Red Wings-Canadiens wrap-up: Wings know they got hustled

The now-13-15-and-4 Detroit Red Wings plain old got out-worked over the course of a 4-3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Friday night, and as the Wings head to Montreal for Saturday’s rematch (7 PM on FanDuel Sportsnet Extra/NHL Network/Sportsnet East/TVA Sports/97.1 FM), the Wings need to rededicate themselves to busting their butts better than their opponents do, and the Wings need to work on detail work, too.

Why? They now only lead the 13-16-and-3 Canadiens by 1 point in the Atlantic Division standings.

Saturday is essentially a must-win, and with 2 more games in the next 3 nights (Detroit wraps up its pre-Christmas schedule with a home game against St. Louis on Monday night), the Wings are going to have a hell of a character test here.

The good news, as you’ll find out below, is that the Wings are pissed off at themselves for blowing this game; the test will be whether they can do something about that.

As the Canadiens’ press corps didn’t travel to Detroit en masse (save the French press corps, whose recaps were sparse–I looked), we’re going to have to lean on NHL.com’s Dave Hogg’s recap for an English-language set of takes from the Canadiens’ players and coach:

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Red Wings-Canadiens quick take: Wings ‘get hustled’ by Montreal

The Detroit Red Wings hosted a Montreal Canadiens team that sat only 3 points behind the Wings in the Atlantic Division standings prior to tonight’s game, and the teams will go back at it tomorrow night in Montreal.

On Friday night, at Little Caesars Arena, the Red Wings were robbed of their 3-point lead by a plucky, tenacious Canadiens team that earned 1-0, 2-1 and 4-3 leads en route to a 4-3 victory for the Habs.

Cam Talbot was not as sharp as possible in stopping 29 of 33 shots, but he got little to no help in terms of deflections–like Patrik Laine’s one-timer that shattered Moritz Seider’s stick and beat Talbot–and the 0-for-4 power play, surrendering of a shorthanded goal against and 1-for-2 Habs PP yielded a major special teams loss.

Very long story long, tomorrow night’s game in Montreal becomes a must-win if the Wings are to not be passed by Montreal in the standings, and after getting out-worked by a significant margin tonight, Detroit has to earn their way back toward respectability here more than anything.

Continue reading Red Wings-Canadiens quick take: Wings ‘get hustled’ by Montreal

Tweet of note: Red Wings recall William Lagesson from Grand Rapids

As insurance, most likely:

Here’s the press release:

RED WINGS RECALL WILLIAM LAGESSON FROM GRAND RAPIDS

  … Blueliner Has Played in 100 NHL Games with Oilers, Canadiens, Maple Leafs and Ducks Since 2019-20 …

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today recalled defenseman William Lagesson from the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins.

Continue reading Tweet of note: Red Wings recall William Lagesson from Grand Rapids

Johansson discusses his hopes of earning a regular roster spot during Edvinsson’s absence

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan filed a notebook article in which he discusses Albert Johansson’s attempt to earn a more regular spot on the Wings’ defense while Simon Edvinsson is sidelined with an upper-body injury:

“I’ve liked Albert his last couple games out,” Lalonde said. “He had a stretch of games there where some things were finding him. That was a tough West Coast trip for him, but his bounce back from that was good. I’m fully confident he’ll have some more consistency in the game. The things we saw in camp, the things we saw from last year (in Grand Rapids), his ability to move a puck, just confidence and some assertiveness in his game and some consistency with it.”

This has been a different kind of experience for Johansson, who has always been a regular in whatever lineup he’s been in. But such is the life of most rookies in the NHL who must learn and develop what it takes to be successful.

Johansson is adapting to his role the best he can.

“You want to play every game and be out there,” Johansson said. “I just try to stay positive. First year, I kind of knew before (the season began) I was going to be a little bit in and out (of the lineup), and it’s a learning experience. When I’m not playing, I’m just trying to work extra on the ice and in the gym and stay positive and be ready when I’m in the lineup.”

Johansson agrees, with Edvinsson unavailable, it’s an opportunity for the other defensemen to get quality minutes. When Johansson is in the lineup, it’s up to him to play to his own strengths.

“He (Edvinsson) has been playing real good and big minutes out there, so it’s an opportunity for all of the other guys to step up and fill that role,” Johansson said. “(I have to) be aggressive out there, move my feet and try to be physical. I know I’m not the biggest guy but stay close to my opponents and shut down plays early. That’s the biggest key for me.”

Continued (paywall)

Twitter video: ‘The Forecheck’ previews tonight’s game vs. Montreal

DetroitRedWings.com’s Daniella Bruce and play-by-play man Ken Kal discuss the Red Wings’ impending match-up with the Montreal Canadiens tonight, over the course of the latest episode of “The Forecheck”:

Update: DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills posted a game preview as well:

Puck drop between the Red Wings (13-14-4; 30 points) and Canadiens (12-16-3; 27 points) is set for 7 p.m., with TV broadcast coverage on FanDuel Sports Network Detroit and the Red Wings Radio Network (97.1 The Ticket in Detroit).

“It’s always neat playing Montreal,” Detroit head coach Derek Lalonde said. “An Original Six matchup, you get a home and away [game]. For me personally, I grew up 90 minutes from my doorstep to Montreal. Obviously, it’s bigger than life sometimes…For us, it’s an opportunity to try to keep our game in order.”’

Riding two-point nights from Lucas Raymond (one goal, one assist), J.T. Compher (one goal, one assist), captain Dylan Larkin (two assists) and Patrick Kane (one goal, one assist), the Red Wings defeated the Philadelphia Flyers, 6-4, on Wednesday. It was Detroit’s second straight win, and third in its last four games.

“The attitude in the room has been really good,” Ben Chiarot said. “I think we’ve been playing good for a while, honestly.”

Missing Mazur, among other Griffins things

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen posted a subscriber-only article discussing the not-so-great aspects of the Grand Rapids Griffins thus far, including the absence of Carter Mazur, Elmer Soderblom and Amadeus Lombardi’s scoring funks and the Griffins’ attempts to deal with a very crowded roster. The biggest issue for the Red Wings, most likely, is Mazur’s status as injured again:

Carter Mazur’s Absence

You are not alone if you are among those who hoped Mazur might have had a shot to play for the Red Wings this season. He’s a scrappy player with scoring instincts.  The Michigan native always seems to be where the action is around the net. Mazur netted 17 goals last season in 60 games.

But Mazur, 22, continues to have bad luck with injuries.  The Griffins don’t provide much information about injuries, but Mazur has missed 24 of the team’s 27 games with an injury.

Mazur also missed a chunk of time last season because of injury. He has lost a considerable amount of valuable development time. Counting both injuries, he has lost more than half of a season.

Continued (paywall)

Trey Augustine’s preparing for his third World Junior Championship

Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis posted an interview with Red Wings prospect and Team USA goaltender Trey Augustine ahead of the 2025 World Junior Championship:

“I just feel old now,” said a smiling [19-year-old] Augustine during Day 1 of USA’s camp in Plymouth, Michigan. “I kind of felt young at the start, like I was a little above my level, but now I just feel comfortable, feel like I’m one of the old guys on the team.”

Few NHL goalie prospects have been as dominant as Augustine the past few years. He went 29-1-2 with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program in 2022-23, often shining against NCAA talent. The Red Wings took him 41st overall in 2023, and then he embarked on a 23-9-2 record as a freshman at Michigan State University. That was the most games he has lost since the start of COVID-19 back in 2020.

Internationally, Augustine has won gold and bronze at the World Juniors, gold and silver at the U-18s and was the nation’s top goalie at the men’s senior IIHF World Championship last May – edging out NHLers Charlie Lindgren, Alex Lyon and Alex Nedeljkovic.

Nothing will beat his play during the 2024 World Juniors, though. He was dialed in all tournament long, posting a 4-0-0 record with a .936 save percentage – the best in the tournament. It was just the start of big things to come for him last season, with Augustine earning Big 10 tournament MVP titles after leading MSU to the league championship. Now back for a second year, Augustine is 11-2-1 with two shutouts and a .930 save percentage – putting him back near the top of every notable category in the country.

“I always say I’m a competitive, athletic goalie,” Augustine said. “I just kind of use my skating to kind of put myself in position to make saves. That pretty much describes my game.”

Continued; great interview here.

Chiarot, Johansson embracing opportunities in Edvinsson’s absence

MLive’s Ansar Khan filed a game-day notebook which discusses the Red Wings’ defensemen who will have to step up in the absence of Simon Edvinsson:

“Great opportunity for our other D to step up,” [coach Derek] Lalonde said. “When we had lost Simon on the West Coast trip in Anaheim (Nov. 15) we didn’t handle it very well. We didn’t perform great from the back end, and even the other night when he was out some things found us. So, more minutes for our other D. They’ll step up and looking forward for the opportunity for the other guys.”

[Ben] Chiarot will remain paired with Moritz Seider. Justin Holl takes Chiarot’s former spot alongside Jeff Petry and [Albert] Johansson is paired with Erik Gustafsson.

“It’s never ideal losing a defenseman that early in the game, but I thought the guys did a great job,” Chiarot said. “I thought (assistant coach Bob Boughner) did a great job keeping everybody rolling through, keeping guys fresh every once in a while.”

Chiarot logged more than 29 minutes for the first time in three years.

“Felt good. Honestly, I enjoyed it. It was a lot of fun,” Chiarot said. “And we were saying after the game, we felt like we could have kept on going. Another period even so. Tells you that the boys are in shape.”

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Stockton on the Edvinsson-less Wings

The Hockey News’s Sam Stockton filed a game-day notebook which discusses Simon Edvinsson’s absence from the Wings’ blueline for the weekend:

Detroit was forced to finish Wednesday night’s win over the Flyers without defenseman Simon Edvinsson, and the Red Wings will have to make due without him again this evening.  After morning skate, coach Derek Lalonde ruled Edvinsson out for tonight’s game and tomorrow’s (the second leg of a home-and-home against Montreal at the Belle Centre), saying the 21-year-old Swede could be available for Monday’s game but adding “that would be a tall ask too.”  Lalonde did express a general optimism that Edvinsson wouldn’t be out long after the three-day holiday break in the middle of next week.

Of Edvinsson’s absence, Lalonde also said, “Great opportunity for our other D to step up. When we had lost Simon on the West Coast trip in Anaheim there, we didn’t handle it very well. We didn’t perform great on the back end. And even the other night when he was out, some things found us.”

…

Albert Johansson (a healthy scratch the Red Wings’ last two times out) will fold back into the lineup. When asked what he’s looking for from the rookie, Lalonde said, “Consistency in his game. I had liked Albert his last couple games out. He had a stretch of hockey there where some things were finding him. That was a tough West Coast trip for him, but he’s bounced back from that and was good, so I’m fully confident he’ll have some more consistency in the game. Things we saw in camp, things we saw last year, his ability to move the puck, just some confidence and some assertiveness in his game. And some consistency with it.”

Stockton also adds the following:

Continue reading Stockton on the Edvinsson-less Wings