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A bit of mutual respect

The Hockey News’s Connor Eargood posted a game-day notebook which includes the following passage:

Derek Lalonde spent four years under the tutelage of the NHL’s longest tenured coach, Jon Cooper, who is heading into his 13th season at the helm of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Behind the Penguins’ bench in Detroit Thursday night will stand the second-longest tenured, starting his 10th leading the Penguins.

The reality of coaching turnover is readily apparent to Lalonde, who is already tied for the sixth longest tenured coach in the NHL after being hired by Detroit three seasons ago. Whereas some might point to the star power that those long-tenured coaches get to work with — Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, for example — Lalonde sees evolution as the key to success.

Lalonde said Thursday that Sullivan and the group he joked as the “Boston Mafia” — including Minnesota Wild coach John Hynes and Pittsburgh assistant coach David Quinn — are a group he has learned a lot from as a coach.

“They work just as hard and maybe harder in the off season, staying at the top of this profession,” Lalonde said. “And even talking with Mike, he reads a ton, same with Coop. There’s a reason these guys at the top of our profession, they’ve stayed there for a while.”

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Penguins coach Sullivan to speak with the media at 6 PM

According to Pittsburgh Hockey Now’s Dan Kingerski, the Pittsburgh Penguins, who lost 6-0 to the New York Rangers last night, will have some injury and goaltending updates when coach Mike Sullivan speaks with the media tonight at 6 PM:

Penguins coach Mike Sullivan won’t address the media until 6 p.m. Thursday, so we won’t know if winger Bryan Rust is available or the identity of the Penguins’ starting goalie. Sullivan could turn to rookie Joel Blomqvist, who would be making his NHL debut or return to Tristan Jarry.

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Griffins’ weekly notebook, volume 1

Here is the Grand Rapids Griffins’ weekly notebook ahead of the team’s opening-night game against Milwaukee tonight:

GRIFFINS BEGIN 29TH SEASON AT HOME AGAINST MILWAUKEE

This Week’s Games

GRIFFINS vs. Milwaukee Admirals // Fri., Oct. 11 // 7 p.m. // Van Andel Arena

Listen:WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 6:45 p.m.

Watch:AHLTV on FloHockey 

Season Series: First of eight meetings overall, first of four at Van Andel Arena 

All-Time Series: 113-83-7-9-8 Overall, 61-39-2-3-3 Home

NHL Affiliation: Nashville Predators

Noteworthy: Friday’s contest will be a rematch of last year’s Central Division Finals, where the Griffins were defeated by the Admirals 3-2 in the best-of-five series. 

Promotion: First 2,500 fans in attendance will receive a magnet schedule courtesy of Huntington Bank 

GRIFFINS at Rockford IceHogs // Sat., Oct. 12 // 8 p.m. EDT // BMO Center

Listen:WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM at 7:45 p.m. EDT

Watch: AHLTV on FloHockey

Season Series: First of 12 meetings overall, first of six at the BMO Center 

All-Time Series: 67-47-11-11 Overall, 27-30-5-6 Road

NHL Affiliation: Chicago Blackhawks

Noteworthy: The Griffins defeated the IceHogs 3-1 in last year’s best-of-five Central Division Semifinals to advance to the division finals for the first time since 2017.  

29th Season of Hockey: The Grand Rapids Griffins begin the franchise’s 29th overall season of play, 24th as a member of the American Hockey League, and 23rd as the primary affiliate of the 11-time Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings on Friday evening when they host the Milwaukee Admirals. The Griffins have competed in 2,133 games between the IHL and AHL and have amassed a 1,108-789-27-82-127 regular-season record (.575), to go along with 18 playoff appearances, seven division titles and two Calder Cups (2017, 2013).

The Watson Supercomputer: Dan Watson was named the 12th head coach in franchise history on June 14, 2023, and enters his second season at the helm. Last season, Watson became the ninth head coach in franchise history to lead the Griffins to the postseason during his first full season behind the bench, joining Dave Allison (1996-97), Bruce Cassidy (2000-01), Danton Cole (2002-03), Greg Ireland (2005-06), Curt Fraser (2008-09), Jeff Blashill (2012-13), Todd Nelson (2015-16) and Ben Simon (2018-19). On April 27, 2024 in a 3-2 overtime victory at Rockford, he also joined seven other head coaches who won their first postseason game behind the Griffins’ bench. Watson became the eighth of the last nine Griffins head coaches to win his first playoff series, defeating the IceHogs 3-1 in the 2024 Central Division Semifinals. In his first year at the helm, Watson led the Griffins to a second-place finish in the Central Division with a 37-23-8-4 record and 86 points, the team’s best finish since the 2016-17 campaign. As a head coach, the Glencoe, Ontario, native possesses a 309-135-30-17 (.677) ledger during the regular season and a 56-38 (.596) mark over only six playoff campaigns.

Playoff Rematches: The Griffins will begin the season against both teams they faced in last year’s Calder Cup Playoffs. Grand Rapids opens the season Friday against Milwaukee, who triumphed in the Central Division Finals, before traveling to Rockford Saturday for a rematch of the division semifinals.

Continue reading Griffins’ weekly notebook, volume 1

Self-belief, self-improvement essential for Wings to beat gloomy preseason predictions

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen spoke with Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde and defenseman Jeff Petry regarding what the Red Wings must do to negate the negative predictions regarding the Red Wings’ ultimate playoff fate:

“I think the guys are motivated,” Lalonde said. “I think they saw what it looked like, what it took. Obviously, we didn’t handle Dylan’s injury very well. We were barely competitive some nights without Dylan. We’ll have to be better in those situations. Some of those ups and down and how important it is you’re battling for every point. I think it was a lesson learned.”

The Red Wings tied the Washington Capitals in points (91) for the final playoff spot, but lost the tiebreaker.

Considering Detroit was 4-10 when captain Dylan Larkin was injured, it was easy to start a list of how the Red Wings could find an extra point or two. They all want to believe this team is improved, embracing a stronger commitment to keeping opponents off the scoreboard. Last season, the Red Wings surrendered four or more goals in 39 of 82 games. That was 47. % of the time.

“The reality of it, we sat here last year coming off an 80-point season and no one had us in the playoffs,” Lalonde said. “I understand it. It was a little motivation for our group. I thought they pushed. We improved 11 points. But when you get to the brink, as a natural step you have to take, of course expectations have changed. It’ll be a little different challenge for our group, how we ride some highs and lows, but I still think it’s about taking care of your game in the moment.”

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Detroit doesn’t see tough starting schedule as impediment to fast start

The Red Wings have a particularly difficult start to their 2024-2025 schedule, playing 3 games in 5 nights vs. Pittsburgh, Nashville and at the New York Rangers, and then the Wings host the Rangers next Thursday before heading off to Nashville to conclude their season series with the Predators.

MLive’s Ansar Khan spoke with coach Lalonde, Patrick Kane and Dylan Larkin about the importance of getting off to a fast start:

“Everyone has those types of stretches in their schedule,” Lalonde said. “We have it at the start, and the Stanley Cup Final could be Nashville-Rangers. This will be a really good test for us. I’m looking forward to it.”

Said Patrick Kane: “For sure some tough teams we play to start but sometimes to start the season teams aren’t as dialed in as maybe they would be middle of the season, back half of the season. You see some of the games last night it’s wide open, a lot of scoring, a lot of chances both ways. I think we’re pretty dialed with our system right now so hopefully we can take advantage of that.”

A particularly grueling training camp, one that even Kane called the toughest he’s experienced, was designed to prepare them for this.

“We came in feeling like we wanted to get more out of this year than last year,” Kane said. “I think that started in training camp and the way they pushed us on the ice. A lot of time on the ice in Traverse City and even when we came back practices were pretty intense all the way through. I think it’s good for us to kind of set our baseline, get to a standard we need to be at.

“Like I told (Lalonde), practices were probably as hard as I’ve ever seen throughout a whole camp. Hopefully, it’ll be beneficial for us, starting tonight, but in the long run, too.”

Continued (paywall)

WXYZ’s Galli sits down with Dylan Larkin

An 8-minute interview:

Post-morning skate Tweets and video: J.T. Compher, Jeff Petry and coach Lalonde speak ahead of tonight’s game vs. Pittsburgh

There wasn’t a whole lot of news from the Red Wings’ morning skate ahead of tonight’s Detroit Tigers-game-delayed season opener against the Pittsburgh Penguins this evening (8 PM EDT start on Bally Sports Detroit/Sportsnet Pittsburgh/WWJ Newsradio 950).

Ville Husso will start, most likely opposite rookie goaltender Joel Blomqvist as Tristan Jarry and the Pens lost 6-0 to the New York Rangers last night.

Penguins play-by-play announcer Josh Getzoff reports that the Penguins won’t hold a morning skate due to their back-to-back game-playing status…

And the “sounds of hockey” echoed through Little Caesars Arena…

As Detroit Hockey Now’s Tim Robinson posted a game preview…

The Red Wings begin the 2024-25 season tonight a little later than planned. The start of tonight’s game was pushed back to 8 p.m. due to the Tigers playoff game across the street at Comerica Park. Finding a place to park will be a challenge,  but it’s the opener and the Penguins, and fans will find a way.

The opener is also a chance for fans to get their first look at some new players. They  include defenseman Erik Gustafsson, forwards Tyler Motte and Vladimir Tarasenko, and goalie Cam Talbot, all of whom were signed over the summer.

Both teams finished fifth in their respective divisions, missing the playoffs. Missing the postseason was particularly painful for Detroit, which tied Washington in the standings, but missed the postseason due to a tiebreaker.

The Penguins will be looking to regroup after getting blanked by the New York Rangers, 6-0, in their season opener on Wednesday.

We receive an FYI from DetroitHockey.net’s Clark Rasmussen:

Ultimately, the Red Wings did post a video of J.T. Compher, Jeff Petry and Derek Lalonde speaking with the media:

Tweet of note: Opening Night roster

The Red Wings posted their roster for tonight’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins (8 PM EDT on Bally Sports Detroit/Sportsnet Pittsburgh/WWJ 950):

Grand Rapids Griffins hope to start strong, work hard this season

MLive’s Tyler Kuehl posted a very lengthy Grand Rapids Griffins preview today, and he reports that the Griffins want to be defined by their work ethic:

The Griffins had a sluggish start to the 2023-24 season but turned things around in the second half, going from near the bottom of the Central Division to challenging for first place. Under first-year head coach Dan Watson, the team’s efforts led them to finish second in the Central, clinching the team’s first Calder Cup Playoffs spot for the first time in five years. A run all the way to the division final left a bittersweet taste in the team’s mouth, but Grand Rapids is coming back hungry this time around.

“The expectation is that our younger guys take that next step,” Watson said earlier this week. “Whether it’s point production, whether it’s better defensively…it looks like they all had good summers, they all good camps with Detroit, so it’s important that they take the next step here.”

Captain Josiah Didier admits there is a lot of buzz heading into 2024-25 after last year’s run, with the goal of even going further this season.

“The boys are excited,” Didier said. “There’s a lot of excitement in the air…We want more. It was great to make the playoffs last year, but we want to win a championship at the end of the day. That’s what we’re working toward every single day.”

While many are looking at the Griffins as a contender for a division title, Watson is focused on how the team plays in the first few months of the season.

“My expectation early on is that we’re one of the hardest-working teams in the [AHL],” Watson said. “And we start where we left off, and try to build from there with this group.”

Continued at length…

A bit of praise for Trey Augustine as ‘one to watch’

Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis posted an un-ranked list of the Top 20 NHL Prospects to watch over the course of the NCAA Division 1 hockey season, and one Red Wings prospect made the list:

Trey Augustine, G, Michigan State (Detroit Red Wings)

After posting a near-perfect record in 2022-23, Augustine secured gold at the 2024 World Juniors and won the Big Ten championship while earning tournament MVP honors. Add in a few really good appearances at the World Championship and Augustine is truly on the top of his game. He isn’t huge at just 6-foot-1, but he has a winning pedigree, a great glove hand and an outstanding foundation to build on. Augustine is one of the best goaltending prospects based on just pure skill right now and was a big reason why Michigan State was a threat every time they hit the ice.

Continued