Kulfan on the ‘Toddfather’s’ appearance during Thursday’s practice

MLive’s Ansar Khan reported that Red Wings coach Todd McLellan had to tell his charges to “Don’t let your [bleeping] habits slip!” at the end of Thursday’s practice, and McLellan explained why his mini-camp commentary got a little snippy:

McLellan didn’t feel Thursday’s practice was quite as energetic as the previous two workouts.

“First two practices were better,” McLellan said. “That happens. The schedule in the NHL is so compact, you never get three practices in a row. There’s usually a day off in there. I anticipated it (less energy) a bit. We shortened it up a bit. I had to bark a few times, but we didn’t skate near as much as we did the last few days and that was planned.”

McLellan also offered this take on tonight’s Four Nations Face-Off final:

McLellan felt Thursday’s USA-Canada 4-Nations championship game brought all hockey fans into the tournament emotionally.

“We’re going to see a hell of a game and we’re all going to be watching, and that’s a good thing, too,” McLellan said.

According to Kulfan, Lucas Raymond will practice with the Red Wings tomorrow, but Dylan Larkin won’t rejoin the team until Saturday’s matinee against Minnesota (12:30 PM EST start on ABC/97.1 FM).

Thursday fundraising

Sometimes you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do, so in order to pay the monthly hockey bills and regular bills, I’m continuing to attempt to raise funds for the website:

The Malik Report needs your support to function. You receive quite a bit of information “for free,” but providing that information is not done for free. As such, we would like to ask that you kindly contribute to our monthly expenses.

If you’re willing to lend a hand, we have a PayPal option at https://paypal.me/TheMalikReport; there’s Venmo at https://venmo.com/george-malik-2; if you’re into the, “I don’t want to use any of those pages” option, here’s always the Giftly option by using my email, rtxg@yahoo.com, at https://www.giftly.com…

And in the banking options, you can contact me via email if you want to send me a paper check, or “Zelle” me via my email, rtxg@yahoo.com.

It’s my pleasure to provide you with as much information as I can give, but this is also a job, and it requires money, time, energy and effort (a.k.a. work). If you are willing or able to support this endeavor, it is greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your time.

Duff: Coach McLellan wants the Wings to play pedal-to-the-metal hockey

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff posted a subscriber-only article in which he speaks in depth with coach Todd McLellan about the Wings’ narrow playoff miss last season, setting up the following:

“The value of two points is no different on any game day 82 times a year,” McLellan said. “I don’t think players think like that all the time.”

Whether it’s the last game of a long road trip, perhaps the third game in four nights, or another game in an extended homestand, there are games that offer the potential for a team to let down their guard.

“There was a game during the year where they gave themselves permission – ‘You know what, it’s not that important tonight’ – and they played poorly and it cost them,” McLellan said.

Coaches get paid to worry. McLellan worries that his team’s last game before the 4 Nations Face-Off break, a 6-3 home-ice loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, might ultimately turn out to be that game that costs his team.

“Let’s hope that Tampa game the other night wasn’t our night,” McLellan said. “I was disappointed because I didn’t think we accepted that challenge. I think we gave ourselves permission to get to the break four hours early. We can’t afford that and it’s unacceptable. We talk about that a little bit. This could be the night it really matters.”

Continued (paywall) with a discussion of the Wings’ need to have a strong “B-game” for when they’re not at 100%…

Press release: Jiri Fischer helps ‘Pulse3’ raise $40K at CMU

Per Central Michigan University‘s Kelly Belcher:

At the beginning of February, local physicians, medical students and residents took to the ice at the Dow Event Center alongside former professional hockey players for Shocks and Saves, a charity hockey game that supports cardiovascular wellness in our region.  This event has become a beloved tradition thanks to the dedication of the Pulse3 Team, Peter Fattal, M.D., and former Detroit Red Wings player, Jiri Fischer.

Fischer suffered a sudden cardiac arrest on the ice during a televised game in November of 2005.  He was successfully resuscitated with prompt CPR and AED usage by Dr. Toni Colucci and the Red Wings medical staff.  Turning tragedy into triumph, Fischer partnered with Dr. Fattal and the Pulse3 Foundation to create Shocks and Saves and raise funds for AED placement and CPR training.  Since its inception, the event has helped place over 400 AEDs throughout mid-Michigan and has provided CPR training to thousands of people.  Collectively, these efforts have resulted in more than 20 lives saved and have helped to drastically improve cardiac arrest outcomes in Saginaw County. 

Continue reading Press release: Jiri Fischer helps ‘Pulse3’ raise $40K at CMU

Red Wings look to embrace a new identity down the stretch

As the Red Wings continue their “mini camp,” MLive’s Ansar Khan asked several players about the team’s success under coach Todd McLellan, who asked a big question today:

“Who are we? That’s going to get answered in the next 27 games,” McLellan said. “Are we October to December or are we December to February? Who are we? … Are we a playoff team? Are we close to a playoff team? Are we distant? We got to figure all this out.”

Ben Chiarot told Khan that he’s excited about the stretch run…

“I think you’re seeing, and not just for a short amount of time now, it’s been a while that we’ve been playing a certain style of hockey and that’s worked for our group and seem to be getting the most out of the guys in the room,” Ben Chiarot said. “So, I’m looking forward to seeing it as well.”

And that new players have stepped up…

“Guys that maybe didn’t have as big a role as before you see kind of break out into important roles for us, Albert Johansson being one of them, Justin Holl playing great hockey for us on the back end,” Chiarot said. “So, I think you’re seeing guys elevate their game, and it’s great. We need that from everybody.”

Quickly instilling belief into a team that was tied for last in the Eastern Conference in late December was important.

“It doesn’t guarantee us anything moving forward, just that at this moment they’re buying in,” McLellan said.

So, to answer the question…

“He asked us the same question, and the only way to find out is to go play the game,” J.T. Compher said. “We believe in what we can do in the locker room, and we think we’ve shown it, but it’s not worth anything if we don’t come do it after break. And I think these last few days of practice have been a really good start for us, getting ready for the second half of the season and dialing in our details so that come Saturday, we’re ready to push for that spot.”

Continued

Video: Holl, Veleno and coach McLellan speak with the media after Thursday’s practice

The Detroit Red Wings took part in day 3 of their 4-day “mini camp” at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center on Thursday, and the team remains without Lucas Raymond (arriving on Friday) and Dylan Larkin (not back until Saturday’s game against Minnesota).

After Thursday’s practice, Justin Holl, Joe Veleno and coach Todd McLellan spoke with the assembled media:

Tweet of note: Vote for Trey Augustine for the AAU Sullivan Award

From Michigan State University comes this reminder:

The return of ‘Ammo’

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen discusses the Grand Rapids Griffins’ struggles of late, and their hope that the return of Amadeus Lombardi might spark the team’s offense:

Grand Rapids, with Lombardi playing for the first time since Dec. 1, lost 5-2 Wednesday night to Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The Griffins have lost seven out of eight games and only scored 11 goals in those contests. That’s 1.375 goals per game.

“I think I have a lot more to give this group,” said Lombardi who had one assist in the game. “I felt OK at times. I’ll be better Friday. I thought we played well. We generated chances. It will come.”

Lombardi, 21, was off to a tremendous start (nine goals and six assists for 15 points in 20 games) before going down with an upper body injury. The timing couldn’t have been much worse because the Red Wings hoped they were witnessing a breakout season.

While the injury was frustrating, Lombardi has tried to concentrate on the positive.

“It was almost like I got an extra summer,” Lombardi said. “I was able to work out five or six days a week once I healed.  I am ready to be back.

Continued

Tweets from Thursday’s practice: Red Wings’ ‘mini camp’ continues

The Detroit Red Wings’ mini-camp continued at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center on Thursday, ahead of a daunting 27-game sprint through the NHL’s stretch run.

While Team USA prepares for the Four Nations Face-Off Final with a call from the President…

We will leave politics aside for a moment (please?)…

And instead, we’ll focus on what’s going on in Detroit. The Red Wings hit the ice at the BELFOR just after 11 AM, per the Free Press’s Helene St. James:

Again, MLive’s Ansar Khan confirms that we won’t see Lucas Raymond at practice until tomorrow, with Dylan Larkin slated to join the Wings’ lineup for Saturday’s 12:30 PM game vs. Minnesota:

Continue reading Tweets from Thursday’s practice: Red Wings’ ‘mini camp’ continues