Author: George Malik

DetroitRedWings.com’s Josh Berenter posted a set of bullet-pointed notes ahead of tonight’s game vs. Dallas (8:30 PM EST on FSD/FS SW/97.1 FM):

Red Wings Storylines

• After earning seven points in his first six games last season, including five goals in the first two contests, Anthony Mantha has had a frustrating start to the 2020-21 campaign, registering just one goal among three points in the first six games.

“It’s not something that I like, to not be involved and help the team,” Mantha said about his slow start. “I’m someone that’s hard on myself and I want to get better and that’s the mentality I’m going in with. I can redeem myself as quick as (Tuesday) night.”

• Despite the 2-4 start, the Red Wings have gotten excellent goaltending from Jonathan Bernier and Thomas Greiss. Detroit’s goalie tandem has combined for a .904 save percentage, which is much improved from the .886 save percentage from Wings goalies last season.

• The Red Wings continue to be without forwards Adam Erne, Robby Fabbri, Sam Gagner and Filip Zadina, as well as defenseman Jon Merrill, due to NHL COVID-19 protocols. Erne and Fabbri have been on the COVID-19 list since January 18, missing four games, while Gagner, Zadina and Merrill have missed two games since being placed on the list on January 22.

Continued

Ahead of tonight’s game against the Dallas Stars (8:30 PM EST on FSD/FS SW/97.1 FM) and a two-game series opposite the Stars, the Red Wings made Patrik Nemeth and coach Jeff Blashill available to the media for Zoom calls:

No Helm, same lineup from the Sunday game vs. Chicago, says Blashill to the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan.

The Dallas Stars’ marketing department deserves a thumbs-up for this hype video suggesting that the eight games between the Stars and Detroit Red Wings will reunite a classic Norris/Central Division rivalry (which may or may not be true):

The Detroit Red Wings open a set of two road games opposite the Dallas Stars tonight (8:30 PM EST on FSD/FS SW/97.1 FM; the teams play at the same time on Thursday).

The shorthanded Wings (no Darren Helm, Robby Fabbri, Filip Zadina, Sam Gagner, Adam Erne or Jon Merrill as of Stars morning skate time) are on an 0-and-2 slide after two disappointing losses against the Chicago Blackhawks, while Dallas has won its only two games of the regular season.

DallasStars.com also posted a worrisome set of stats about the teams which tangle this evening…

The Stars come into Tuesday’s matchup boasting a four-game home winning streak (4-0-0) against Detroit, while also earning points in each of the last six games (4-0-2) against them at American Airlines Center.

Dallas owns a 5-2-0 record over its last seven games against the Red Wings and has points in seven of the last 10 (6-3-1) against them.

As did Red Wings play-by-play announcer Ken Kal:

Wings need more balance in their scoring….

5 players have scored all 12 Red Wings goals

Ryan- 4G
Larkin 3G
Bertuzzi 3G
Mantha & Fabbri 1G each— Ken Kal (@KenKalDRW) January 26, 2021

If you’re interested, there is a local tie in this game as Ty Dellandrea once played for the Flint Firebirds, too:

Olympia Entertainment has partnered with a company called Janam, which builds mobile ticket readers. This may mean no more ticket-taking staff greeting you (or at least a reduced number) at Little Caesars Arena:

NEW YORK, Jan. 26, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — INTIX 2021 – Janam Technologies, a leading provider of rugged mobile computers and contactless access solutions, announced today it is working with Olympia Entertainment to deploy contactless ticketing and venue access at Little Caesars Arena, home of the Detroit Red Wings and Detroit Pistons. Olympia Entertainment is also considering integrating Janam’s technology at its other sports and live entertainment venues, including Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers.  

Janam’s GT1 mobile pedestal delivers rapid, reliable and contactless access control for sports, performing arts and live entertainment venues. Its “plug-and-play” design transforms Janam’s proven and widely deployed handheld ticket scanners into contactless, self-service mobile pedestals that help venue operators promote safe “social distancing”, take advantage of the most advanced digital ticketing technology and save enormous cost.

By enabling guests to self-scan their paper or digital tickets, GT1 provides a tap-and-go experience that eases congestion, moves fans quickly into the venue and complies with state and local health and safety regulations for reducing the spread of COVID-19.

Continued

WDIV’s David Bartkowiak Jr. offers this observation as to the state of the Red Wings, based upon a set of survey answers given by his “Dear Red Wings” discussion board:

It’s not crazy to see Red Wings fans more optimistic about this squad. GM Steve Yzerman made a long list of moves in his first full offseason in the position. The moves included upgrades (or so we thought) to the defense, offense and goaltending. He’s built this team with very few long-term commitments as he tries to foster a young corps and develop prospects, all while gaining more assets through draft picks. We won’t be surprised to see him flipping players at the trade deadline (April 12) for even more draft picks.

But before then, if the Red Wings don’t return to that more competitive feeling we saw in the first four games of this season, I am sure the next question on everyone’s mind is whether there should be a coaching change.

As I’ve said — and so many others smarter than I have said — over and over again: It’s not exactly about winning every game for a rebuilding team like Detroit. It’s about being competitive and putting young players in better positions to learn and perform. That’s what 6th place is — losing tight games but building toward a better future. Losing 6-2 to a depleted Chicago Blackhawks team that is expected to finish last in the league is not it.

Continued; at this point, I don’t want to be thinking about flipping players for picks come April 12th (which is this year’s trade deadline)–but I do want to see the Wings improve in terms of their competitiveness and overall play, and what the team is offering right now in terms of their level of play isn’t going to cut it with anyone in the Wings’ fan base.

I’m not thinking about a coaching change, either, if I may be blunt. Yzerman has stated that he’s going with Blashill for now, and I don’t expect him to do anything less than ride out the season with Blashill behind the helm.

The Athletic’s Ian Mendes spoke with Red Wings forward Bobby Ryan about his time in Ottawa and his strong start with Detroit for an article posted this morning. Ryan tells Mendes that he doesn’t believe that he would have had the same kind of start he’s had in Detroit had he not been bought out by Ottawa…

“I was thinking about it the other day. Personally, I think the fresh start was welcome. There’s just an excitement that feels different than Ottawa,” Ryan told The Athletic Show Hockey Podcast on Monday. “I just don’t think I would have the same buzz that I have now about playing the game going back to Ottawa. There was just too much there in the past. I don’t think it would have translated this way for me there.”

Despite the significant pay cut — he signed a one-year, $1 million contract with the Red Wings when free agency opened — it’s clear that Ryan’s new surroundings in Detroit have invigorated him in a way that never could have happened if he stayed on Ottawa’s roster.

“I don’t think I could have gotten the excitement back to go back there,” he said. “It just wasn’t going to work.”

But Ryan admits this as well:

“There is part of me that wanted to go back (to Ottawa) and do it the right way, like I am now. Not only sober, but correctly — as a professional,” Ryan said. “But it’s hard to argue with that ending.”

Continued (paywall)

The Detroit Red Wings will face the Dallas Stars in Dallas for the next two games (Tuesday and Thursday at 8:30 PM EST, on Fox Sports Detroit and 97.1 the Ticket). As the Red Wings attempt to rally from 2 straight losses, an absence of secondary scoring and a string of COVID-related absences (see: Filip Zadina, Robby Fabbri, Adam Erne, Jon Merrill and Sam Gagner)…

Trying to sort out the Stars is difficult for a simple reason: three weeks into the 2020-2021 season, Dallas has only played twice due to COVID issues of their own. Dallas won 7-0 against the Nashville Predators last Friday, and they won 3-2 over Nashville on Sunday.

Despite missing captain Jamie Benn due to a leg injury and Blake Comeau to COVID protocols, Dallas’ strong start yielded “Second Star” status for Joe Pavelski, who’s posted 3 goals and 4 assists for 7 points over the course of the Stars’ first two games.

Dallas didn’t practice on Monday, so there’s no update on Benn’s status, no update regarding their COVID issues or the lack thereof.

As you may know by now, the Red Wings’ media corps isn’t traveling with the team, either, so we got a pair of Zoom calls with Anthony Mantha and Jeff Blashill today, and a single Tweet showing Troy Stecher picking out a stick from the Wings’ stick rack during practice today.

Long story long, it takes some digging to turn up context for Tuesday’s game. Let’s start with the Stars’ injury situation, per DallasStars.com’s Mike Heika…

Red Wings forward Anthony Mantha spoke with the media today regarding his issues in terms of goal-scoring and overall play. Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News already filed a notebook article regarding the big man, and MLive’s Ansar Khan noted that Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill has a theory about Mantha’s skating:

“I thought Anthony a year ago started the year really skating and when he skates and he stops he’s a great player,” Blashill said. “When he skates, he closes ground on people, he forechecks well, he tracks well. All those things create situations where he has the puck a lot. And when he has the puck a lot, he’s an excellent player. He’s 6-foot-5, he can move well, he’s got good hands, he can pass, he can shoot.

“He was able to play a long time and have great success without having to move a lot. He could basically stand still and dominate the Quebec Major Junior League. Over a period of years, he’s worked hard to break those habits and replace them with new ones.

“He’s really big, so when he’s not skating, he’s an easy target, but I think he cares a bunch, he wants to be great, and I know he wants to win, and he wants to play better than this. I believe he will play better than this starting tomorrow night.”

Continued;

Update: Here’s more from Blashill on the Wings’ lack of secondary scoring, namely from Anthony Mantha and Vladislav Namestnikov, via the Free Press’s Helene St. James:

Red Wings forward Anthony Mantha spoke with the media for eight minutes today, and he told the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan that, of the Wings’ six games, he’s only played in one “good” game. Here’s more from Kulfan and Mantha regarding the big forward’s struggles:

“We’re not going to hide from it, [Sunday] wasn’t a good game,” said Mantha, who felt many different emotions while sitting and watching. “A little bit of everything. Obviously, I could sit back and be disappointed in myself, but today is a new day and I have to get better on the ice and tomorrow is a new game. I’ll make everything possible in my power not to be sat again this year or in the future. I just have to get my game going and do what I do best.”

Mantha has one goal and two assists through six games, with a minus-5 plus-minus rating. The offense hasn’t been there, the impact on games has been limited, and the consistent hard, forceful skating has been largely missing.

“I wish I had the answer,” Mantha said. “I watched clips the last couple of days and I had a meeting with Blash (coach Jeff Blashill). It’s just a matter of getting my feet moving and being intense in battles and everything will line up from there.”

Mantha met with Blashill before Monday’s practice in Dallas.

“He wants to see the Anthony that was playing last year at the start of the season and I want to see that guy come back ASAP,” Mantha said. “It was just to be a little more physical, stopping on pucks and winning those one-on-one battles, and like we said, skating during the game.”

Continued; here’s the video: