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!

HSJ, Khan in the morning: special teams play and a ‘shooting mentality’ are lacking

The Detroit Red Wings lost 5-1 to the Boston Bruins last night, dropping their record to 4-5-and-2, and losing their 4th game in a row (0-3-and-1).

This morning, the Free Press’s Helene St. James and MLive’s Ansar Khan offer post-scripts which wrap up the coverage of the Wings’ loss.

St. James notes that the Red Wings are amidst a stretch of 11 games to be played over the course of 17 nights–and a set of 3 games to be played over the course of 4 nights, presently–so the Wings don’t have the time to sulk about their inferior record of late:

“In Montreal, we just weren’t good, we just played a really bad game,” alternate captain Marc Staal said after Thursday’s 5-1 loss to the Bruins. “Boston came out ready to go and played with a lot of pace and tempo and we just caught ourselves defending a lot and then found ourselves in the box. It’s tough to climb out of a hole like that. We have to stay positive as a team and look to improve on ourselves.”

Captain Dylan Larkin played in the 5-4 loss at Toronto but missed the 3-0 loss at Montreal and the Buffalo game for personal reasons. As big a part of the team as he is, it doesn’t explain why the Wings have been steamrolled at the start of the last two games. Against the Bruins, they managed just three shots in the first period.

“You’re on the road, teams are going to come out strong,” Staal said. “I think just playing a smart road game with the puck, just being simple, being hard, winning battles down low, all the little things that halt momentum for a home team off the start, we weren’t doing. That’s definitely something we can be better at and get ready to jump on teams early on.”

The Wings have played from behind in five straight games. They seemed to show something on Oct. 27, when they stormed back from a two-goal deficit to win in overtime Oct. 27 at Washington. The Wings then came home and rallied from another two-goal deficit to earn a point against the Florida Panthers.

Now the Wings have lost three straight in regulation, outscored, 13-5, and outshot, 116-68.

The Red Wings have one more road game, Saturday in Buffalo, and then they come home to play the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday night.

Coach Blashill offers this take on the Wings’ struggles of late:

Continue reading HSJ, Khan in the morning: special teams play and a ‘shooting mentality’ are lacking

Red Wings-Bruins wrap-up: Bergeron, Bruins school young Wings in search of an identity

The Detroit Red Wings laid an egg in the form of a 5-1 loss to the Boston Bruins on Thursday night, dropping their 4th straight game (0-3-and-1) and dropping to 4-5-and-2 over their first 11 games of play.

The rested Bruins, who hadn’t played since last Saturday, simply got the better of the Red Wings, and now Boston sits tied in the Atlantic Division standings with Detroit at 5-and-3, despite having played 8 games to Detroit’s 11.

The schedule doesn’t get any easier for Detroit: Saturday’s opponent, the Buffalo Sabres, are 5-4-and-1 after Thursday’s game vs. Seattle (Buffalo lost 5-2), and will be making a cross-country trip back home on Friday…

But the Vegas Golden Knights, who sit at 5-and-5, will be sitting in Detroit, waiting for Sunday’s match-up after defeating Ottawa 5-1.

Long story long, the Red Wings have played in two completely non-competitive games, and the schedule doesn’t get any easier as Detroit is amidst a stretch of 10 games played over the course of 17 nights.

Reflecting upon Thursday’s loss to Boston, Patrice Bergeron both scored a natural hat trick and added a fourth goal to the mix, and Bergeron was bemused about scoring his first 4 goals of the season in game 7, as he told NESN’s Logan Mullen:

Continue reading Red Wings-Bruins wrap-up: Bergeron, Bruins school young Wings in search of an identity

Monroe: Walleye acquire Austin McIlmurray

Per the Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe:

The Toledo Walleye acquired forward Austin McIlmurray from the Florida Everblades in exchange for defenseman Chris McKay on Wednesday.

McIlmurray appeared in two games this year for Florida, without picking up a point. The Coral Springs, Fla. native made his pro debut last year with Wichita of the ECHL. He appeared in 22 games for the Thunder and produced six goals, four assists, and 12 penalty minutes.

Prior to turning professional, the 25-year-old spent four years at Sacred Heart University. In 137 games, McIlmurray collected 86 points (45 G, 41 A) and 94 penalty minutes. As a senior, he was selected as an AHA First Team All-Star.

McKay appeared in just one game for the Walleye on Oct. 23 at Kalamazoo and did not record a point. McKay won a championship in the Southern Professional Hockey League last season.

Red Wings-Bruins quick take: egg-laying made easy as Bergeron scores 4 against Larkin-less Wings

The Detroit Red Wings played their 11th game and second of 11 in 17 nights opposite the Boston Bruins, who were only playing in their 8th game of the season.

The Red Wings played without Dylan Larkin, who is away from the team for personal reasons, but Tyler Bertuzzi returned from self-imposed COVID exile to assist the team’s efforts.

The Red Wings laid another egg, surrendering a natural hat trick and a total of 4 goals to Patrice Bergeron alone as the Wings lost 5-1 to Boston. It was a dreadful night for a 4-5-and-2 Red Wings team that is now 0-3-and-1 over its past 4 games, and the Fire Blashill train was full tonight.

The Wings just seem to miss their oomph without Dylan Larkin, and here’s hoping that whatever ails him or his family comes to a positive conclusion, because Detroit needs its captain back as soon as he is able to return.

Continue reading Red Wings-Bruins quick take: egg-laying made easy as Bergeron scores 4 against Larkin-less Wings

Former Griffin Matthew Ford retires

Per the AHL:

Matthew Ford announced his retirement on Thursday after a 12-year pro career spent almost entirely in the American Hockey League.

Ford, 37, skated in 716 AHL games with the Hartford Wolf Pack, Lake Erie Monsters, Hershey Bears, Adirondack Phantoms, Springfield Falcons, Oklahoma City Barons, Bakersfield Condors and Grand Rapids Griffins, totaling 206 goals and 224 assists for 430 points.

He also played 31 games with the Charlotte Checkers when they were members of the ECHL.

A Los Angeles native, Ford won a Calder Cup championship with Grand Rapids in 2017, and served as the Western Conference team captain at the 2020 AHL All-Star Classic in Ontario, Calif.

Pre-game notebooks: on Larkin, Suter and Bertuzzi

Of Red Wings-related note this evening:

  1. The Free Press’s Helene St. James took note of Dylan Larkin’s continued absence from the team:

Dylan Larkin’s absence from the Detroit Red Wings lineup is stretching toward a week as they continue their road trip without their captain. 

Coach Jeff Blashill said Thursday morning Larkin “is away for personal reasons, and I’ll leave it at that.” The Wings face their third game of the trip with an evening match against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden.

Pressed whether Larkin, who has not been seen on the ice with teammates since the Oct. 30 game at Toronto, has been skating, Blashill repeated his answer: “It’s the same exact comment that I had the other day. Right now he’s away for personal reasons and I’ll leave it at that.”

The Wings had a day off Sunday in Montreal. On Monday, Blashill said Larkin did not practice because it was a “maintenance day.” The Wings played the Canadiens Tuesday.

2. The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan took note of Pius Suter’s underwhelming start:

Continue reading Pre-game notebooks: on Larkin, Suter and Bertuzzi

Prospect Round-up Europe: Wallinder 1+1, Johansson 1A in SHL

Of Red Wings-related note in Europe today:

In the Finnish Liiga, Otto Kivenmaki finished even with 2 shots in 15:07 played as the Lahti Pelicans lost 2-1 to HPK;

William Wallinder had a goal and an assist, finishing at +1 with 2 shots on goal in 14:51 played as Rogle BK won 5-4 over Oskarshamn:

Albert Johansson had an assist, finishing even with 1 shot in 20:11 played as Farjestads BK lost 5-2 to Linkoping:

And, in Frolunda HC’s 1-0 win over Malmo:

Liam Dower Nilsson finished even in 4:41 played;

Theodor Niederbach finished even with a shot in 14:48 played;

And Elmer Soderblom finished even with 2 shots in 19:16 played.

Simon Edvinsson remains out of the lineup with a non-COVID illness.

Game-day videos: Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill, Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy

Neither the Red Wings nor Bruins’ morning skates offered much information as to who will play tonight in the Wings’ battle vs. Boston (7 PM EDT on Bally Sports Detroit/NESN/Sportsnet East/Sportsnet Ontario/Sportsnet Pacific/Sportsnet 360/97.1 FM), but we do know that Jeremy Swayman will start in goal for Boston, and that Dylan Larkin (personal issue) is still out due to a personal issue.

Coach Blashill spoke with the media for about 10 minutes this morning…

Update: Here’s Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy as well: