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Red Wings-Sabres preseason game #2 Tweetcap: Buffalo’s ‘A Team’ outworks Detroit’s ‘B+ Team’

The Detroit Red Wings played their 3rd game over the course of 3 days on Saturday, taking on a stacked Buffalo Sabres lineup with the Kasper line and Copp lines up front, the Chiarot-Johansson pair on defense, and Sebastian Cossa in goal.

Buffalo would win 5-2. This one was a real head-scratcher, because the DeBrincat-Kasper-Kane line was excellent, generating both Red Wings’ goals (Kane from DeBrincat and Kasper form Chiarot and DeBrincat), the Rasmussen-Copp-Appleton line was good defensively, Albert Johansson had a hell of a game, working with Ben Chiarot, Axel Sandin Pellikka was good…

Did it come down to goaltending? Sort of. Sebastian Cossa was not at his best at times, surrendering 4 goals on 20 shots against, while Alex Lyon was better, stopping 26 of 28, but the Wings also gave up a tremendous number of scoring chances via odd-man rushes and plain old territorial advantage as the Sabres cycled, regrouped, and cycled in Detroit’s zone over and over again.

To me, given that most of the team didn’t play in Pittsburgh the previous evening, coach Todd McLellan is likely to discuss why the Wings dropped a 2-0 lead to Buffalo in the first 12:17 of the game, and why the Wings could not stop Tage Thompson (2 goals, 1 assist) or Josh Norris (1 goal, 2 assists) from there on out. Preparation was an issue here, and execution was another.

For everybody, from Cossa on out.

1st period: The teams started the following players:

Continue reading Red Wings-Sabres preseason game #2 Tweetcap: Buffalo’s ‘A Team’ outworks Detroit’s ‘B+ Team’

Red Wings-Penguins game #1 Tweetcap: Despite Gibson’s strong ‘first half,’ Wings surrender a 2-0 lead, lose 3-2 to Pittsburgh

Neither the Detroit Red Wings nor the Pittsburgh Penguins dressed their “A Teams” on Friday night. Pittsburgh was preparing for Marc-Andre Fleury’s farewell game on Saturday vs. Columbus, and Detroit found itself away from Little Caesars Arena, in the middle of a 3-games-in-3-nights stretch…

Nonetheless, a preseason game remains an important “teaching tool” for the coaching staffs and an opportunity for the team’s players, both young and not-so-young, to make good impressions upon the coaches, front office, and anybody else working for another team in the stands.

And the result was a 3-2 victory for the Pittsburgh Penguins in which they rallied from a 2-0 deficit to the Red Wings over the course of the second half of the game.

John Gibson was excellent in the first half for Detroit, stopping 13 of 14 shots in 31:48 of play; Michal Postava didn’t have much help defensively while stopping 4 of 6 shots. Detroit’s power play went 1-for-3 in 4:23, and the PK went 3-for-4.

John Leonard scored two VERY nice goals for the Red Wings to open the scoring, but the Red Wings could not dent Arturs Silovs in the second half of the game, despite out-shooting Pittsburgh 7-6 over the final 28:12.

This was also a very penalty-happy game, with Detroit taking 7 penalties and Pittsburgh taking 6.

All of that being said, in a game that means nothing in terms of the standings and very little other than watching the team’s prospects compete for jobs, Emmitt Finnie had a hell of a game, playing 18:16; Leonard had 4 shots, as did try-out Justice Christensen, and Erik Gustafsson had 3 shots and 6 attempts; Carter Bear, Alexandre Doucet and Carson Bantle all had 4 hits; Travis Hamonc blocked 3 shots; and J.T. Compher went 11-and-7 (61%) on faceoffs. Gustafsson led the Wings in ice time at 21:16.

Overall, the kids looked okay–Nate Danielson admittedly looked a little gassed playing his 3rd game in 4 nights, while William Wallinder and Antti Tuomisto had their moments, they were out of position on the Penguins’ power play game-winner, and J.T. Compher, Jonatan Berggren and a couple other guys didn’t play like their jobs depended upon their effort, though Elmer Soderblom was impressive, and Dominik Shine was his plucky self.

Really, the highlight of the game was Gibson’s steady and sometimes spectacular play, and between his fine outing and the Wings’ youngsters showing fairly well, that’s what the team will take forward.

Tomorrow, the Wings’ “A Team” heads to Buffalo to take on the Sabres at 4 PM, and the game will air on DetroitRedWings.com.

1st period:

Continue reading Red Wings-Penguins game #1 Tweetcap: Despite Gibson’s strong ‘first half,’ Wings surrender a 2-0 lead, lose 3-2 to Pittsburgh

Red Wings-Penguins game won’t be streamed tonight

FYI: Per the NHL’s media website, tonight’s Red Wings-Penguins affair (7 PM EDT start) will air on FanDuel Sports Network Detroit, Sportsnet Pittsburgh, the NHL Network and Sportsnet Pacific…

But because it’s an NHL Network game, there will be no stream on ESPN+ or any other streaming service.

Update: I’ve been told that the game’s on Sportsnet + in Canada, but there’s still no U.S. streaming option.

Red Wings-Sabres preseason game #1 Tweetcap: Detroit cruises past the Sabres 5-2 thanks to vets & youngsters

The Detroit Red Wings dressed their “A Team” for Thursday night’s game against the Buffalo Sabres, and yes, Dylan Larkin scored a goal, Lucas Raymond had 2 assists, Andrew Copp had a goal and an assist, and Detroit cruised to a 5-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres…

But Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, Axel Sandin Pellikka, Emmitt Finnie, Amadeus Lombardi and the Grand Rapids Griffins-contracted Jacob Truscott all had good games, Michal Postava pitched a 10-save shutout in the second half of the game, and the youngsters looked very, very bright as Detroit ended up going 3-for-5 on the PK and 1-for-4 on the PP.

Cam Talbot also had 6 stops; Mason Appleton opened the scoring on a shorthanded goal at 5:39; Brandsegg-Nygard scored from Sandin Pellikka and the also quite good Nate Danielson; Jacob Bernard-Docker’s “around the world” play yielded Dylan Larkin’s game-winner; and Moritz Seider led the team with 21:48 played, landing 5 hits, tied with Finnie for the team lead in that regard.

Long story long, for the second time in 3 nights, the Red Wings out-worked, out-hustled and out-executed their opponents.

Now Detroit will send one team to Pittsburgh tomorrow afternoon for the 7 PM game on Friday night (on FanDuel Sports Network Detroit), and then another team to Buffalo for a 3 PM matinee on Saturday (on DetroitRedWings.com).

1st period: The Red Wings came out with some “oomph”…

Continue reading Red Wings-Sabres preseason game #1 Tweetcap: Detroit cruises past the Sabres 5-2 thanks to vets & youngsters

Just a stupid cold-type thing

Hi, everybody. I’ve been out of action since Monday due to what’s become a particularly bad…something that I’m not sure whether it’s a cold or a flu bug.

Whether it was the 14-hour days during training camp or the Walgreens run this past weekend, the body has rebelled, and I haven’t been able to sit up and work.

I have a fever, body aches and pains, and I can’t do much other than sleep, occasionally check in on Aunt Annie, and go right back to sleep. I sleep uncomfortably and toss and turn.

I managed to get the “Tweetcap” of the Wings-Blackhawks game together, but I paid for it Wednesday in the form of exhaustion and discomfort.

I’ll try to at the very least take in the Wings-Sabres game as a “data point” for those of you who can’t watch it yourselves, and do some sort of “Tweetcap” again, but until I can sit up behind the computer without great effort, the in-between time will have to wait.

I hate missing time from illness, but this happens more often than it should, so I’ll minimize the absence by resting and recovering.

Then I’ll get my shit together and get back to regular work full-time. I miss doing caregiving and blogging together. They balance each other out.

Red Wings-Blackhawks preseason game #1 Tweetcap: Detroit wins 3-2 over Chicago thanks to strong performances by its youth (Finnie and MBN in particular)

The Detroit Red Wings’ “B Team” battled Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night at Little Caesars Arena, and while it took the Wings 43 shots on the valiant Arvid Soderblom, the Red Wings would prevail by a 3-2 tally.

Carter Mazur (from Emmitt Finnie and John Leonard) gave the Wings a 1-0 lead on the PP at 14:26 of the 1st; Bedard would score to tie the game early in the 2nd on the PP; Nate Danielson would respond (from Wallinder and Brandsegg-Nygard) 4:21 into the 2nd, and when Wyatt Kaiser scored at 6:26 of the 3rd to tie the game, Detroit put their collective foot on the gas, and Emmitt Finnie would score on a gorgeous rebound of a shot from Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, off a keep-in from Ian Mitchell, to make it 3-2 Detroit…

And while he stopped 15 of 17 shots, Sebastian Cossa was strong early, strong late, and the goals he gave up were anything but soft.

Here’s the “Tweetcap”:

1st period:

Continue reading Red Wings-Blackhawks preseason game #1 Tweetcap: Detroit wins 3-2 over Chicago thanks to strong performances by its youth (Finnie and MBN in particular)

Video link: Red Wings-Blackhawks preseason game stream

Here’s the stream link for the Red Wings’ preseason home game against the Chicago Blackhawks at Little Caesars Arena this evening:

https://www.nhl.com/redwings/video/detroit-red-wings-live-stream-6336964314112

Also:

Monday Red Wings round-up: summarizing the storylines from a rare preseason ‘off-day’

Of Red Wings-related note from an “off day” Monday which devolved into a 10-hour nap for me:

DetroitRedWings.com: Jonathan Mills filed a recap of the Red & White Game:

Along with Sunday’s Red & White Game, Tanguay said Training Camp provided the group with a great opportunity to lay the groundwork for the 2025-26 season.

“I thought that playing every day raised their competitive juices a little bit,” Tanguay said. “For the most part, it was a very competitive camp. We’ve asked guys to give us their best. Show us why you need to be in the NHL. Leave a calling card, and some guys have. Some of the guys, we’ll see in the exhibition here, how it plays out. But I think for the most part, the first four days have been very successful.”

For example, Emmitt Finnie is a player who is making a positive impression this fall, as Sunday marked the second straight day that the seventh-round pick (No. 201 overall) in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft skated on a line with Larkin and Lucas Raymond.

“He probably, more than some of the guys, he’s brought his best aspect forward,” Tanguay said about the 20-year-old forward prospect. “He’s a good skater and puck retriever. He showed it [at the 2025 NHL Prospect Games] and [at Training Camp] and again [on Sunday]. We put him on a good line, and he showed he was able to retrieve pucks and drive the pace with his speed and size. He gave Larks and Razor some touches.”

With the Red Wings ready to begin an eight-game preseason slate on Tuesday night, it’s important that every player keeps building their game as Opening Night (Oct. 9) gets closer on the calendar.

“This is [head coach Todd McLellan’s] team now, so he’s set his priorities and the tone for Training Camp,” Tanguay said. “It’s been good to have our whole staff together for most of the summer and for the preparation but also, seeing our guys. There are some real expectations for us and for our group to grow. We’ve said a lot of things over the course of the last few years and now, the expectation is that you must put those words into action. It’s still very early. We haven’t played any other teams yet, but guys have been enthusiastic, and we’ve liked the response that we’ve gotten so far.”

MLive: Ansar Khan discussed Sebastian Cossa’s need to step up ahead of a pivotal 2025-2026 campaign:

Continue reading Monday Red Wings round-up: summarizing the storylines from a rare preseason ‘off-day’