Author: George Malik

Sportsnet’s Ryan Dixon posted a list of the top 25 players of the 2000’s (thus far), and he includes two career-long Red Wings on his list:

7. Pavel Datsyuk: Listen, there’s only one guy on this list whose name became an adjective this century and that is the sublime Detroit Red Wings centre who could steal the puck from an opponent in the Wings zone, head up ice, then juke around a defender with a “Datsykian” maneuver to bring everybody in Joe Louis Arena out of their seats. If we could quantify the amount of times an NHLer made other guys from the world’s best league just shake their heads, Datsyuk and Connor McDavid are probably the co-winners. Datsyuk won the Selke Trophy three straight years, from 2008 through 2010, then finished third in voting for each of the next three years. He also collected four consecutive Lady Byngs from 2006 to 2009. In four seasons from 2005-06 to 2008-09, Datsyuk recorded more points (368) than everybody except Sidney Crosby (397), Alex Ovechkin (420) and Joe Thornton (421). Basically, that means he was, for an extended period, simultaneously the best defensive forward in hockey and one of the absolute best offensive players. He was a rookie on the loaded Wings team that claimed the 2002 Cup and driving force on the one that won again in 2008 and lost the 2009 final to Pittsburgh.

…

4. Nick Lidstrom: Like Brodeur, Lidstrom did not win any individual hardware in the 1990s. Then he made it rain in the 2000s. The gifted defenceman won six Norris Trophies in a seven-year period, beginning in 2001. He then claimed a seventh at age 40 in 2011 after his second-last NHL campaign. Only Bobby Orr’s eight Norris wins exceed Lidstrom’s career total. In 2002, Lidstrom became the first European to win the Conn Smythe. Six years later, after Detroit’s second championship this century, in 2008, he became the first European captain on a Cup-winning club. From 1999-2000 through his final year, 2011-12, no defenceman put up more points than Lidstrom’s 719 in the regular season and 106 in the playoffs. Only his countryman, Victor Hedman, has more playoff points from the blueline this century (117).

Continued; I’ve never seen a more-skilled player than Datsyuk, and I’ve never seen a better defenseman than Nicklas Lidstrom.

Red Wings prospect Axel Sandin Pellikka spoke with Hockeynews.se about his customized hockey stick, but the video is entirely in Swedish, so…enjoy?

Of Red Wings-related note this morning:

1. MLive’s Ansar Khan posted a recap of the Red Wings’ 4-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins last night:

The Red Wings (15-18-4) have done the job offensively (eight goals for) defensively (four goals against) and by winning the special teams battle (3-1).

“I think we’re just playing a good brand of hockey,” [Alex] Lyon said. “I don’t know if it’s any one specific thing, but we just kind of got it to go in the right direction. Todd [McLellan] really stressed the start, and then after the second, he kind of challenged us again to have another good start in the third. And I think we responded both times, so we just can’t sit back too much. I think that’s the one trap that we could fall in.”

McLellan is pleased the team’s defensive performance since its 5-2 loss to Toronto on Friday.

“I think the penalty kill, although we gave one up tonight – we’re not ever going to be perfect — has certainly eliminated some of the volume of chances against at least in the nine periods that we’ve been here,” McLellan said. “We still have work to do in the D-zone. We can get wandering around and a little bit loose. But some of the back-checking principles, some of the sort-out stuff we’re starting to see happen more regularly and I think the players value that. Odds are we’ll have a day where we give it all back and we just have to start over. That’s just how it goes. Florida Panthers did that last year all the time. You’d have a good run and you give it back all at once. You got to start again. Never perfect.”

2. The Hockey News’s Sam Stockton also posted his recap…

Of Red Wings prospect-related note:

At the World Junior Championship in Ottawa, the final games of “round robin” play took place, and here’s what happened:

Jesse Kiiskinen scored a goal on 4 shots, finishing at +1 in 14:16 played as Finland defeated Latvia 4-0, setting up a playoff quarterfinal match-up with Slovakia at 5 PM EST on Thursday:

Elsewhere in Ottawa, Axel Sandin Pellikka had an assist, finishing at +1 with 3 shots in 22:32 played as Sweden won 4-2 over Czechia, setting up a playoff quarterfinal match-up with Latvia at 12 PM EST on Thursday.

Captain Pellikka had this to say to IIHF.com’s Lukas Aykroyd, about a game in which Swedish forward Herman Traff scored 2 birthday goals:

“We played like we want to play,” said Sandin Pellikka. “We held our structure, played quick from the back end, and got some shots on net. It was a good second period.”

Finally, the Americans were out-gunned but not out-manned as goaltender Trey Augustine stopped 38 of 39 shots, and Max Plante finished even with 1 shot in 8:39 played, as Team USA beat the host Canadians by a 4-1 score. The Americans will play Switzerland in Thursday’s playoff quarterfinal at 2:30 PM EST.

Augustine spoke with NHL.com’s Mike G. Morreale after earning player-of-the-game honors:

The Grand Rapids Griffins scored 5 consecutive goals en route to a 5-1 victory over the Cleveland Monsters on Tuesday night. Here’s the Grand Rapids Griffins’ recap:

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — In their 27th Annual New Year’s Eve Celebration on Tuesday, the Grand Rapids Griffins used a four-goal first period to defeat the Cleveland Monsters 5-1 at Van Andel Arena. The four goals in the first frame by Grand Rapids tied a period-high this season.  

Four Griffins tallied two-point games, including Alex Doucet (1-1—2), Tim Gettinger (0-2—2), Antti Tuomisto (1-1—2) and Austin Watson (0-2—2). Eemil Viro collected his first goal of the year and secured the Griffins’ third power-play goal in the last two outings. Dominik Shine increased his point streak to four (3-1—4) and Elmer Soderblom earned a three-game point streak with an assist (1-2—3). Goaltender Jack Campbell manned the crease for Grand Rapids and saved 20 shots in his second win of the year (2-2-0), while sporting a .924 save percentage and a 2.02 goals-against average. 

The Griffins took an early lead when William Lagesson found paydirt with a shot atop the left circle just 3:41 into the first period. Grand Rapids quickly followed with its second goal of the frame at 5:51. A pass off the boards from Soderblom found Shine and he sniped it home with a turnaround shot. Viro tacked on to the lead, scoring on a power play with 11:52 left in the period. The Griffins capped off their four-goal frame when Tuomisto found the back of the net at 15:30. Ondrej Becher skated behind the net and dished the puck to Tuomisto on top of the right circle before he cashed in. Going back to their 5-1 win at Cleveland on Saturday, the Griffins outscored the Monsters 7-0 over the last two periods. 

The Monsters attempted to shorten the lead 10:51 into the second, but Campbell turned away the breakaway chance to keep Cleveland scoreless. With 5:03 remaining in the frame, Doucet increased the Griffins’ lead to five when his shot sailed into the net over the glove of Zach Sawchenko. 

Grand Rapids’ defense held strong in the final period, but the Monsters broke up the shutout with 1:36 remaining when Luca Del Bel Belluz scored a power-play goal. However, the Griffins still skated away with a 5-1 win. 

The Griffins also posted a photo gallery, a highlight clip and a post-game interview clip:

The Detroit Red Wings ground out a 4-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night, wrapping up 2024 with a two-game winning streak.

Now they head to Columbus on Thursday and face the mighty Winnipeg Jets on Saturday to open the New Year.

The Red Wings were able to celebrate earning coach Todd McLellan his 600th NHL coaching win, they surrendered 1-0 (Jonatan Berggren) and 2-1 (Patrick Kane) leads before J.T. Compher’s power-play marker at 14:26 of the 3rd helped the Red Wings avoid overtime, and Dylan Larkin’s first-in-16-games empty-netter sealed the win for both McLellan and Alex Lyon, who made 23 saves on the night.

On the Penguins’ side of the ice, the resurgent Pens were a bit pissed off about not taking advantage of the Wings, but coach Mike Sullivan told Pittsburgh Hockey Now’s Dan Kingerski that he was satisfied with the team’s overall game:

The Detroit Red Wings hoped to earn a modest 2-game winning streak as they closed out the 2024 part of their 24-25 season against the 17-16-and-5 Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night.

The 14-18-and-4 Red Wings were playing their third game under new coach Todd McLellan, and while a playoff push might not be in the cards, the Red Wings hope to salvage the remainder of their season.

On Tuesday night, the Red Wings won a difficult-to-play game against a difficult opponent in a surging Penguins team, trading 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 leads, ultimately winning 4-2 on an empty-netter for Dylan Larkin, whose goal was his first in 16 games.

The win was Todd McLellan’s 600th NHL victory, but he could not have done it without the superb goaltending of Alex Lyon, who stopped 22 shots, the great defense of players like Moritz “I made a kick save” Seider and Ben Chiarot, and the Wings dominated the special teams battle, killing 2 of 3 penalties and going 2-for-3 on their own power play, thanks to Patrick Kane and J.T. Compher goals.

The Pens didn’t give the Wings an inch without effort in what was, on occasion, a nasty, physical game between the rivals, but Detroit dug deep and came up with a gritty victory.

I’ve been absent for a couple of days due to dealing with anxiety issues, and it’s not been pleasant…

But I’ve tried my best to “keep watch” from a distance, and I’m not too amused with the level of smarm with which some NHL Insiders and columnists are viewing the Red Wings’ hard decision to make a coaching change.

I get that a 14-18-and-4 record after 36 games is not a playoff-bound trajectory, and that new coach Todd McLellan has one hell of a salvage job on his hands, but I’m trying to look at the remainder of the season as a learning experience for the Red Wings’ younger and older players alike, and possibly, though not probably an opportunity to earn some redemption.

So you’ll have to excuse me for feeling a little aggravated when I read stuff like this from The Athletic’s excellent Shayna Goldman, a superb writer with whom I hold no “beefs”:

NHL coaching changes wait for no one — not even the end of the holiday freeze.

On a quiet day in the NHL, the Detroit Red Wings made noise by firing head coach Derek Lalonde and associate Bob Boughner. The roster may be fundamentally flawed, but the coaches also failed to maximize their talent. The defense underwhelmed, the even-strength offense lacked and the penalty kill has been a disaster. Todd McLellan and Trent Yawney were brought in to give the team a spark.

Lalonde’s is the fourth in-season dismal firing in 2024-25, after a summer of turnover with eight coaching changes. That adds up to 12 changes since the 2023-24 season ended and drops the average tenure of all 32 active coaches to 2.23 years — a slight dip from 2.30 when the season started.

Last month, we looked at how the NHL’s average tenure stacks up to the four other major professional men’s leagues. Hockey trails the NFL, NBA and MLB, who all have more long-term coaches. But that sparked another question: How have NHL coaching tenures changed over the years?

Goldman continues, and she wrote a fine article, but the not-so-subtle digs at the Red Wings being “fundamentally flawed”…

It’s not inaccurate, but it all feels a little bit personal, especially given that The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn predicted gloom and doom for the Wings from the get-go.

I understand that the Red Wings’ roster is flawed and does need a lot of work. I understand that the Red Wings’ players, coaches and management equally shoulder the blame for the situation they’re in–which is not a good situation to be in.

But there’s been a subtle smirk on the faces of too many pundits and podcasters as they perform autopsies on the Red Wings’ 2024-2025 season thus far, the “flawed roster” and the coaches and management’s missteps. It’s just…

Aggravating.

Maybe it’s aggravating because of where the Red Wings really are in the standings. Maybe it’s aggravating because we’re all facing some unpleasant truths about how long this team’s difficult rebuild might take, and maybe that’s the cause of my frustration.

But there’s no doubt that there are those out there who seem to take cheer in the concept that the so-called “Hockeytown” finds itself “in the weeds” under an overrated GM SY and the management team, and it’s hard to not take that personally.

I still believe in this team’s long-term future. I still believe that, someday, sooner than later, we’ll see the Red Wings return to the playoffs. But it’s going to take time, player development, better player performances and better coaching than we’ve seen thus far under the current management team, and better roster management, too.

I just wish that the media types weren’t so bloody gleeful about it, or at least seem so bloody gleeful about it. Constructive criticism is warranted right now, there’s no doubt in that. But critique for the sake of taking joy in the Red Wings’ struggles stings a bit.

Of Red Wings-related note ahead of tonight’s game between the Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins (8 PM EST start on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit/Sportsnet Pittsburgh/97.1 FM):

1. Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen notes the following…

Detroit, 1-1 with Todd McLellan as head coach, are home against the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight (8 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network). Alex Lyon will be back in net, a reward for playing well in the win against the Washington Capitals. The Red Wings are eight points out or a playoff spot, while the Penguins, 6-3-1 in their last 10, are only one point behind the Ottawa Senators. They hold the final wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference.

2. In the multimedia department, DetroitRedWings.com’s Daniella Bruce and 97.1 the Ticket’s Ken Kal preview tonight’s game on the latest episode of “The Forecheck”:

Happy New Year, Hockeytown! @KenKalDRW & I take a look at the last @DetroitRedWings game of 2024 🥂🥳 #LGRW pic.twitter.com/OMjzRyjZ9I

— Daniella Bruce (@daniellabruce_) December 31, 2024

3. MLive’s Ansar Khan wrote a game-day notebook about Joe Veleno’s re-set…

The Red Wings appear to be sticking with their winning lineup as Detroit hosts the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight (8 PM EST start on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit/Sportsnet Pittsburgh/97.1 FM) though Alex Lyon will start in goal.

After today’s morning skate, Jeff Petry and coach Todd McLellan spoke with the media: