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Red Wings-Wild quick take: Wings keep it close, ultimately play unlucky, mediocre hockey when it counts

The Detroit Red Wings attempted to snap a two-game losing streak at the expense of the Minnesota Wild on Sunday night. The Wild were in desperate straits battling for a playoff spot, so Detroit had to match the Wild’s urgency.

The Wings got off to a good start, scoring only 3:58 into the game, but a Luke Witkowski fight in the 2nd period sparked the Wild, who scored 2 goals in 2:53 to take a lead that they would not relinquish.

Detroit was able to push hard in the 3rd period, but a terrible set of defensive errors by Ericsson and Daley–and a second bad goal of the game by Jimmy Howard–yielded a 3-1 lead for the Wild with 4:18 remaining in regulation, and for some reason, the Wings still pulled their goalie, ultimately surrendering a 4-1 empty-net goal.

The Wings had some very close calls in terms of scoring tying goals on Devan Dubnyk, but the Wild were both lucky and good, and the Red Wings were both unlucky and very mediocre, as has become the norm.

As a result, the Red Wings lost their 3rd straight game, and the Wings now head to Boston, where they NEVER win.

Continue reading Red Wings-Wild quick take: Wings keep it close, ultimately play unlucky, mediocre hockey when it counts

Two things: A Game Day Preview and Larkin and Mantha, reunited

Of Red Wings-related note this afternoon:

1. Here’s the Wings’ Game Day Preview video ahead of tonight’s game against the Minnesota Wild:

2. And the Free Press’s Helene St. James penned an article in which she discusses the Wings’ forward lines shifting via Anthony Mantha discussing what it takes to play on Dylan Larkin’s wing:

Entering Sunday night’s game against the Minnesota Wild at XCel Energy Center, the Wings had averaged 2.58 goals-per-game, fifth lowest in the NHL. Larkin had a team-leading 47 points in 64 games (including a team-high 38 assists) while Mantha had a team-leading 21 goals). Mantha has played most of the season with Henrik Zetterberg, who excels at using his body to protect the puck. Larkin demands a faster pace from his wingers.

“It’s a different game than playing with Z,” Mantha said. “Dylan is going to take the puck north right away, as quick as he can. You need to get on the horse and try to follow. He creates a lot offensively — I mean, he has those skills to bring the puck to the net and there’s going to be rebounds laying around, so I just need to be net-front and do a couple plays with him.”

Mantha, 6-foot-5 and 220-odd pounds, is at his most effective when he really skates.

“The focus, number one, is to get moving, skate as much as I can, get open,” Mantha said. “We have Abby also that likes to be around the net. So put a lot of shots on net and try to get those rebounds in there.”

St. James also posted a video of Larkin and Mantha discussing each other’s assets:

Quick update: Make it “three things”:

 

Grand Rapids Griffins talk to Tom McCollum about becoming the Griffins’ winningest goaltender

Griffinshockey.com’s Mark Newman spoke with Grand Rapids Griffins goaltender Tom McCollum about his new-found status as the Griffins winningest goaltender:

Goaltender Tom McCollum has earned his place in Griffins history.

Now in his eighth season with the organization, he can proudly stand tall, having collected more regular season victories than any other netminder who has ever played in Grand Rapids.

“It’s a huge honor, especially knowing all the great goalies who have played here,” McCollum said. “When you walk through our locker room and you see all the names on the wall of guys who have gone on to play in the NHL, it’s crazy to think about.

“At the same time, it’s taken a little longer than I would have liked.”

That last statement says everything about McCollum, a friendly, self-effacing goaltender who has spent nearly his entire career proving that the Red Wings didn’t make a mistake when they drafted him in the first round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.

Continued

Red Wings-Wild game-day updates: Wings tweak lines; Wild press sets up tonight’s game

Updated 3x at 1:50 PM: The Detroit Red Wings battle the Minnesota Wild this evening, and the morning skate revealed that Jimmy Howard will face Devan Dubnyk, and DetroitRedWings.com’s Dana Wakiji revealed that the Wings are going to make some tweaks to their forward lines:

in morning skate: Bertuzzi-Zetterberg-Nyquist

Abdelkader-Larkin-Mantha

Athanasiou-Nielsen-Helm

Witkowski-Glendening-Booth (Frk working in)

Ericsson-Daley

DeKeyser-Jensen

Kronwall-Green

The Wild’s media have already filed game-day articles, with the Minneapolis Star-Tribune’s Sarah McLellan focusing on the Wild’s 2-game losing streak vs. Detroit…

Continue reading Red Wings-Wild game-day updates: Wings tweak lines; Wild press sets up tonight’s game

Red Wings-Wild morning skate Tweets and articles: Howard starts, Ericsson to play, lines tweaked

The Detroit Red Wings face a stiff task in battling the Minnesota Wild this evening (7:00 PM EST on NBCSN/97.1 FM). Both teams are coming off a pair of losses, and the Wild are in a fight for their playoff lives.

Minnesota took to the ice at the Xcel Energy Center before the Wings did, as noted by the Wild’s Twitter account…


Continue reading Red Wings-Wild morning skate Tweets and articles: Howard starts, Ericsson to play, lines tweaked

Prospect round-up: Griffins, Walleye lose; Fulcher, Petruzzelli post wins; Cholowski 2A

In the AHL, the Grand Rapids Griffins had a rough Saturday night, with Joe Hicketts scoring the game’s only goal as the Griffins lost 4-1 to the Milwaukee Admirals. The Griffins’ website posted a recap:

Continue reading Prospect round-up: Griffins, Walleye lose; Fulcher, Petruzzelli post wins; Cholowski 2A

Red Wings-Wild set-up: Wild bring playoff urgency to meeting with Wings

The Detroit Red Wings battle the Minnesota Wild this evening (7:00 PM EST on NBCSN/97.1 FM) with the Red Wings hoping to snap a 2-game losing streak.

The 36-22-and-7 Wild aren’t going to make it easy on the Wings; Minnesota sits in the Western Conference’s second Wild Card spot, and very precariously so; Minnesota has also lost its past two games, with its most recent loss coming in the form of a 7-1 drubbing at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche.

Minnesota didn’t practice Saturday because they played back-to-back games on Thursday and Friday; the Wings also chose not to practice, having gotten in late from Winnipeg, so we must examine the Wild and Wings’ previous game to set up tonight’s affair.

The Wild told the Pioneer Press’s Dave Mitzutani that they would move on quickly from Friday’s loss as their playoff spot is on the line:

Continue reading Red Wings-Wild set-up: Wild bring playoff urgency to meeting with Wings

Via KK: Jim Nill returning to the Wings about as likely as Yzerman returning (see: highly improbable)

Via KK, I can’t help but dismiss this rumor from the Toronto Sun’s Steve Simmons out-of-hand. Jim Nill wants to do with the Dallas Stars what Steve Yzerman does with the Tampa Bay Lightning–win the Stanley Cup–and until that happens, Nill isn’t going anywhere.

Ken Holland shooed off questions regarding possibly leaving Detroit to run the Seattle franchise on Tuesday’s Jamie and Stoney Show, too:

If you’re crazy enough to pay $650 million for an NHL expansion franchise in Seattle, does that make you crazy enough to consider hiring John Ferguson Jr. as your general manager? Fergie is pushing hard to get back in the big chair somewhere and rehabilitate his reputation post-Leafs. Detroit’s Ken Holland and Vegas assistant Kelly McCrimmon are morning line favourites for the Seattle job. Should Holland leave the Red Wings, some expect GM Jim Nill to leave the Dallas Stars for the opening in Detroit.

Nill, like Yzerman, has worked his butt off to build a Red Wings-like system of scouting, drafting and player development in Dallas, and Nill is comfortable in his present position. I don’t see him bringing his amateur scouts back with him to Detroit while the Stars are still building…

And I believe that Holland wants to and will be given the opportunity to “see the rebuild through.”

Simmons continues, mentioning Luke Glendening and the possibility that Jeff Blashill may have little job security…