against the opponent’s top scoring line.

“They’re playing in their own end a decent amount,” Blashill said. “It’s important not to judge solely on production. They bring other things to the table.”

St. James continues; I knew that Pius Suter would struggle adjusting from playing from the high-flying Hawks to the Red Wings, so I’m willing to give him some slack, and I think that Zadina has actually been fairly good, but snakebitten; Fabbri seems to be finding his form very slowly after missing good chunks of last season due to injuries and COVID, but I’m a little surprised that Erne and Rasmussen have struggled to put up points as much as they have.

What do you think about the Wings’ lack of balanced scoring thus far?

Practice day notebooks: Getting ready to see ‘Mo’ Mantha again

Updated with HSJ’s notebook at 3:02 PM: The Detroit Red Wings practiced ahead of tomorrow’s game opposite the Washington Capitals (7 PM EDT on Bally Sports Detroit/NBC Sports Washington Plus/97.1 FM), absent one Gustav Lindstrom, and, after practice, coach Jeff Blashill and captain Dylan Larkin spoke with the media.

The Red Wings’ media corps penned their off-day notebooks, and DetroitRedWings.com’s Daniella Bruce led us off with a couple of Tweets of note from Larkin’s media availability:

In today’s media availability, Dylan Larkin talked about what it will be like to play against Anthony Mantha. He said it will be strange, but he expects Anthony to be “highly motivated & when we’ve seen that out of him we know he can be a dangerous player.” @DetroitRedWings #LGRW— Daniella Bruce (@daniellabruce_) October 26, 2021

Larkin also talked about Lucas Raymond. He said what he likes most about Raymond is his attitude. Said Raymond really believed in himself and believed he’d make an impact on this team. #LGRW @DetroitRedWings— Daniella Bruce (@daniellabruce_) October 26, 2021

The Wings also weighed in:

Wings vs. Caps tomorrow night. #LGRW

? Larkin: https://t.co/BnuMMWfms3
? Blashill: https://t.co/HMaRp4jOgE pic.twitter.com/MKADkOSrJT— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 26, 2021

And MLive’s Ansar Khan kicks off our notebook roundup with this discussion of the “Anthony Mantha reunion game“:

Continue reading Practice day notebooks: Getting ready to see ‘Mo’ Mantha again

Grand Rapids Griffins post weekly press release ahead of three-game home stand

Per the Grand Rapids Griffins’ PR department comes this notebook framing the Griffins’ 3-game home stand this week:

Welcome Home

October 26, 2021

This Week’s Games

GRIFFINS vs. Chicago Wolves // Wed., Oct. 27 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena
GRIFFINS vs. Chicago Wolves // Sun., Oct. 31 // 4 p.m. // Van Andel Arena

Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:35 p.m. Wed. and 3:35 p.m. Sun.

Watch: AHLTV

Season Series: First and second of 12 meetings overall, first and second of six at Van Andel Arena

All-Time Series: 90-71-2-6-3 Overall, 44-32-2-4-2 Home

NHL Affiliation: Carolina Hurricanes

Noteworthy: The Griffins posted a 3-7-0-0 record against Chicago last season after going 22-16-1-1 in the previous five campaigns against their rival.

Continue reading Grand Rapids Griffins post weekly press release ahead of three-game home stand

Post-practice videos: Coach Blashill, captain Larkin (and the Mantha reunion game)

Okay. The Red Wings practiced on Tuesday ahead of Wednesday’s match-up with the 4-0-and-2 Washington Capitals on Wednesday (7 PM EDT start on Bally Sports Detroit/NBC Sports Washington Plus/97.1 FM), and Gustav Lindstrom did not practice with the team, so Filip Hronek slotted back into the lineup. After practice, coach Jeff Blashill hinted that Lindstrom might not only be out for Wednesday’s game, but might miss some of the weekend’s affairs (Friday vs. Florida and Saturday @ Toronto).

After practice, the Red Wings posted clips of coach Jeff Blashill speaking with the media…

And captain Dylan Larkin addressing tomorrow’s reunion with Anthony Mantha:

Post-practice Tweets: Lindstrom out, Hronek back in (for Wednesday, at least)

The Detroit Red Wings practice on Tuesday ahead of Wednesday’s game vs. the 4-0-and-2 Washington Capitals on Wednesday (7 PM on Bally Sports Detroit/NBC Sports Washington Plus/97.1 FM), and MLive’s Ansar Khan reported that Filip Hronek took Gustav Lindstrom’s spot in the lineup based upon Tuesday’s line rushes.

After practice, coach Jeff Blashill spoke with the media:

Coach Blashill said he does not expect Gustav Lindstrom to be available tomorrow. Gus did not skate at practice today.— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 26, 2021

Blashill said Lindstrom not available tomorrow at Washington, but doesn’t think it’s a long-term injury. So it looks like Hronek will return to lineup after being a healthy scratch for two games. #RedWings— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) October 26, 2021

Jeff Blashill says he does not expect Gustav Lindstrom to be available tomorrow against Washington. Doesn’t know past that — doesn’t expect it to be long-term — but not expected to be available tomorrow and not sure about the weekend— Max Bultman (@m_bultman) October 26, 2021

Tweet of note: A ‘Retire 91’ video you can get behind

You may have noticed a Canadiens fan wearing a Panayio Tees “Retire 91” sweater to Saturday’s Red Wings-Habs game, and one Peter Andrianopoulos posted quite the video encouraging the “Retire 91” movement:

A bit o’ praise for Elmer Soderblom from McKeen’s Hockey’s Chapin Landvogt

McKeen’s Hockey’s Chapin Landvogt penned a column listing the top three NHL-affiliated prospects right now, as published on Yahoo Sports, and you’ve heard of #3:

3) Elmer Soderblom – Left Wing (Detroit Red Wings)

2020-21 Frölunda, SHL 28GP-3G-2A-5PTS

2020-21 Sweden U20, WJC 5GP-2G-1A-3PTS

2021-22 Frölunda, SHL 14GP-6G-3A-9PTS

At a monstrous 6’8”, 238 lbs., Swedish left winger Elmer Soderblom has the potential of being a huge part of the Detroit Red Wings’ future – in more ways than one. A sixth rounder in the 2019 NHL Draft, he was selected straight out of Sweden’s junior leagues where he didn’t have particularly impressive stats, but the team obviously saw something in him (well, he’s hard to miss) and look to have gotten a great value pick. Noticeable at last winter’s WJC thanks not only to his immense frame, but also his two goals and three points, Soderblom is now playing in his second full season of SHL hockey and has taken things to a whole new level. Getting time on the power play and plenty of top line minutes over the course of 14 games for league powerhouse Frölunda, his six goals and nine points are good for third on the team in scoring.

Again, I don’t think that Soderblom is the next Johan Franzen, but if he can be the next Michael Rasmussen, plus a little more goal-scoring, that would be wonderful.

Tweets from practice: Hronek shifts back into lineup with Lindstrom not practicing

Per MLive’s Ansar Khan, the Red Wings are practicing ahead of tomorrow’s game vs. the Washington Capitals (7 PM EDT on NBC Sports Washington Plus/Bally Sports Detroit/97.1 FM):

#RedWings lines, D pairs in practice before game at Washington tomorrow:
Bertuzzi-Larkin-Raymond
Fabbri-Suter-Zadina
Namestnikov-Rasmussen-Erne
Rowney/Smith-Stephens-Gagner
DeKeyser-Seider
Leddy-Hronek
Staal-Stecher
Oesterle
Lindstrom is not practicing. pic.twitter.com/OdtGm9RJGi— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) October 26, 2021

#RedWings power-play units:
1. Bertuzzi (net front), Fabbri (bumper), Larkin-Raymond (flanks), Seider (point).
2. Erne (net front), Suter (bumper), Hronek-Zadina (flanks), Leddy (point).— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) October 26, 2021

Tweets of note: ‘This Day in History,’ Steve Yzerman edition, and on Friday’s game vs. Florida is *only* on ESPN+

Two Tweets of note this morning:

  1. Of historical note, from Hockey 365’s Mike Commito:

On this day in 1997, Steve Yzerman surpassed Alex Delvecchio as the longest-serving captain in @DetroitRedWings history #Hockey365 #LGRW pic.twitter.com/CQK9DWlaqW— Mike Commito (@mikecommito) October 26, 2021

2. And the Florida Panthers’ PR department reminds us that Friday night’s game vs. the Panthers is only on ESPN Plus and Hulu:

#FlaPanthers Friday night’s game in Detroit can be found exclusively on @ESPNPlus and @hulu.

More info: https://t.co/RdC5omMMTQ@ESPNPR pic.twitter.com/7D8sFPehAy— Florida Panthers PR (@FlaPanthersPR) October 26, 2021

I can only speak as a Comcast customer–I know many of you get cable from WOW, DirecTV, Dish, etc.–but I found out that Comcast *does* allow you to stream ESPN+ on your television if you ask the remote for “ESPN Plus” and pair your TV to your account through your cell phone.

I know that’s not going to help everybody, but I’d encourage any of you with a Smart TV to check and see whether you can stream ESPN Plus through your TV.