Author: George Malik

The Detroit Red Wings attempted to defeat a team that’s had its number of late in the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night–Columbus’ record vs. Detroit was 11-3and-2 over the past 16 meetings–and Joonas Korpisalo sure as hell made the Red Wings’ life hard.

That being said, the Red Wings were patient as Korpisalo pitched a 31-save shoutout over two periods, and in the third period, Lucas Raymond scored his first goal, Tyler Bertuzzi scored his fifth, and when Boone Jenner scored a PPG marker to make it 2-1, Detroit responded with a pair of empty-net goals by Vladislav Namestnikov and Adam Erne to take a 4-1 decision.

Ultimately, Detroit out-shot Columbus 45-23, Detroit out-attempted Columbus 63-50, and Detroit did lose Raymond to a dirty check by Jack Roslovic, and we’re all waiting for an update there…

Lucas Raymond on hit: “I feel good. I hit the boards, but happy I’m OK.”— Helene St. James (@HeleneStJames) October 20, 2021

Raymond said it was just protocol for him to get looked at but he feels good after the hit. #LGRW @DetroitRedWings— Daniella Bruce (@daniellabruce_) October 20, 2021

But this was a complete game by the Red Wings, and Detroit’s now 2-0-and-1 heading into a stretch of playing 3 more games over the course of the next 5 days.

Enjoy:

Enjoy:

Detroit Red Wings icon, @NicklasLidstrom joins us LIVE during the second. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/XsnJrA78w3— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) October 20, 2021

Vintage Nick. @NicklasLidstrom | @DetroitRedWings pic.twitter.com/BxWNiZs9NG— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) October 20, 2021

The Grand Rapids Griffins will play a set of back-to-back games in Winnipeg against the Manitoba Moose this weekend, and they’ve posted their weekly notebook this afternoon:

This Week’s Games

GRIFFINS at Manitoba Moose // Fri., Oct. 22 // 8 p.m. EDT // Canada Life Centre
GRIFFINS at Manitoba Moose // Sun., Oct. 24 // 3 p.m. EDT // Canada Life Centre
Listen: WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 7:35 p.m. Fri. and 2:35 p.m. Sun.
Watch: AHLTV
Season Series: First and second of eight meetings overall, first and second of four at Canada Life Centre
All-Time Series: 65-33-1-1-7 Overall, 30-19-0-0-2 Road
NHL Affiliation: Winnipeg Jets
Noteworthy: This game will mark the first time the two franchises will meet since Jan. 11, 2020 as they did not match up against each other during the 2020-21 campaign. Since the Moose rejoined the AHL in 2015-16, Grand Rapids is 21-9 against them and has outscored them 98-69.

Of prospect-related note from Sweden:

In the Allsvenskan, Gustav Berglund finished even with 2 shots on goal, and Albin Grewe finished at +1 with a penalty taken in Mora IK’s 4-3 OT win over Vasterviks IK;

And in the SHL, in Frolunda HC’s 5-2 win over Timra IK:

Simon Edvinsson finished with an assist and 3 shots, finishing at +1 in 25:18 played:

Elmer Söderblom scores his 5th goal of the season and 7th point of the last 7 games. Assist Simon Edvinsson. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/2QHLwV3qCD

— IcehockeyGifs (@IcehockeyG) October 19, 2021

Theodor Niederbach scored a goal, finishing at +1 with 2 shots in 11:33 played:

Theo Niederbach scores his 2nd goal of the season #LGRW pic.twitter.com/m58pRUv0QJ

— IcehockeyGifs (@IcehockeyG) October 19, 2021

And Elmer Soderblom scored a goal, finishing at +1 with 2 shots in 14:16 played.

In addition to addressing the Dylan Larkin suspension and the Garland-Zadina incident, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman shares news regarding both Gordie Howe and Mark Howe in today’s “32 Thoughts“:

27. In a perfect marriage of history and technology, 10 Gordie Howe NFTs are coming to market. The official announcement is scheduled for Thursday, with proceeds going to the Howe Foundation and the NHL Alumni. Mark Howe joked his son Travis (Gordie’s grandson) has tied him up for months on this project. The family hired a local artist from Detroit to do the work and tell the tales. One is the famous train story that led to Mr. Hockey getting number nine, another called “Hockey Dad” shows Gordie with sons Mark and Marty as members of the WHA’s Houston Aeros. Looking forward to seeing them.

28. For a second time, Mark Howe is retired. The Hall-of-Famer ended his playing career in 1995 and, after last season, retired as a scout. “I remember asking dad when I was still playing, ‘How do you know when it’s time?’” Howe said Monday. “He answered, ‘You’ll know.’ He was right. It hit me then and it hit me again.” Howe said he wants to spend more time with his partner, Sharon, recognizing that is more important to him now than work. “I’ve been compensated very fairly. I strongly believe in Steve Yzerman and his plan. Steve is the hardest-working guy I’ve seen. He demands the same of others and he should. But I wasn’t just tired, I was burned out. It is time.” Howe went out of his way to praise the Red Wings and the Ilitch family. “They were great to me, and us. To share my father with the rest of the world when he passed made a difficult time very nice.”

There’s more:

The Red Wings posted a 12-minute episode of “The Forecheck” ahead of tonight’s game vs. the Columbus Blue Jackets (7:30 PM on Bally Sports Detroit/Bally Sports Ohio/ESPN+/97.1 FM):

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan filed a notebook article discussing the Red Wings’ suddenly competent power play under new assistant coach Alex Tanguay:

With the addition of assistant coach Alex Tanguay, more offensive depth, and some simple career growth, the Wings look sharper on the man advantage, having scored goals in each of the first two games and clipping along at a 28.6% success rate.

Small sample size but quite good so far.

“They have an understanding of what Alex wants them to do, which is pretty simple,” Blashill said. “Quick puck movement, take what’s given, be ready to attack.”

Special teams are a big component of success in the NHL. If a team takes advantage of the power play, and conversely is effective at killing penalties, it’s likely they will be a winning hockey team.

Blashill is pleased with the way the power play has looked, but he was quick to add it’s a long season and there’s room to grow.

“We’ve got to keep getting better at it,” Blashill said. “It’s going to be a big piece of success. I gave our guys a stat before the year, that in the last five years if a team won the specialty teams battle, 76% of the time you’re going to win the hockey game. That’s a huge percentage. So let’s find ways to make sure we win the specialty teams battle.”

Continued

The Hockey News’s Stephen Ellis penned an article discussing Moritz Seider’s performance with the Red Wings thus far:

Seider had two assists in his NHL debut on Oct. 14, a 7-6 overtime loss in an absolute wild affair with Tampa Bay. Seider followed it up with an assist against Vancouver two days later, skating in 22:55 of the game. Seider has always loved getting extra minutes and playing against top talent doesn’t seem to phase him. That’s the steady presence the Red Wings need, and he’s only 20.

Playing alongside veteran Nick Leddy, Seider already looks like a seasoned NHLer and not a young kid getting his legs under him. Of Detroit’s top four, Seider’s 40.48 Corsi-for percentage at 5-on-5 is the best (although, not great compared to the rest of the league). There isn’t too much you can take from stats after just two games, but the eye test definitely suggests he’s already one of Detroit’s better two-way players and his game has transitioned nicely from his tenure in Sweden.

So, where can Seider go from here? He’s clearly the team’s D-man of the future. From a mobility perspective, Seider has a bit of Chris Pronger in him, just with a little less physicality. Some Red Wings fans say he reminds them of Vladimir Konstantinov. Others liken his overall ability to Marc-Edouard Vlasic in his prime. 

Overall, there’s a lot of hope that Seider can become a star for a team that needs one on the blueline. Seider can be that man as the team continues to move towards the future – one that should see the team become a true contender in the near future. 

Continued

ESPN’s Sean Allen posted a fantasy hockey column today, and while I’m bullish on one Moritz Seider, after all of two games played, I’m not sure I’d give Seider this kind of endorsement:

Moritz Seider, D, Detroit Red Wings (up 21 spots to No. 105): He’s passing all tests in the early season and looking like the Calder Trophy candidate we hoped. Seider is leading the Red Wings in power-play minutes and should be scooped up in all leagues to see where he can take this.

Continued; deep breaths, everybody. Seider is clearly a special player, but he’s going to have some ups and downs as he continues to learn how to play NHL hockey. Yes, right now it might not be a bad idea to pick him up in your fantasy league, but I’ve seen frickin’ Nicklas Lidstrom go through growing pains during his first season in the NHL. They will happen to Moritz, too.