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Red Wings-Lightning wrap-up: something to believe in

The Detroit Red Wings won a hard-fought 2-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night, closing the gulf between the teams to 4 points, though the Bolts have a game in hand on Detroit (48 to 49 games played).

Marco Kasper and Michael Rasmussen (empty-net) scored for Detroit, which received 28 saves from Cam Talbot. The Red Wings’ usual suspects, like Dylan Larkin, Lucas Raymond, Moritz Seider (who played 26:34, 20 more seconds than Nikita Kucherov played) et. al. were very good, but so was the pair of Simon Edvinsson and Albert Johansson. Johansson played 20:49, had 2 shots, 4 attempts, a team-high 3 hits, and an astounding 7 blocked shots.

Rasmussen was also tripped up by Nikita Kucherov while scoring the empty-net goal, yielding a nasty crash into the goal net, but coach McLellan believed that Rasmussen would be fine after the game.

The Red Wings definitely avenged their 5-1 loss to Tampa Bay last weekend, but with two more meetings with Tampa Bay to go, two teams that evidently don’t like each other–as exemplified by the shenanigans that went on between the two teams after the whistle on Saturday night–will have two more opportunities to renew hostilities.

For the Lightning, however, the game wasn’t a rousing win, or an OK loss given that they were playing back-to-back after defeating Chicago 4-3 in overtime on Friday. According to the Tampa Bay Times’ Eduardo A. Encina, the Bolts deemed Saturday’s defeat “unacceptable“:

Continue reading Red Wings-Lightning wrap-up: something to believe in

Tweet of note: ‘shutout’ Talbot gets around

This is an impressive sign of longevity for the 37-year-old goaltender, who’s been a bit of a journeyman:

Tweets of note: A quick Rasmussen update

Michael Rasmussen was tripped into the frame of the goal while scoring the empty-netter in Detroit’s 2-0 win over dirty Nikita Kucherov and the Tampa Bay Lightning…

And DetroitRedWings.com’s Daniella Bruce reported the following:

Red Wings-Lightning quick take: In a mean and nasty game, Kasper, Rasmussen, Talbot hold off Kucherov and the Bolts

The Detroit Red Wings looked for revenge against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night, one week removed from a 5-1 loss to the Bolts in Tampa Bay.

On Saturday night, in a bruising battle of a game, Marco Kasper scored the game-winning goal at 9:55 of the 2nd period, Cam Talbot made 28 spectacular stops, Detroit blocked 22 more Tampa Bay shots, and Michael Rasmussen scored an empty-netter while being pitchforked by Nikita Kucherov into the frame of the goal to give Detroit a 2-0 victory over the Bolts…And a hobbled Rasmussen.

It was that kind of dirty all night long, with the Bolts and Wings at each other’s throats for two of the three periods, and while Nikita Kucherov played 26:14–only 20 seconds less than Moritz Seider’s skater-leading 26:34–the Red Wings were able to keep him and the rest of the Bolts off the scoreboard.

Detroit is now only 4 points behind the Lightning in the Eastern Conference standings, though Tampa has a game in hand.

Continue reading Red Wings-Lightning quick take: In a mean and nasty game, Kasper, Rasmussen, Talbot hold off Kucherov and the Bolts

Tweet of note: Ken Daniels wants pucks to ‘break the plane’ of the blueline

Red Wings announcer Ken Daniels discussed the possibility that the NHL might change its offside rule to afford more goals by allowing the puck to intersect the offensive blueline instead of go past the offensive blueline to count as “on side”:

‘The Forecheck’ previews Red Wings-Bolts

Daniella Bruce and Ken Kal discuss the Red Wings’ imminent match-up against the Tampa Bay Lightning (7 PM EST start on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit/FanDuel SportsNet Sun/97.1 FM):

Berggren, Johansson talk Wings-Bolts

DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills asked two Red Wings players about the team’s goals as they face a Tampa Bay Lightning team that defeated Detroit 5-1 a week ago today:

“The last time we played against them, it was a little bit sloppy,” Jonatan Berggren said. “That’s not the standard we have for ourselves, so I feel this will be a good game to take a little bit of revenge.”

The Red Wings snapped their three-game winless streak by jumping ahead and hanging on to defeat the Montreal Canadiens, 4-2, on Thursday. Behind two even-strength goals and two special-teams goals, Detroit grabbed two important points as Eastern Conference standings only continue to tighten.

“We talked a lot about the start, and I felt like the first 10 [minutes] we were really good [against Montreal],” said Berggren, who had the game-opening goal on Thursday. “Maybe in the second half of the second [period] we dipped a little bit, but then we were strong and pulled it out by playing solid defensively.”

In 46 games this season, Berggren has 13 points on eight goals and five assists. The 24-year-old forward said he feels he’s improved since the start of the campaign, his third with the Red Wings.

“I feel like my game has grown a little bit when Todd [McLellan] took over,” Berggren said. “Points and goals always give you more confidence, but then I feel like my offensive game doesn’t take away my defensive game.”

…

“The last couple of home games, our starts have been really good,” Albert Johansson said. “That’s something we need to keep doing. The starts are really important for us. We have our foot on the gas, we’re shooting and retrieving pucks then we get a goal and work from there. That’ll be key for us.”

Continued

Marco Kasper spielt sehr gut

The Hockey News’s Sam Stockton posted a column noting that Red Wings forward Marco Kasper is doing superbly well as the third member of the Red Wings’ top line:

Since Jan. 10, Kasper has seven points in eight games.  As a trio, per MoneyPuck, that group has played just shy of 100 minutes together, earning a 55.4% share of expected goals and a 54.5% share of actual goals—all while facing elite competition on a regular basis.  The former figure is tops among Detroit lines that have played 70+ minutes together.

When asked about the impact of the move to a top line winger role (from the fourth line center one he had been tackling), Todd McLellan said of Kasper, “The first change, and it’s a really good change, is more ice time.  Second change, and I think it’s a positive one, he’s playing against top players on a nightly basis.  Whether we’re at home or on the road, teams are matching against Larks’ line, so it forces him to have a real sharp game night after night.  The negative, or a positive, is that he’s gone from the position where we drafted him and want him to play to a position where it’s probably gonna end up being part-time.  He’s probably gonna end up going back to the middle, but right now, we want to play him up there and get him as much experience against some of the best players in the world.”

He added that Kasper’s industriousness has helped put Larkin and Raymond in positions to succeed, saying, “There’s a reason Larkin and Raymond have [the puck] so much…It’s cause somebody has to loosen it up and forecheck and create, so I think they’re all connected.  It doesn’t matter who has it on their [stick].  If they’re not playing well, somebody on that line is sleepy or not quite getting the job done.”

Continued

Counting on Copp

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan spoke with Red Wings coach Todd McLellan regarding the role which Andrew Copp plays on the team:

Copp scored his ninth goal of the season during Thursday’s 4-2 victory over Montreal, a shorthanded breakaway in the second period giving the Wings a 3-0 lead. Lately Copp has been centering Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane (now Vladimir Tarasenko with Kane injured) in more of an offensive role. Whatever role the coaching staff needs, more defensive or offensive, Copp is handling it efficiently.

“That goal (Thursday) is a big one,” McLellan said. “Teams are probably coming in and (wanting) to take advantage of the penalty kill because our (success rate) isn’t good and the game was tight enough they had a chance to strike. Copp and that group did a good job and it just sets them back a little bit more. It was important for us.”

The coaching staff, said McLellan, asks quite a bit from a veteran center like Copp.

“The position that he plays, there’s a lot on your plate when you’re a centerman,” McLellan said. “He has to create some chaos opportunities in the offensive zone by being around the net, especially when you’re playing with Kane and DeBrincat and the way they play. And he has to be responsible in his own end, so we’re asking him to do a lot in 200 feet. But if we simply explain that to him in that way, it paints the picture of what it should look like. He’s a very experienced and confident pro that should be able to take that and run wtih it. We don’t have to make it any more difficult than that.”

Continued

Video: Ben Chiarot and coach McLellan speak with the media ahead of Wings-Bolts rematch

The Detroit Red Wings held an optional morning skate ahead of tonight’s game with the Tampa Bay Lightning (7 PM EST on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit/FanDuel SportsNet Sun/97.1 FM).

After the morning skate, Red Wings coach Todd McLellan spoke with the media, confirming that Cam Talbot would start this evening, and that the Red Wings’ lineup would remain the same as it was during Thursday’s win over Montreal (meaning no Patrick Kane, Jeff Petry or Tyler Motte).

The Red Wings posted a video of defenseman Ben Chiarot and coach McLellan speaking with the media:

NHL.com’s “On Tap” column for today also laid out the stakes for tonight’s game:

Tampa Bay Lightning at Detroit Red Wings (7 p.m. ET; FDSNDET, FDSNSUN)

The Red Wings (22-21-5) will try to climb with two points of a wild card spot when they continue a three-game homestand they opened with a 4-2 win against the Canadiens on Thursday. Detroit goalie Cam Talbot has a four-game home winning streak, compiling a 2.43 GAA and .910 save percentage during that span. Red Wings forward Patrick Kane will miss his second straight game with an upper-body injury. The Lightning (26-18-3) wrap up a four-game road trip; they’re 1-2-0 through the first three games following a 4-3 win at the Blackhawks on Friday.