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!

Have the Red Wings recalled William Wallinder?

HockeySverige.se’s Konrad Gronlund is reporting that the Red Wings have recalled William Wallinder from Grand Rapids:

William Wallinder scored his first AHL goal for the season five days ago.

Now he’s been called up from Grand Rapids and is ready to debut for the Detroit Red Wings. The announcement comes after Swedish Simon Edvinsson injured himself and thus is out of the lineup. This according to several sources, including Around The Horn.

William Lagesson and Swedish affiliation Marco Kasper have also been called up in the NHL. But for both, it’s a summons to the NHL in the crowd.

Wallinder is listed on the Red Wings’ roster page currently:

The Red Wings would have to put a player on IR to find a spot for Wallinder.

Shapiro discusses neck guards with Marco Kasper

EliteProspects’ Sean Shapiro spoke with Red Wings forward Marco Kasper regarding his status as a rare player who wears neck protection, and Kasper had this to say about his choice:

“They’re actually really comfortable for me, with the brand I’ve used with it built into my shirt,” Kasper said. “I think the biggest thing for some guys is the comfort level, they just feel more comfortable without it.”

There’s also an unspoken peer pressure to it, Kasper said. Once you reach the NHL, it’s normal to ditch the neck guard, almost a rite of passage, and when Kasper made his NHL debut during the 2022-23 season, a one-game cameo, he actually did his best to roll the neck guard down to better fit in.

“When you look around and nobody is wearing it, you try to fit in like that,” Kasper said. “So you try to roll it down or don’t wear it all, because you want to be like everyone else, prove you belong. But then the accident happened (with [Nottingham Panthers forward Adam] Johnson), and you think about it and I’ve never thought about rolling the neck guard down again.”

Continued (paywall); I’ve never worn a neck guard as a skater, but the technology is there now, and I think it’s a pretty good idea.

Two more game-day previews

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan filed a game-day notebook which discusses the Red Wings’ need to rely upon an interim set of defensemen with Simon Edvinsson and Ben Chiarot out due to upper-body injuries…

“It has to be (a) next-man-up (mentality),” [Justin] Holl said. “We have a lot of good defensemen here, and we’re confident in our ability to control the situation. Guys might be playing left or right (side), or different sides than they’re used to, but it’s a part of the game. We’re professional and we have to figure it out.”

Lagesson, 28, was signed as an unrestricted free agent on July 1 to be a player capable of providing the Wings NHL experience, for this very type of injury-riddled situation. Lagesson played 16 minutes 18 seconds Saturday on 23 shifts, with a minus-two rating.

“It’s fun to be in the NHL again and I’m going to try to help the team win again,” Lagesson said “I’ll play my game, a hard and tough game.”

The defense was pretty much set coming out of Wings’ training camp, with Johansson securing the bottom-pair/extra defensemen role, not being waiver exempt anymore. Lagesson understood the odds were stacked against him making the opening-night roster.

“There’s always tough competition, but I was hoping to start up here,” Lagesson said. “But I’m here now, and that’s great, and I’m going to advantage of the opportunity. (It was) just a numbers game, and they had some other guys who were going to get an opportunity. Those are the decisions for management, and I’m just trying to do my job and battle hard every day.”

Kulfan also notes the following…

Lalonde isn’t surprised forward Joe Veleno is on a three-game goal-scoring streak.

“We talk about getting out-competed a little bit in Montreal, those guys did not,” said Lalonde, noting the Veleno, Marco Kasper and Jonatan Berggren line. “That was an excellent line, with underlying numbers and scoring, they worked. Joe has done that the last couple of games and he’s been rewarded with it, with some offense.”

And DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills posted a game preview as well:

Continue reading Two more game-day previews

Red Wings-Blues game-day notebooks

The Red Wings’ beat writers filed their game-day notebooks over the course of the last hour, and Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen notes the Wings’ defensive situation going into tonight’s game vs. St. Louis…

Injured Edvinsson (upper body) skated today, but has been ruled out for tonight. Chiarot was injured in Saturday’s lopsided loss to the Montreal Canadiens. He’s also out, and the Red Wings will reevaluate him after their Christmas break. Coach Derek Lalonde said his hope is Edvinsson will be back in the lineup Friday when the team plays the Toronto Maple Leafs.

“Obviously, we have not handled Simon being out very well,” Lalonde said.

The Red Wings are 0-3 when he doesn’t play at all, including the last two games against Montreal.

“It’s probably on me and our staff to be creative tonight, ” Lalonde said, “and get that home matchup and our D to step up.”

Chiarot had been plus-9 in the four games before being injured.

“It’s an upper body, something that’s plagued him throughout his career,” Lalonde said. “Hopefully, we’ll get a better feel with a couple days off.”

MLive’s Ansar Khan spoke with Alex DeBrincat, Justin Holl and coach Lalonde about the Wings’ need to earn a moral victory tonight…

“We got to empty the tank tonight,” Alex DeBrincat said. “Leave it all out there and get the two points.”

The power play has been ranked in the top 10 all season and still sits ninth (22.7 percent), but it’s just 2 for 25 in the past nine games (eight percent).

“Today’s penalty kills, you get those passive diamonds and you have to get the box moving with puck movement,” Lalonde said. “If you get stagnant and you just sit there, you’re playing into the passive penalty kill. You have to have a certain plan against certain penalty kills and sometimes we just get in a perimeter-stickhandle- hold it, and it’s too easy to defend it.”

They continue to swap out some personnel and switch players between units.

“I think we’re still generating chances, they just aren’t going in,” DeBrincat said. “When that happens, you got to change some stuff up. We got to go out there and execute and we have the players to do it. We just got to put it in the net and try to feel good about ourselves, be a difference-maker. I think when we get two, three chances in a game, we got to put one in the net and really help the team out.”

Also:

The Red Wings have allowed 13 goals in the past three games and four or more goals in 5-of-6 games. That’s not all on the goaltending, but Cam Talbot, who starts tonight, and Alex Lyon haven’t been sharp in recent games while returning from injuries.

“What was also a stinger the last two games was the one reliable position for us has been those two, Talbot and Lyon, and they had struggles the last couple of games,” Lalonde said. “So, I expect Cam to get his game back in order.”

As far as the Blues are concerned, StLouisBlues.com’s Chris Pinkert posted a game-day update…

Continue reading Red Wings-Blues game-day notebooks

Praise for Kiiskinen, Sandin Pellikka and Augustine

Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis listed his Top 20 NHL prospects to watch at the 2025 World Junior Championship in Ottawa, and he included several Red Wings prospects in his list:

Jesse Kiiskinen, RW, Finland (Detroit Red Wings)

Kiiskinen is set to make his return after a solid showing back in Sweden a year ago. The winger hasn’t slowed down in his Draft+2 campaign and is on pace to finish with just under 50 points with HPK in Liiga this year. Those are some incredible numbers for a U-20 player, and he’s almost always one of Finland’s top players whenever he hits the ice.

…

Axel Sandin Pellikka, D, Sweden (Detroit Red Wings)

Sandin Pellikka has been making Detroit Red Wings fans giddy with the prospect of seeing him in the NHL in the next few years. The skilled, puck-moving blueliner was named top defenseman at this event a year ago and has a realistic opportunity to become just the second player in tournament history to win it twice after Slava Fetisov took the title in 1977 and 1978. Sweden has a legitimate shot to challenge for gold yet again this year, and if ASP plays like he did last year, it’s very possible they’ll get revenge for the early exit last year.

…

Trey Augustine, G, USA (Detroit Red Wings)

Augustine is the top goaltender in the tournament, and is one of the best goalie prospects across the NHL, period. Augustine is putting up some outstanding numbers as a college sophomore, registering an 11-2-1 record with two shutouts and a .930 save percentage. He has a great team in front of him, sure, but Augustine has managed to be an absolute star at every level he has ever played in and has a near-perfect record at the World Juniors, too.

Continued

Video: Lagesson, Holl and coach Lalonde speak after the Wings-Blues morning skate

Red Wings defenseman Simon Edvinsson took part in the team’s morning skate ahead of tonight’s game vs. St. Louis (7 PM EST start on FanDuel Sportsnet Detroit/FanDuel Sportsnet Midwest/97.1 FM), but coach Derek Lalonde ruled both Edvinsson and Ben Chiarot out of the game.

The Red Wings posted a video of the post-morning-skate remarks from William Lagesson, Justin Holl and coach Lalonde this morning:

Post-morning skate Tweets: No Edvinsson or Chiarot for Red Wings

The Red Wings held a morning skate ahead of tonight’s game vs. the St. Louis Blues (7 PM EST start on FanDuel Sportsnet Detroit/FanDuel Sportsnet Midwest/97.1 FM), and Red Wings defenseman Simon Edvinsson took part as a regular participant in the skate–but Ben Chiarot did not skate with the team.

After the morning skate, the Red Wings’ players and coach spoke with the media:

Continue reading Post-morning skate Tweets: No Edvinsson or Chiarot for Red Wings

Red Wings-Blues morning skate Tweets: Edvinsson taking part in skate, Chiarot absent

The 13-16-and-4 Detroit Red Wings host the St. Louis Blues this evening at Little Caesars Arena (7 PM EST start on FanDuel Sportsnet Detroit/FanDuel Sportsnet Midwest/97.1 FM).

The Red Wings hope to bounce back from a pair of incredibly disappointing losses to the Montreal Canadiens on Friday and Saturday, while the 15-16-and-4 Blues have lost 3 straight games, most recently dropping a 2-1 overtime loss to Florida on Saturday.

The Red Wings lost the services of Simon Edvinsson (upper-body injury) during last Wednesday’s win vs. Philadelphia, and Ben Chiarot (upper-body injury) during Saturday’s loss to Montreal, so the Wings were quite concerned about the state of their blueline heading into tonight’s game.

At the Wings’ morning skate, MLive’s Ansar Khan was the first to report that Simon Edvinsson was at least skating…

Khan also reported that Cam Talbot was taking the morning skate “in the starter’s net,” and it’s rare that Talbot takes the skate at all…

But Ben Chiarot was absent:

The Hockey News’s Sam Stockton also weighed in…

As did DetroitRedWings.com’s Daniella Bruce…

Continue reading Red Wings-Blues morning skate Tweets: Edvinsson taking part in skate, Chiarot absent

Red Wings-Blues previews

The 13-16-and-4 Detroit Red Wings face off against the 15-16-and-4 St. Louis Blues tonight at Little Caesars Arena (7 PM EST start on FanDuel Sportsnet Detroit/FanDuel Sportsnet Midwest/97.1 FM).

Detroit will complete their pre-Christmas schedule against a team that’s lost 3 straight games, including a 2-1 overtime loss to the Florida Panthers on Saturday. St. Louis has lost 3 of their past 4 games and 5 of their last 7, so the Blues are facing a similarly desperate situation in terms of needing a quick turnaround to keep their playoff hopes alive.

MLive’s Ansar Khan posted a short preview of tonight’s game…

The Red Wings’ compete level was lacking Saturday in a 5-1 loss at the Bell Centre. Their goaltending hasn’t been as sharp as they’ve allowed 13 goals in the past four games. Cam Talbot likely will start tonight.

It remains to be seen whether top-four defensemen Simon Edvinsson and Ben Chiarot, both dealing with upper-body injuries, will be available. Edvinsson didn’t play the past two games. Chiarot was injured during the second period Saturday.

The power play, ranked in the top 10 most of the season, has struggled of late, going 2 for 25 (eight percent) in the past nine games.

The Blues are 6-4-3 since Jim Montgomery replaced Drew Bannister as coach on Nov. 25. The Bruins fired Montgomery six says prior.

Jordan Kyrou leads St. Louis with 14 goals and 28 points. Defenseman Cam Fowler has one assist in five games since being acquired from Anaheim. Jordan Binnington is 8-13-3 with a 3.00 goals-against average and .896 save percentage.

As did the Blues website’s Gabby Khodadad and Brett Barczewski:

Continue reading Red Wings-Blues previews

Wings’ beat writers discuss Detroit’s gloomy situation

Yesterday and overnight, the Red Wings’ beat writers dissected the Red Wings’ 5-1 loss to Montreal and back-to-back losses to the Habs as part of an incredibly disappointing first 33-game start for Detroit’s NHL team.

MLive’s Ansar Khan noted comments made by Moritz Seider after the Wings’ loss, and ahead of tonight’s clash with the St. Louis Blues (7 PM EST start on FanDuel Sportsnet Detroit/FanDuel Sportsnet Midwest/97.1 FM):

“We just got outcompeted, outworked and that’s a very frustrated feeling,” Moritz Seider told media at the game. “Just have to turn the page and regroup and find a way to win hockey games and especially find a good reason to get to the locker room in the next couple of days with a little bit of different energy.”

The Red Wings (13-16-4) are eight points out of the final playoff spot, which seems like a pipedream at this point, especially with six clubs between them and that position. They’d be in the Eastern Conference cellar had the Buffalo Sabres not apparently quit on the season, losers of 13 in a row (0-10-3).

…

Seider said intensity over 60 minutes is missing.

“It’s hard to win if you have little dips and lags in your game,” he said. “Obviously, you’re not going to be perfect every time, but we always have to aim for perfection. We’re just not good enough right now. I think we can all agree we’re not filling the expectations we’re all hoping for.”

The Free Press’s Helene St. James also noted Seider’s remarks, as well as those of Joe Veleno and Patrick Kane, as context for the importance of winning tonight’s game vs. St. Louis:

Continue reading Wings’ beat writers discuss Detroit’s gloomy situation