Category: Uncategorized

Blue Jackets expect a home-ice crowd advantage at Ohio Stadium

Not surprisingly, given the NHL’s student-friendly ticketing policies for Ohio State University students, the Columbus Dispatch’s Brian Hedger reports that we’ll see mostly…blue…at Ohio Stadium this Saturday:

Historically, there have been times when Nationwide Arena has transformed into an opponent’s home away from home. That shouldn’t be the case Saturday at Ohio Stadium, where the Blue Jackets will face the Detroit Red Wings in the 2025 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series matchup. Despite the Red Wings’ large following as one of the NHL’s “Original Six” franchises, the expectation is the vast majority of 90,000-plus fans will be pulling for the guys with a cannon-crested jersey.

“I think it’s going to be, and I don’t know this for a fact, but 95% Blue Jackets fans,” Blue Jackets president of hockey operations/general manager Don Waddell said. “I know we’ve kind of dominated the (ticket) market, which is good.

“There’ll be some Detroit fans, of course. They’ve got great, loyal fans up there. The difference is this is our first outdoor game for the Blue Jackets, where the Red Wings have played in (four) already. They’ve done this before in other venues, but I still think with the rivalry we have with Detroit that we’ll get a number of fans from … that city up North.”

Speaking of “TCUN,” Waddell is originally from the Detroit area and played collegiately at Northern Michigan University. It’s been a long time since he’s lived there, though, and his allegiance is to Columbus now — since leaving the Carolina Hurricanes to take over as the Blue Jackets’ top hockey executive last spring. Waddell has learned a lot about his new team’s makeup, traditions and history, which doesn’t include the type of long-term success that begets national exposure.

This outdoor game is the only scheduled national television appearance for the Blue Jackets this season, so they’re only guaranteed one shot to make a branding impact outside of Ohio. They’re not going to waste the opportunity.

The Blue Jackets, who lost star Johnny Gaudreau to an offseason tragedy Aug. 29 before losing some key players in October to injuries, weren’t expected to contend for a playoff spot. Instead, they’ve overcome long odds to put themselves in the thick of a playoff race in the Eastern Conference. Arguably, they are the league’s biggest “feel good” story this season. 

Continued with discussion of the playoff importance of the home-and-home series between Columbus and Detroit on Thursday and Saturday…

And Nathan Hart’s note about parking for Saturday’s game is scary:

Continue reading Blue Jackets expect a home-ice crowd advantage at Ohio Stadium

Red Wings look to details as they prepare for tonight’s game versus the Wild

The Minnesota Wild’s website and the Detroit Red Wings website’s Jonathan Mills posted additional game previews of tonight’s game between the Wild and Red Wings (8 PM EST start on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit/FanDuel SportsNet Minnesota/FanDuel SportsNet Wisconsin).

I posted a game preview overnight, and the Wild’s preview is very statistic-y, so we’ll go with Mills’ game preview, which notes that the Red Wings are hungry for a series split after Saturday’s 4-3 OT loss:

“They play a fast game,” Erik Gustafsson said about the Wild. “They have some speed up front, so we got to be ready from the puck drop. I think we were [on Saturday], but we were good for 40 minutes. Now, we got to play for 60.”

In both games of its back-to-back set this past weekend, including Saturday’s 4-3 overtime loss to Minnesota and Sunday’s 5-4 OT victory over the Anaheim Ducks, Detroit surrendered two-goal leads late in the third period.

According to Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan, there are several strategies when approaching how to defend late-game, 6-on-5 situations compared to a standard 5-on-4 penalty kill.

“They’re coming right out,” McLellan said about 6-on-5 scenarios. “You have no time, no space. You have to understand there’s a difference there. Positionally, there’s a few different things. They can usually outnumber you near the net, or at or around the net, and then from a structure perspective. From our end, there’s a few things that we should do differently. We met about them again [on Monday]. We’ll try and be much better in those situations.”

…

The Wild, who haven’t played since Saturday, remain in third place in the Western Conference’s Central Division. Winners in six of its past eight games, Minnesota also enters Tuesday with a 13-12-1 record on home ice this season.

“You put [Kirill] Kaprizov and a couple of their other injured players back into their lineup, that’s a real solid, contending team,” McLellan said. “They check well and don’t give you very much. I think they’re very well-coached and organized. They can be physical and skilled, but they’re really good in the offensive zone – of spreading things out and then attacking the net.”

Continued with injury updates…

Press release: NHL releases rendering of Stadium Series field

Per the NHL:

National Hockey League Reveals Rendering and Entertainment Plans Celebrating Game Day Traditions for 2025 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series in Columbus

The Ohio State University Athletic Band and Spirit Team to Entertain Fans at the “NHL Stadium Series Pep Rally” inside St. John Arena and at the Blue Jackets Outdoor Hockey Debut in The ‘Shoe

NEW YORK (Feb. 25, 2025) – A grand celebration of the Columbus Blue Jackets® and The Ohio State University Buckeyes will be reflected in the field design and entertainment for the 2025 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series™, the first outdoor game for the Columbus Blue Jackets as they face off against the Detroit Red Wings® at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Saturday, March 1, the National Hockey League (NHL) announced today. The game will be broadcast live at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN in the U.S. and on FX-CA, SN+ and TVAS Direct in Canada.

The theme celebrating game day traditions of the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Ohio State Buckeyes Athletics is visible throughout the field design rendering released today by the NHL. The NHL rink decking design, inspired by the University’s iconic Athletic Spirit Mark, features the Blue Jackets bold colors of Union blue, white and Goal red. The Cannon, a key element of Blue Jackets home games, will be fired each time Columbus scores a goal. (Render Credit: NHL, Elevate, Populous)

Continue reading Press release: NHL releases rendering of Stadium Series field

Allen wonders whether the Zegras suspension was fair

The NHL suspended Anaheim’s Trevor Zegras for 3 games for his hit on Red Wings forward Michael Rasmussen this past Sunday. Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen wonders whether the suspension will satisfy the Red Wings team:

What bothers Detroit more is that the officials missed the Zegras act in real time. No penalty was called. Detroit, with the NHL’s hottest power play, didn’t get another chance with the man advantage. Officials just didn’t see the play.

Some social media posts wondered whether officials are ever disciplined for missed calls. (Referees are rated throughout the season and those ratings impact playoff assignments)

Officially, Zegras was suspended for interference, meaning it was delivered on a player who was not in possession of the puck. Rasmussen was hit after he had made a pass off the boards.

The league’s Department of Player Safety ruled the Zegras hit was made “outside the window when a check can be legally finished.”

Under the rules, players can finish a check started when the player had the puck. “This is not such a play,” the DOPS video explained.

Continued; given that Zegras was never suspended before, I think that the Wings got the maximum penalty for his illegal hit.

Talking about the Red Wings’ ‘playoff bubble’ status

ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski posted a subscriber-only article which discusses the playoff steads of the NHL’s “Bubble Watch” teams, and Wyshynski deems the Red Wings to “have work to do”:

Detroit Red Wings

Record: 29-22-6, 64 points
Playoff chances: 64.4%

Is the playoff drought finally over? The Red Wings last made the playoffs in 2016. Stathletes has them projected for around 90 points, which would earn them the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

GM Steve Yzerman bet big on his coaching change, and it has worked in the standings: Todd McLellan has a 16-5-2 record since taking over from Derek Lalonde, buoyed by a seven-game winning streak before the 4 Nations break.

The Red Wings aren’t dominant by any stretch — underwater in both goals for percentage and expected goals percentage under McLellan — but they’re finding ways to win.

Player who must step up: The answer would logically be Vladimir Tarasenko, but there’s a better chance of him stepping out to another NHL team before the trade deadline than stepping up in Detroit.

So we’ll go with Erik Gustafsson, whose assist against Anaheim on Sunday ended a 12-game point drought — the second 10-plus game scoreless streak the defenseman’s had this season, which is not what you want to see from a free agent ostensibly brought in for his offense.

Continued (paywall); at this point, I’m satisfied with Gustafsson’s competent play. I’d love to see more offense from him, but he and Justin Holl have steadied themselves, and for now, that’s important.

As for the rest of it, I don’t know whether the Red Wings are going to make the playoffs given how incredibly stacked the Eastern Conference is, but they appear to be going down the stretch run as a playoff-relevant team, and that’s everything I hoped for after the rough start under coach Lalonde.

Red Wings-Wild set-up, rematch version: Detroit aims for a split in the season series

The 29-22-and-6 Detroit Red Wings complete a home-and-home series with the 34-19-and-4 Minnesota Wild at the Xcel Energy Center this evening (8 PM EST start on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit/FanDuel SportsNet North/FanDuel SportsNet Wisconsin/97.1 FM).

Minnesota has been off since their 4-3 overtime victory over Detroit at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday; the Red Wings defeated the Anaheim Ducks in a 5-4 OT decision at LCA on Sunday, but the Red Wings headed to Minnesota without both Andrew Copp (upper-body, placed on IR) and Michael Rasmussen (upper-body, day-to-day).

Detroit recalled Sheldon Dries from Grand Rapids to help assuage the losses of Copp and Rasmussen, but the Wings’ roster is somewhat nebulous at present; after Monday’s practice, Red Wings coach Todd McLellan told the media that he’s considering splitting Marco Kasper off from the the Raymond-Larkin pairing (both Raymond and Larkin took “maintenance days” on Monday) to bulk up the Wings’ center corps, and we’ll find out more as to how Detroit’s lineup looks at today’s morning skate.

As far as the Wild are concerned, they practiced on Monday, and afterward, coach John Hynes stated that Filip Gustavsson will start in goal vs. Detroit, with center Jakub Lauko returning to the Wild lineup from injury.

The Wild have won 3 straight games, Saturday’s OT victory over the Red Wings included, and they’ve been on quite a roll of late, winning 6 of their past 8 games.

Field Level Media posted a game preview from the Wild’s perspective, noting that both Brock Faber and Matt Boldy elevated their respective statuses with strong Four Nations Face-Off performances…

Continue reading Red Wings-Wild set-up, rematch version: Detroit aims for a split in the season series

Red Wings to trade Ville Husso to Anaheim for future considerations

Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman:

Continue reading Red Wings to trade Ville Husso to Anaheim for future considerations

Working hard

I’m battling through a bug, but every day that I can sit up at the computer, I work as hard as I can to both take care of my aunt and to provide you with as much hockey information as I am able to provide.

As such, I fundraise, and fundraising has gone shittily this month, but it never hurts to ask for assistance.

Right now, Aunt Annie and I need help paying the hockey bills–I did some calculations, and I spend over $50 a month to make sure that you get your peeks behind the paywalls–and if you’re willing to lend a hand for hockey, or just utilities and groceries, it would be incredibly greatly appreciated.

The Malik Report needs your support to function. You receive quite a bit of information “for free,” but providing that information is not done for free. As such, we would like to ask that you kindly contribute to our monthly expenses.

If you’re willing to lend a hand, we have a PayPal option at https://paypal.me/TheMalikReport; there’s Venmo at https://venmo.com/george-malik-2; if you’re into the, “I don’t want to use any of those pages” option, here’s always the Giftly option by using my email, rtxg@yahoo.com, at https://www.giftly.com…

And in the banking options, you can contact me via email if you want to send me a paper check, or “Zelle” me via my email, rtxg@yahoo.com.

It’s my pleasure to provide you with as much information as I can give, but this is also a job, and it requires money, time, energy and effort (a.k.a. work). If you are willing or able to support this endeavor, it is greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your time.

First Stadium Series forecast: 45 and partly sunny this Saturday at Ohio Stadium

The Columbus Dispatch’s Nathan Hart and Brian Hedger have an initial forecast for Saturday’s Stadium Series game in Columbus:

Hockey fans wary of attending a game outside, where water, ice and lightning can descend from the sky, should have nothing to fear Saturday in the Blue Jackets’ first outdoor game experience at Ohio Stadium, according an early forecast from the National Weather Service in Wilmington.

The Blue Jackets will face the Detroit Red Wings in the 2025 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series at Ohio Stadium, which is home to Ohio State’s national championship football team and more commonly known around Columbus as simply “The Shoe.”

While temperatures are expected to get into the 50s this week, the forecast for Saturday’s game dips down a bit despite partly sunny skies. Expect high temperatures near 45, according to a seven-day forecast from the NWS.

The NHL’s ice rink can be maintained in temperatures up to 70 degrees, so do not expect any melting ice from it being above freezing.

Red Wings head to Minnesota without Copp and Rasmussen. Kasper, Compher, Dries may have to step up

The Red Wings practiced at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center today, and then they hopped aboard the new team plane ahead of tomorrow night’s game against the Minnesota Wild (8 PM EST start on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit/FanDuel SportsNet North/FanDuel SportsNet Wisconsin/97.1 FM).

The Red Wings left for “MSP” without Andrew Copp or Michael Rasmussen, who have “upper-body” injuries (a right arm injury and a head injury, respectively), and as such, coach Todd McLellan discussed the team’s depth at center when he spoke with the media on Monday.

The Free Press’s Helene St. James took note of McLellan’s remarks…

They have Dylan Larkin, J.T. Compher and Joe Veleno, and Monday recalled Sheldon Dries from Grand Rapids.

Another option is Marco Kasper, who is a natural center and played there earlier in the season until McLellan took over as coach and moved Kasper onto the top line with Larkin and Lucas Raymond, where Kasper has thrived. But might it be time to see if Kasper can drive a line of his own again?

“There is that curiosity if he can drive his own line through the middle,” McLellan said. “But we also have to take into consideration where we are and what we’re chasing and what we’re doing, and his effect on two other players who play a ton of minutes and are real good hockey players.”

Kasper has 15 points (eight goals) in his last 17 games, and has added a dimension on the Larkin line with his speed, grit and instincts.

“I really like where he is and what he’s doing right now,” McLellan said. “Larks and Razor, their gas tanks were empty (after the 4 Nations tournament), but that’s not now. They’ve had their rest, they’ll be comfortable. But Kasper has given them some good legs on that line, and we’d like to keep him there.”

So if Kasper remains on the Larkin-Raymond line, that means more ice time for J.T. Compher, as McLellan told MLive’s Ansar Khan:

Continue reading Red Wings head to Minnesota without Copp and Rasmussen. Kasper, Compher, Dries may have to step up