In the AHL, the Grand Rapids Griffins had a disappointing outing against the Stockton Heat, rallying from a 1-0 deficit on goals from Matthew Ford and Eric Tangradi, but surrendering a game-tying goal with 2:03 remaining en route to a 3-2 shootout loss to the Heat.
The Heat tied the game not long after Evgeni Svechnikov fought Dalton Prout, and Robbie Russo took a tripping penalty in the altercation, so the Griffins got tripped up by a lack of discipline.
Here’s the Griffins website’s recap:
The Detroit Red Wings face the Washington Capitals today (3:00 PM EST on FSD/NBCS Washington/Sportsnet One/TVA Sports/97.1 FM) with the Wings hoping to rebound from their controversial loss to the New York Islanders.
Our friends from Washington sit 18 points ahead of the Red Wings in the Eastern Conference standings at 32-17-and-5, and the Capitals have won 4 of their past 6 games.
They’re currently on a 2-game winning streak, having most recently defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-2 on Friday evening;
Washington has had its ups and downs of late, but it still sits atop the Metropolitan Division, and Saturday’s storylines focused on the Caps’ decision to sign center Lars Eller to a 5-year, $17.5 million contract extension. As the Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan noted, the Capitals are stacked down the middle:
Continue reading The overnight report: Red Wings-Capitals set-up
The Nashville Predators are leading the charge in interest for forward Rick Nash and also seem to covet defenceman Mike Green, according to Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos.
Nash has been a hot topic in recent days with trade rumours swirling fiercely around the New York Rangers right winger. He submitted a no-trade list to Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton this week and it seems inevitable he’ll be dealt ahead of the Feb. 26 trade deadline.
The Dallas Stars also have significant interest in Nash, adds Kypreos. The 33-year-old impending free agent owns a $7.8-million cap hit (roughly $2.4 million in remaining actual dollars owed). Entering Saturday, he had 17 goals and 27 points in 55 games.
Green, meanwhile, entered the day with six goals and 28 points in 53 contests for the Detroit Red Wings this season. The 32-year-old will be a UFA at the conclusion of this season.
Red Wings ambassador Chris Chelios engaged in a conversation with Yahoo Sports’ Eric Adelson, discussing his looming decision as to whether he wishes to pursue coaching on a full-time basis. At present, Chelios is serving as an assistant coach with Team USA’s Olympic hockey team, working with its defense:
“I have to make a decision sooner or later,” he said. “It’s the grind of the schedule; it’s the only thing stopping me. I wouldn’t want to be an assistant coach. Video, they do all the work; it’s a thankless job. I don’t like being told what to do. That’s the stubbornness in me.”
All that said, he didn’t hesitate to become an assistant in this setting, and he’s already thrilled with the role.
“When you’re with a bunch of guys with this much skill,” he said, “you want the skill to come out.”
The Grand Rapids Griffins host the Stockton Heat tonight at 7 PM, and Griffins announcer Larry Figurski gets us ready for the game with a 4-minute game day preview video:
DetroitRedWings.com’s Dana Wakiji was the only Wings scribe that attended Saturday’s practice, and she offers a sound and solid notebook from said practice.
Wakiji reports that the Wings worked on their penalty-killing, that Henrik Zetterberg is OK after taking a maintenance day and that the Wings are wary of their Sunday opponent, the Washington Capitals.
Most noteworthy from Wakiji is this passage regarding the team’s attempts to put Friday’s debacle behind them:
“There’s not one thing you can about it, except for learn,” Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. “You can’t go get yesterday back in life. All you can do is learn from it and move forward. So we have to move forward. The lesson there, we got to make sure we’re disciplined and we gotta be ultra committed like playoff hockey to blocking shots. And then we’ve got to do lots of things we did. We played fast, we were one top of them.
“We played great hockey for certainly 40 minutes if not 55 minutes, even though they pushed a little bit in the beginning of the third. We’ve got to do the same thing tomorrow. That’s the hockey that makes us successful. I think our guys understand that. We gotta go tomorrow and play the same way.”
The Wings practiced Saturday morning at New Jersey’s Prudential Center before leaving for Washington, D.C., where they play the Capitals Sunday.
Naturally, one of the main points of focus was the penalty kill.
“Obviously, we gave up four there last night, so we want to make sure we get back to work at it,” Blashill said. “I would say the biggest thing is when the penalty kill is at its best, it’s making stands at the line, it’s forcing the puck out of opposition hand, getting it and getting it out of the zone. We gave up the entry too easy. So when you give up the entry, now you got opportunities for them to shoot and they have a real shooting power play with who I think is the best net-front guy (Anders Lee) in the league. The best way to avoid that is to not let them set up. Unfortunately last night, we let them set up too much.”
Wakiji continues at length, and her article is worth your time…
Good news, I think, from The Athletic’s Arthur Staple:
Appears there’ll be no fine to Abdelkader for his slew foot on Boychuk. Was more of a distinct kicking motion, but pretty dirty nonetheless.
— Arthur Staple (@StapeAthletic) February 10, 2018
Guess the overheated match penalty call on Bertuzzi that turned the game around was punishment enough.
— Arthur Staple (@StapeAthletic) February 10, 2018
The Free Press’s Helene St. James engaged in a Q and A with Red Wings special assistant to the GM Kris Draper recently, and Draper discussed the scouting side of his day job:
HSJ: What has been your focus this season?
KD: “I’ve worked a lot with Tyler on the amateur side. I’m trying to see all the high-end draft eligibles. Went to World Juniors. Been to the Maritimes to watch the top players there. Been out west to watch the top players there, and all throughout Ontario. So a little bit of everything.
“I enjoy the amateur side. I really enjoy the scouting side. That’s where I’ve gravitated the most to. Ken wants me to go see games and if I know players and if I like players, he wants me to make sure I speak up and I have knowledgeable input at all levels.”
HSJ: What do you look for in players?
KD: “Obviously I love skaters. You look at hockey sense. You look at skill. I talk to Hakan Andersson quite a bit — anytime we get a chance to sit with him, he is a big guy on hockey sense. I always argue about how fast this game is, but how can you argue with the success of Haks?”
The Red Wings made a stop-over in New Jersey the day after their 7-6 OT loss to the New York Islanders, per DetroitRedWings.com’s Dana Wakiji:
#RedWings set for practice in NJ. Thanks to #NJDevils pic.twitter.com/O057O7EN9G
— Dana Wakiji (@Dwakiji) February 10, 2018
#RedWings getting set for first drill. Zetterberg not skating this morning, but there for Blashill’s message. pic.twitter.com/cdaugbWlGo
— Dana Wakiji (@Dwakiji) February 10, 2018
If you’re wondering when you can start worrying about Zetterberg’s “maintenance days,” today is the day.
Also: Wakiji is probably the only person at practice because the beat writers had to get to Washington for tomorrow’s 3 PM-starting game against the Capitals.
Continue reading Tweets from practice: Red Wings take a layover day in New Jersey
In the AHL, the Grand Rapids Griffins rallied from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits en route to a 4-3 OT win over the San Antonio Rampage. Matt Lorito scored 2 goals, including the OT winner, Colin Campbell, Dominic Turgeon and Ben Street had 2 assists apiece and Tom McCollum stopped 35 of 38 shots for Grand Rapids.
The Griffins’ website filed a recap:
