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Hard times and hockey blues

I’ve been having a very difficult time of late. My chronic anxiety attacks have yielded a pretty deep depression, and while I’ve been working with my psychiatrist, psychologist, and my own damn self to get through things…

I feel like I’m just starting to see some distant sunshine about to peek over the horizon, but the last two weeks’ worth of not blogging, and the last month-plus, have been particularly difficult.

Being a caregiver on top of it all doesn’t help the healing process, either, but that’s the life I’ve chosen for myself.

While all of this personal shit has been going on, of course the Red Wings have dropped 9 of their past 11 games, and while I’ve tried to at least show up on Twitter/X when I’m able to watch a game, I’ve been more a grief counselor than Red Wings partisan once games end.

The Red Wings are struggling, too, and it feels like they’re in a deep depression, too. It’s just…It’s hard to watch.

There’s a lot of blame going around. Blaming the coach. Blaming the GM. Blaming the captain. A lot of scapegoating, which isn’t necessarily productive. But there’s clearly a lot of blame to go around right now, and, to me, the Wings look out of gas, mentally, physically and emotionally.

I know that the “McLellan bump” was wonderful, but the Four Nations Face-Off break seemed to take the wind out of Detroit’s sails, and when they tried to build a winning streak in late February, the pair of losses to Columbus, Stadium Series included broke the Wings’ backs and hearts.

Continue reading Hard times and hockey blues

Stupid anxiety and stupid depression are flaring up

The problem with enduring chronic mental illnesses is that if you have more than one, you can get into a vicious cycle.

I have a severe anxiety disorder, moderate depression and bipolar II (bipolar disorder without mania). When I’m having a difficult time with anxiety, for example, I can get depressed really easily, or my bipolar II can kick in, and I can get stuck in a rut between the gloomy downs and the super-intense middles.

Long story long, I’m having a very hard time with my mental illnesses–plural–right now.

My anxiety is still spiking, and over the past couple of days, I’ve been dealing with a significant amount of depression.

I will speak with my psychiatrist on Thursday (i.e. tomorrow), and I speak with my psychologist on Friday, so I have two appointments in two days in order to try and tamp this shit down.

In the interim, if I can sit up and type, I will try to man the blog, but right now I am struggling, big time, and I hope that you’ll understand that it’s impacting my ability to do my job.

Video: Craig Smith, Petr Mrazek and coach Todd McLellan speak with the media after Sunday’s practice

The Red Wings practiced at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center on Sunday, preparing for a pivotal game against the Ottawa Senators on Monday night (7 PM EDT start on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit/Fox 2/Prime Canada/TVA Sports/97.1 FM).

Petr Mrazek, Craig Smith and Simon Edvinsson were in attendance for Sunday’s skate…

But Dylan Larkin took a maintenance day after being shaken up in the Wings’ 5-2 loss to Washington on Friday.

Here’s the video of Smith, Mrazek and coach McLellan speaking with the media:

Update: The Free Press’s Helene St. James posted a shorter clip of the trio speaking with the media as well:

Post-practice Tweets: a ‘maintenance day’ for the captain

The Detroit Red Wings practiced at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center on Sunday afternoon, ahead of tomorrow night’s road game against the Ottawa Senators (7 PM EDT start on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit/Fox 2/Prime Canada/TVA Sports/97.1 FM).

Petr Mrazek and Craig Smith joined the squad, Simon Edvinsson practiced after missing the last half of Friday’s loss to Washington, and Dylan Larkin took a maintenance day.

After practice, the Red Wings’ players and coach spoke with the attending media:

Tweets from Sunday’s practice + catch-up post: Mrazek, Smith join the fray; Larkin doesn’t practice

As the Detroit Red Wings prepare to battle the Ottawa Senators tomorrow night (7 PM EDT start on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit/Fox 2/Prime Canada/TVA Sports/97.1 FM), the Wings are on a five-game losing streak, having most recently dropped a 5-2 decision to the Washington Capitals on Friday night.

The Wings took Saturday off to rest after playing 3 games in 4 nights, so let’s catch you up on the Wings’ situation, if you haven’t been following of late:

Thanks to Detroit’s 5-game losing streak, the Wings are finally sinking down the Eastern Conference standings, and as they sit 3 points behind the Senators right now, Monday night’s game is of paramount importance–as are each and every one of the last 19 games of the regular season.

Continue reading Tweets from Sunday’s practice + catch-up post: Mrazek, Smith join the fray; Larkin doesn’t practice

The Wings are beginning to sink in the Eastern Conference standings

Ahead of today’s Red Wings practice…

The Red Wings’ 5-game losing streak has officially caught up with them.

With the New York Rangers and Columbus Blue Jackets scheduled to battle this evening, Detroit sits at 30-27-and-6, with 66 points, 2 points behind New York and Columbus, and 3 points behind Ottawa, who the Red Wings battle on Monday night.

Worse, the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins have caught up with the Wings in the Wild Card standings, and the New York Islanders are only a point behind the trio of teams with 66 points.

Ottawa and Columbus have games in hand on Detroit, too, which is not ideal.

Continue reading The Wings are beginning to sink in the Eastern Conference standings

Duff: Red Wings will simulcast 6 games on Fox 2 Detroit

Per Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff:

All eyes will be on the Detroit Red Wings as they make their run at an NHL playoff spot. And, as it turns out, it will be easier to watch the Red Wings in action.

In an effort to increase accessibility to Red Wings and Detroit Tigers broadcasts to fans, Ilitch Sports + Entertainment, FOX 2 Detroit, and FanDuel Sports Network have entered into a partnership that will result in 15 games being simulcast on the over-the-air channel in the coming months. The total includes nine Tigers games and six Red Wings games. This will get underway with Monday’s vital game at Ottawa against the Senators.

These simulcast games will still be available for fans to watch just as they have in the past. They will be broadcast on FanDuel Sports Network, FanDuelSportsNetwork.com, and the FanDuel Sports Network app. Today’s announcement adds another option. It provides the ability to watch those same broadcasts on FOX 2 for free throughout southeast Michigan.

Games simulcast on FOX 2 will be mirror images of the broadcast on FanDuel Sports Network, featuring fan-favorite announcers including Ken Daniels and Mickey Redmond on Red Wings action and Jason Benetti, Andy Dirks, and Dan Petry calling Tigers games.

Duff continues; and here’s the schedule, per the Wings’ press release:

Red Wings games simulcast on FOX 2:

• March 10 at Ottawa

• March 27 vs. Ottawa

• April 1 at St. Louis

• April 8 at Montreal

• April 14 vs. Dallas

The Red Wings’ ‘evaluation stage’ is already underway

The Free Press’s Helene St. James posted an utter lament this morning, suggesting that the Red Wings are a thin, talent-deficient team that cannot and will not make the NHL’s playoff cut as it falters down the stretch drive. Here’s the pertinent part of her column:

“We’re prepared to use or picks and prospects, but it’s got to be for players that we really like, that we believe in, and then that they’re going to be a part of this thing next year and for future years and beyond,” [GM Steve] Yzerman said. “Otherwise this whole thing has been a waste and a waste of time. It would just set us back and delay us even further and no one wants that.

“For where we’re at, and we’d love to make the playoffs, but to get into that rental thing, we’re giving up our first-round picks and all of what we consider our top prospects and I think we would all agree that whether we like it or not, being in this situation, that’s not the thing to do.”

So, here the Wings are again, faltering in the stretch run. During this skid they’ve played flat, they’ve played with energy, they’ve outshot one opponent by a two-to-one margin, and most recently, Friday at Washington, they started really well only to give up two short-handed goals en route to a 5-2 loss to the Capitals.

It was only a few days ago that [coach Todd] McLellan described what sets March apart on the NHL schedule: Separation. The Wings went through it last season, when they went 3-9-2, and in March 2023, when they 5-9-1.

“As teams fall out of it, their stress level and everything disappears and they’re playing with house money and they play loose,” McLellan said. “It’s not the best way to evaluate. Right now, we’re in that true evaluation stage because we are in that stage. We should welcome it.”

Continued; I don’t know what’s going to happen for the Red Wings going forward. I would be stupid to suggest that possess some inherent predictive knowledge that others don’t.

What I do know is that I believe that this team does need to add another goal-scoring forward or two, to deepen its defense, and to sort out its goaltending situation…

But, at the same time, I’m unwilling to suggest that the Wings won’t be able to defy expectations. Pleasant surprises are abundant in sports, and while there’s no reason to suggest that the Wings are anything less than a long shot to make the playoffs right now, that shot is the Wings’ to call over the final 19 games of this year’s regular season.