Author: George Malik

Of prospect-related note:

In the Swedish Allsvenskan, William Wallinder finished even with 3 shots in 15:00 played as MODO Hockey won 7-6 in overtime over Vasby IK;

In NCAA Hockey, Robert Mastrosimone finished at -2 with 1 shot in the Boston University Terriers’ 4-3 overtime win over UMass. Ethan Phillips didn’t play in the game;

Cooper Moore finished at -1 with 2 shots in the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks’ 5-1 win over the University of Denver Pioneers. Antti Tuomisto had 4 shots but finished at -3 for Denver;

And Keith Petruzzelli was named the ECAC Player & Goaltender of the Week, per Quinnipiac University’s Bobcats’ website:

The Detroit Red Wings weren’t able to hold on to their 1-0 lead over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday, and their 3-2 loss to the no-longer-winless Blue Jackets team was ugly in spots…

But the Red Wings also displayed some moxie over the course of the final half-period’s worth of attempt to rally from their deficit, and the fight between Dylan Larkin and Zach Werenski was less of a highlight than the muck-and-grind goal that preceded it:

Yes, ultimately, the Red Wings lost–and lost in a game where they gave away the puck 13 times–but their sloppy effort did display a level of self-awareness and learning through the mistakes made that we all want to see the Red Wings display this season.

The true barometer reading will come when the Wings face Columbus tomorrow night at 7:30, but there were enough positive signs in this game to indicate that tomorrow’s tilt will be that much more competitive.

We will get “right to the point” regarding the awkwardness that was the Werenski-Larkin fight, however, via the Columbus Dispatch’s Brian Hedger:

ESPN fantasy hockey expert Victoria Matiash suggests that fantasy hockey poolies pick up Red Wings forward Bobby Ryan:

Bobby Ryan, F, Detroit Red Wings (1.0%): I’m extra keen to see what Ryan accomplishes this season in his fresh start with the Red Wings. While his role on the club’s top power play offers promise, so does his position on a line with Filip Zadina and Robby Fabbri (when not scratched because of COVID protocol). That trio intrigues me to no end. This isn’t to suggest fantasy managers rush out and drop other bodies in stashing Ryan on their rosters – only that he’s worth keeping on radar. Also, after all Ryan has gone through, he’s easy to root for.

Conttinued

The Detroit Red Wings dropped a 3-2 decision to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday afternoon. Here’s Dylan Larkin speaking to Fox Sports Detroit’s Trevor Thompson and the Free Press’s Helene St. James:

Here’s Mickey Redmond’s take on the shenanigans…

Clips of Bobby Ryan and coach Jeff Blashill are upcoming.

Update: Here’s the Red Wings’ post-game clip:

Here ya go:

Update: The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline reports that there are no hard feelings between the two combatants:

“I’ve already been sent the video of it, along with a ton of texts,” Werenski said. “I never would have guessed that would happen, but that’s hockey. I might get a picture of it framed and blown up in my house or something. It’s pretty surreal that we’re in the NHL fighting.”

Who won the fight? Werenski declined to say … sort of.

“I won’t say much if I hit him or not,” he said. “But I didn’t get hit, so I take that as a win.”

The Blue Jackets and Red Wings play again Tuesday, and there’s no telling what kind of emotional baggage they’ll carry into the game. The NHL’s new schedule matrix could create some friction this season.

But there won’t be any carry-over with Werenski or Larkin. About three hours after Monday’s game, Larkin set up the Werenskis with four more tickets so Zach’s mother, Kristin, and brother, Brad, could each attend with a friend.

“No hard feelings,” Werenski said.

The Detroit Red Wings attempted to build upon Saturday night’s win over the Carolina Hurricanes as they faced off against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday…morning…opening up a 2-games-in-2-days series against the Wings’ old Central Division foe.

The Red Wings’ superb start did not find support in the form of a sloppy finish, so the Red Wings blew a 1-0 lead, trailed 3-1 by 6:26 in the 3rd, and Detroit was able to score a disputed goal very late in the 3rd to make it 3-2, but that’s all that a sloppy, indecisive Wings team had against a very motivated 0-and-2 Blue Jackets team. As a result, the Wings are 1-and-2 heading into tomorrow night’s rematch vs. Columbus.

Both teams posted their projected lines and starting goaltenders ahead of the game…

Good news for the organization, per Fox Sports Detroit’s John Keating:

.@JohnKeatingFSD just reported that Alex Biega cleared waivers. That’s 13 minutes early.— George Malik (@georgemalik) January 18, 2021

#RedWings defenseman Alex Biega cleared waivers today. He can be assigned to the taxi squad now.— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) January 18, 2021

Rut roh:

Fabri and Erne out due to COVID-19 protocols for today’s game. #RedWings— Justin Rose (@JRoseWXYZ) January 18, 2021

Rasmussen in for Fabbri. Nielsen in for Erne today. #RedWings vs. Blue Jackets at noon.— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) January 18, 2021

#RedWings lines/D pairs:
Bertuzzi-Larkin-Mantha
Ryan-Rasmussen-Zadina
Namestnikov-Filppula-Gagner
Brome-Glendening-Nielsen
Hronek-Nemeth
DeKeyser-Merrill
Staal-Stecher
Greiss starting
Bernier pic.twitter.com/kIgJLqW5nZ— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) January 18, 2021

As part of the lead-up to today’s Red Wings-Blue Jackets game on NBCSN, Pro Hockey Talk’s James O’Brien wondered if the Red Wings could be too good for their own collective sake this season:

Barring an incredible change of fortunes, the Detroit Red Wings are most likely looking for the future, even while playing in the present. With that in mind, there is such thing as the Red Wings playing too well.

Theoretically, the Red Wings could see growth from players like Filip Zadina, ride the Dylan Larkin-fueled top line, and take advantage of hot goaltending to play better than expected.

There are advantages to being competitive. After all, rebuilding teams eventually need to start winning. Getting blown out all the time can break spirits, and create bad habits.

Look at the Tim Murray-era Sabres and you can see the ways things can go wrong, even when you’re doing things right on paper.

Continued

MLive’s Ansar Khan welcomes Monday morning with an article discussing the possible impact of the Zadina-Fabbri-Ryan line on the Red Wings’ rather desperate need for reliable secondary scoring:

“They all have the offensive ability to be a top-six type line in the NHL,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “You hope they can feed off each other, you hope their offensive acumen complements each other. We needed to make sure Fabbri can play with the tenacity to get the puck, that Zadina can play with the tenacity to go get the puck. Bobby has a lot of experience and can help those guys in a lot of situations.

“I thought Bobby skated really well [Saturday], which is an important thing for him. He’s not a natural unreal skater, he’s a guy who has to work at it. I think he’s put himself in real good shape and worked real hard this summer with a skating coach. That would have been my only concern, is there enough speed on the line? Is there enough to go get pucks? I thought they did a good job with it.”

If this line can be a consistent scoring threat, the Red Wings can keep intact the top line of Dylan Larkin, Anthony Mantha and Tyler Bertuzzi.

“We just feed well off each other, from off the ice to on the ice,” Fabbri said. “That’s huge. When you connect off the ice things become much easier on the ice. As you start to learn where each other is going to be on the ice, each other’s tendencies, that’s when you build that chemistry. You play a little quicker when you know where someone’s going to be, and you know what play you’re going to make when you get it. Just a good mixture of size, speed, skill.”

Continued