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Video: Andrew Copp and Todd McLellan speak with the media prior to Wings-Jets

Red Wings forward Andrew Copp and coach Todd McLellan spoke with the media prior to the Red Wings-Jets game tonight:

Red Wings-Jets morning skate Tweets and previews: Jets starting Hellebuyck, aiming for home-ice rebound

The 16-18-and-4 Detroit Red Wings will battle the NHL-best 27-11-and-2 Winnipeg Jets this evening (7 PM EST start on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit/Sportsnet West/97.1 FM), and the Jets hit the ice at Canada Life Centre very early for an optional morning skate:

NHL.com summarizes tonight’s game thusly:

Continue reading Red Wings-Jets morning skate Tweets and previews: Jets starting Hellebuyck, aiming for home-ice rebound

All about Trey Augustine

EliteProspects’ Sean Shapiro wrote a superb profile of Red Wings prospect, Michigan State University goaltender and Team USA back-stop Trey Augustine ahead of tonight’s World Junior Championship semifinal vs. Czechia (7:30 PM on the NHL Network/TSN):

David Lassonde, USA Hockey’s national goalie coach, remembers the first time he watched Trey Augustine play goalie.

“He was playing for Honeybaked (as a 15-year-old), and just the maturity in which he approached everything, whether it was his game-day prep or practice habits,” Lassonde said. “He always dealt positively with the noise that surrounds him.”

And this weekend that noise could be deafening as Augustine and Team USA try to become the first American team, ever, to win back-to-back gold medals at the World Junior Championship.

“There’s never a moment Trey isn’t ready for,” Michigan State coach Adam Nightingale once told me. “That’s what makes him so great.”

Continued (paywall)

The Athletic gives the Wings a mid-season ‘D’

For what it’s worth, The Athletic is doling out mid-season grades for each and every NHL team, and their take on the Red Wings’ turnaround is predictable:

Detroit Red Wings: D

Most expected some kind of step back for the Red Wings, but their first half still fell well short of expectations. Detroit has issues with its roster, but there’s still more talent on the team than its bottom-10 record suggests. We’ll see if new coach Todd McLellan can help the Red Wings get back on track in the new year, even if the playoffs look tough to reach. — Max Bultman

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Duff on Kiiskinen’s contributions to Finland’s WJC quest

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff wrote an article about Red Wings prospect Jesse Kiiskinen, who apparently feels that he can contribute more to the Finnish cause at the World Junior Championship:

On paper, the evidence is suggesting that Detroit Red Wings prospect Jesse Kiiskinen is enjoying a strong IIHF World Junior Championship for Finland.

He’s leading the Finns in goals (four) and points (five). Kiiskinen, though, is summarily unimpressed with his performance.

“I don’t really know,” Kiiskinen told Finnish website Ilta-Sanomat. “I haven’t played my best yet. Fortunately, I have been able to help the team by scoring goals.”

The winger Detroit was acquiring last summer from the Nashville Predators in a deal for defenseman Andrew Gibson, Kiiskinen and the Finns are facing Sweden and Red Wings defense prospect Axel Sandin Pellikka in Saturday’s semifinals.

Kiiskinen was playing a significant role in getting Finland to this stage. In their 5-3 quarter-final win over Slovakia, Kiiskinen would score the game’s opening goal just 1:10 into the contest. He would then set up Jesse Nurmi to make it 2-0 before the game was four minutes old.

“This was my best game in this tournament,” Kiiskinen acknowledged.

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Prospect round-up: Buchelnikov scores, Gylander stops 44 for Walleye, Finnie 1G+1A for Kamloops

Of Red Wings prospect-related note:

In the KHL, Dmitri Buchelnikov scored a goal on 4 shots, playing 17:08 in Vityaz Moscow Region’s 3-2 OT loss to Red Star Kunlun:

In the Swedish Allsvenskan, Maximilian Kilpinen finished even in 11:18 played as Ostersunds IK won 3-2 over Mora;

Liam Dower Nilsson finished at -1 with 1 shot in 15:03 played as IF Bjorkloven lost 2-1 in overtime to Almtuna;

In the ECHL, Carter Gylander stopped 44 shots in the Toledo Walleye’s 4-3 win over the Fort Wayne Komets;

Continue reading Prospect round-up: Buchelnikov scores, Gylander stops 44 for Walleye, Finnie 1G+1A for Kamloops

DeBrincat unleashed

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan filed a notebook article which discusses Alex DeBrincat’s new-found status as a point-per-game contributor to the Red Wings’ cause:

“I’m happy he’s on our team because (McLellan’s previous) teams were getting tired of playing against him,” McLellan said after Thursday’s dramatic 5-4 victory in Columbus.

DeBrincat had a goal and two assists in the game, pushing his team-leading total to 16 goals and tying Dylan Larkin with 31 points (behind Lucas Raymond’s 38).

Now in his second year with the Wings, DeBrincat is on pace to surpass last season’s 27 goals and is enjoying — to this juncture in the schedule — a more consistent campaign, avoiding the peaks and valleys of last season.

One particularly difficult stretch, from Feb. 29 to April 9, saw DeBrincat score one goal (with six assists) in 19 games. With the Wings missing the playoffs on a tiebreaker, even the slightest uptick in goal-scoring from DeBrincat could have proven to be a difference.

But DeBrincat, twice a 41-goal scorer in the NHL, has looked more like that type of player at times this season.

“You almost appreciate him more when you’re around him more,” McLellan said. “You see him shift after shift and there is more to his game than his shot and goals, which we all know him for. But the work he does in and around the blue paint, screens, his thought process on the power play, how he gets open, his shooting and competitiveness … I’m glad he’s on our team.”

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Khan on Berggren and the resurgent Wings

MLive’s Ansar Khan posted an article discussing the resurgent play of Jonatan Berggren as emblematic of the entire team’s renaissance under new coach Todd McLellan:

Berggren might the player who will most benefit from the coaching change. He came out of the penalty box to score on a breakaway with 32 seconds remaining in regulation to beat the Blue Jackets. It was his second breakaway goal in as many games.

“I’m feeling like there’s confidence in the game,” Berggren said. “We don’t want to sit back and watch the game. We want to attack and skate a lot. I feel that we’ve done a pretty good job with that.”

The Red Wings (16-18-4) suddenly are only four points out of the final wild card spot, though they’d need to pass five teams to get there, which makes it even more difficult.

They’ll face a bigger challenge Saturday at Winnipeg against the league-leading Jets (27-11-2).

McLellan during his first full practice with the team last Saturday told players to “Play (bleeping) hockey, you’ve done it all your lives).” They have responded.

James van Riemsdyk tied the game with 2:41 to play in the third period and the Red Wings needed to kill a delay of game penalty immediately after due to an unsuccessful challenge for goaltender interference. They didn’t fold, however.

“I think there’s no quit,” Alex DeBrincat told media at Thursday’s game. “We gave up that goal and our PK does a great job and Berggy scores right after that. We’re not getting down on the bench when we have a momentum swing. We just keep working to get that momentum back.”

Continued (paywall)