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!

Red Wings-Blackhawks Game 2 quick take: Egg-laying made easy

The Detroit Red Wings attempted to earn a “split” in Chicago after dropping their first game 4-1 on Friday night. Today’s matinee game (11:30 AM local start) provided challenges, but the Red Wings needed to be up to the task of an early start…

And they needed to learn from the errors made in Friday’s taxi squad-peppered loss while bringing in Taro Hirose and Givani Smith.

So those of us who got up “early” waited for the rosters to be presented, wondering who else has joined Sam Gagner, Filip Zadina, Jon Merrill, Adam Erne and Robby Fabbri on the COVID list.

Ultimately, the Wings laid an egg, losing 6-2, and it was the fault of everyone–the coaches, the players, the special teams (or the lack thereof), the goaltending, it was all ugly, and the pair of losses against Chicago displayed a distinct inability to learn how to better play an opponent the second time around, which was the most concerning part of an ugly, ugly loss.

Continue reading Red Wings-Blackhawks Game 2 quick take: Egg-laying made easy

NBC Sports profiles Bobby Ryan

Ahead of today’s “brunch” game between the Red Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks, NBC Sports’ Sean Leahy posted a profile of Red Wings forward Bobby Ryan:

Ryan is long-past the early days of his NHL career where he was a four-time 30-goal scorer. But now healthy, in body and mind, he went to Detroit for the chance to turn things around.

“For me, this was a ‘prove it’ year,” he said, “an opportunity for me to take the step that I should have taken years ago but hadn’t been able to because of outside stuff.”

His arrival in a Red Wings uniform got off to a brief delay. An injury forced him to miss the team’s opener against Carolina, a 3-0 win. Since he joined the lineup, Ryan has produced in all three games, scoring four goals to lead Detroit entering Sunday’s meeting (12:30 p.m. ET, NBC) with the Blackhawks.

Ryan’s scoring streak was historic as well as he became the first player in franchise history to score four goals in his first three games with the team.

“I can’t say enough good things about him,” said Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin. “He’s come to play for our team, and that’s huge. He’s a smart hockey player and I think he’s been our best player the past two games. When he has the puck, he’s dangerous, when he doesn’t, he makes the right things happen and makes the right plays. It’s a lesson for guys like myself and our line to learn from.”

Continued

Anxiety and depression are limiting progression…But I’m not done fighting them

I’m doing a little better today, though “better” and “good” are separate things.

I’m aware that my mental health has been shitty lately, and I am very sincerely sorry for the lapses in coverage. It’s not been my intent in any way, shape or form to have to deal with these anxiety attacks–they are not something that I want to be happening to me–and I still believe that between medication, therapy and psychiatry, I’ll be able to manage them better than I have over the past three weeks.

Long story short, I’m not going to give up trying to battle through my anxiety and depression. I still believe that I can be a useful presence in the Red Wings blogging world, and the trio of setbacks over the past four weeks are not going to shake my resolve.

I’m sorry for the interruptions in coverage. They are not intentional and they are not personal. What’s personal is my damn battle to fight through my chronic illnesses to provide you with the best coverage I can, and that battle is far from over.

Pre-Wings-Hawks news: Blackhawks will start Kevin Lankinen in goal

The Detroit Red Wings play the Chicago Blackhawks at an absolutely odd hour today for NBC’s national telecast, skating into the United Center for an 11:30 AM local time start.

There is no lineup news regarding the Wings as of yet…

But there is news regarding the Blackhawks, per ChicagoBlackhawks.com’s Carter Baum:

Thursday Tweets from Red Wings practice: ‘small groups’ skating, as is Bobby Ryan

The Detroit Red Wings hit the ice at Little Caesars Arena just after 12 PM EST, preparing for a set of 4 road games to be played over the course of 7 nights.

The Wings’ road trip begins with a back-to-back set of games against the 0-3-and-1 Chicago Blackhawks (on Friday and Sunday), so the Wings need to be prepared for something of an ambush tomorrow night (and Sunday…morning…):

#RedWings practiced in four small groups today using both rinks. The early groups are done. The later groups feature:
Zadina, Larkin, Helm
Nemeth-Hronek
And
Ryan, Rasmussen, Mantha, Smith
DeKeyser, Djoos pic.twitter.com/OpIooOxSaq— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) January 21, 2021

Red Wings practicing in small groups. Bobby Ryan skating (briefly left Tuesday game after awkward fall, but returned). Wings at Chicago Friday & Sunday. pic.twitter.com/530dQZVD0w— Helene St. James (@HeleneStJames) January 21, 2021

Update:

Neither Robby Fabbri or Adam Erne will travel to Chicago, Jeff Blashill says— Max Bultman (@m_bultman) January 21, 2021

Jeff Blashill says Fabbri & Erne (covid protocol) will not travel, Helm and Djoos possible for Red Wings’ weekend series at Chicago.— Helene St. James (@HeleneStJames) January 21, 2021

#RedWings Blashill said a couple of players were unavailable for practice today. Declined to say who. Said Fabbri and Erne (COVID protocol list) not going on four-game trip. Helm and Djoos are available to play.— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) January 21, 2021

#RedWings life on the road will be different – Mantha says plenty of guys will be bringing Xbox for time being— Ted Kulfan (@tkulfan) January 21, 2021