Kulfan: goal-less streak didn’t diminish expectations of Larkin

As the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan notes, Dylan Larkin was mired in a 17-game goal-less streak prior to Tuesday’s game against Philadelphia, but the Red Wings’ expectations of Larkin in terms of his overall play have not diminished:

“Dylan has played real good and hasn’t gotten rewarded with points,” [Red Wings coach Jeff] Blashill said. “That can be a hard thing but he’s stayed with it. He’s done a real good job of playing a 200-foot game. That’s what’s going to make him a great player in this league. He’s got to be a 200-foot player to be a great player. He understands that. He’s a guy who can certainly produce offense.  (It) was good for him to get rewarded a little bit. He’s had chances and hasn’t got rewarded.”

Now in his third pro season, Larkin continues to display a work ethic that has been impressive since his rookie season.

“One of the hardest-working guys on our team,” goaltender Jimmy Howard said of Larkin. “He’s one of the first guys on the ice every single day for practice and one of the last ones off – and by last one off, he’s usually out there for a solid half hour after everyone is gone. As he continues to put in the work and effort, we’ll continue to see great things from Dylan. He’s working hard to being great at both ends of the ice, he’s taken on a bigger role this year, and he’s embraced it.”

Continued

Red Wings-Capitals game-day articles: On Svechnikov and Frk, “building” as the season winds down, and the Caps’ goaltending situation

Updated 2x at 1:59 PM: The Detroit Red Wings host the Washington Capitals this evening (7:30 PM EDT on NBCSN/97.1 FM), and the teams’ respective morning skates revealed that Jimmy Howard will start opposite Philipp Grubauer in goal, and that Evgeny Kuznetsov (upper-body injury) will miss tonight’s game for the Caps.

As the Caps wrap up their post-skate media availability, the Free Press’s Helene St. James has already posted a video of Martin Frk and Evgeny Svechnikov discussing their chemistry…

NBCSN’s Joey Alfieri penned a Wings-Capitals preview…

Continue reading Red Wings-Capitals game-day articles: On Svechnikov and Frk, “building” as the season winds down, and the Caps’ goaltending situation

Pairs of promo videos from the Red Wings and Griffins

The Red Wings and Griffins posted pairs of promotional videos yesterday, with the Wings “Taking a Red Wing to School”…

And chronicling “Fan Day at Little Caesars Arena”…

While the Grand Rapids Griffins posted a clip of Matej Machovsky “In the Driver’s Seat”…

Continue reading Pairs of promo videos from the Red Wings and Griffins

Red Wings-Capitals morning skate Tweets: It’s an optional sort of morning

Updated 3x at 11:40 AM: The Detroit Red Wings will host the Washington Capitals this evening (7:30 PM EDT on NBCSN/97.1 FM) with the Red Wings looking to win two games for the first time since late February.

The Wings “took an optional” this morning, as noted by Fox 2’s Sky Kerstein…

And the Red Wings…

Continue reading Red Wings-Capitals morning skate Tweets: It’s an optional sort of morning

WXYZ “mic’s up” Dylan Larkin’s shift at Tim Horton’s

Per WXYZ’s Brad Galli, Dylan Larkin helped out the Red Wings Foundation by working at Tim Horton’s yesterday morning, selling the Red Wings’ charitable donut, and Galli and WXYZ “mic’ed up” Larkin during his shift:

WZZM 13: Griffins tickets have a special promo code that helps Kent County K9 Unit

From WZZM 13’s “One Good Thing” segment’s Nichoulas Lafave:

Do you like hockey? Do you like supporting law enforcement? Specifically K9 officers? Well, you can do both for a little while.

The Kent County Sheriff’s Office posted on Facebook that the Grand Rapids Griffins have offered to donate a portion of certain ticket sales to benefit their K9 unit. You’ve got to go to GriffinsHockey.com/promocode and punch in KCSD-K9. You can get up to five dollars off your ticket and they will donating two to three dollars back to the Kent County unit every time that code is used.

Kent County points out that a lot of K9 operations are run through donations. Including the dogs themselves, patrol cars, training, gear and a lot of other things.

For helping out the Kent County K9 officers, the Grand Rapids Griffins get today’s One Good Thing. And, there are three Griffins regular season home games left. So, there’s still time to take part.

If you have a One Good Thing you’d like to submit – someone or something that makes West Michigan a good place to live – email me at OneGoodThing@WZZM13.com.

 

Red Wings-Capitals set-up: Capitals sorting out pre-playoff injuries/illness as they visit the Wings

The Detroit Red Wings hope to win their second game in a row as they host the Washington Capitals this evening (7:30 PM on NBCSN/97.1 FM).

The 42-24-and-7 Capitals are sitting atop the Metropolitan Division, and they’ve won 5 of their past 6 games, with their most recent win coming in the form of a 4-3 decision over the Dallas Stars on Tuesday.

The Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan attended Wednesday’s Capitals practice, and she reports that the Caps’ biggest roster question going into tonight’s game is the status of Evgeny Kuznetsov, who has an upper-body injury:

Continue reading Red Wings-Capitals set-up: Capitals sorting out pre-playoff injuries/illness as they visit the Wings

Prospect round-up: Ehn has a rough day as Frolunda ties its playoff series

In the SHL playoffs, Christoffer Ehn’s Frolunda Indians tied their first-round series against the Malmo Redhawks by winning a wild 5-4 game on Wednesday (highlights are available by clicking the link and scrolling down to the bottom of the article). Ehn had 3 shots but finished at -2, winning 25% of his faceoffs over the course of 15:45 played;

And in the Swedish J20 league playoffs, Alfons Malmstrom didn’t register a point in HV71 Jonkoping’s 6-4 win over Frolunda’s J20 team.

 

Articles from practice II: All about Svechnikov making the most of his chance(s)

Also of note in terms of articles penned by the Red Wings’ beat writers after today’s practice at Little Caesars Arena:

  1. Evgeny Svechnikov’s teammates and coach were not surprised that “Geno” scored his first NHL goal last night, as noted by Hockeybuzz’s Bob Duff…

“He’s played better every game he’s been up here, kind of adjusted to how he needs to play,” Detroit left-winger Justin Abdelkader said of Svechnikov. “He’s a big strong player that goes hard to the net, has some good skill and a good shot.”

In his seventh game since his recall from AHL Grand Rapids, Svechnikov scored his first NHL goal, but just as significantly, displayed that he is beginning to succinctly comprehend the type of game he must play in order to be a successful NHLer.

“I thought that was Svech’s best game since he’s been up,” Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said. “I’ve talked lots about the chicken or the egg. Do you get ice time and produce, or do you earn the ice time? I thought he took a step in the right direction in terms of earning more ice time.”

Averaging 7:45 per game coming into Tuesday’s contest, Svechnikov played 8:38 against the Flyers.

“He needs to outplay other players, but I thought he was heavy on the puck and he got rewarded with a goal,” Blashill said.

2. The Free Press’s Helene St. James reports that coach Blashill wants Svechnikov to emulate Tyler Bertuzzi’s high-energy game…

Continue reading Articles from practice II: All about Svechnikov making the most of his chance(s)

Khan clarifies Libor Sulak’s situation

Red Wings prospects on Twitter noted that NHL.cz journalist Jakub Prchal stated that Libor Sulak was heading over to Detroit to join the Red Wings. MLive’s Ansar Khan clarified the situation:

Sulak update: Defense prospect Libor Sulak is coming to Detroit to have a medical issue checked, not to play for the Red Wings. If he’s cleared, he might join the Griffins. Sulak, 24, a free agent from the Czech Republic, had nine goals and 23 points for Pelicans of the Finnish League.