Khan in the morning: Givani Smith steps up

The Detroit Red Wings didn’t display many positive signs over the course of their 5-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday, but, as MLive’s Ansar Khan notes, the break-out play of forward Givani Smith, who has struggled thus far, was indeed a good sign:

Givani Smith, whose struggles have caused him to be a healthy scratch in six games, played his best game of the season and was rewarded with his first point. He scored his team’s first goal at 10:19 of the second period, jamming in a loose puck. It cut Vegas’ lead to 2-1, providing brief momentum before the Golden Knights stretched the lead with a pair of goals in the final eight minutes of the period.

Smith also distracted goaltender Robin Lehner to facilitate Joe Veleno’s goal late in the third period.

“He’s a guy who can create a lot of havoc with his size and I thought tonight he did that,” Gagner said. “He got a goal in the paint, and that’s something we’ve talked about. We have to be able to get to the paint to score goals, and we got to be better defensively. I thought Smitty did his thing tonight. Hopefully something to build on.”

Continued; if Smith and Adam Erne can find some consistency to their games, the Red Wings would benefit greatly from their respective presences.

Red Wings-Golden Knights wrap-up: Wings lose 3rd straight on the road, Seider to unspecified shot block injury

The Detroit Red Wings dropped a 5-2 decision to the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night, and it was a particularly frustrating loss because the Red Wings pretty much kept up with the Golden Knights until the game got away from them.

Detroit is now 0-and-3 on their road trip, and has given up 5 goals against in 3 straight games, with Saturday’s road finale in Arizona wrapping up a brutal stretch of 11 games played over the course of 17 nights (and the Red Wings have lost 4 of their past 5).

Coach Jeff Blashill told Bally Sports Detroit’s Trevor Thompson that the Wings’ inability to practice due to the proximity of games and travel meant that the team’s defensive structure and overall structure “have dipped,” and he felt that an actual road practice in Arizona would help the Wings remedy their structural issues.

All of that being said, the Red Wings’ relative lack of depth has everyone worried about Moritz Seider after he took a shot off the right knee late in the 3rd period:

Sending good vibes to big Mo. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/IZZKWSOf6E— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) November 19, 2021

Our friends from Las Vegas are afflicted with a slew of their own injuries, so there was no sympathy from the Golden Knights for any potential personnel issues in Detroit. In fact, Zach Whitecloud, who scored the 2-0 and 3-1 goals for Vegas, returned to the lineup coming off an injury, as Vegas Hockey Now’s Owen Krepps noted:

Continue reading Red Wings-Golden Knights wrap-up: Wings lose 3rd straight on the road, Seider to unspecified shot block injury

Red Wings-Golden Knights quick take: Vegas scored on their chances, and Seider got hurt. Ouch.

The Detroit Red Wings attempted to snap their 2-game road slide opposite the surging Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night.

Detroit gained Dylan Larkin back into their lineup, and after a scoreless first period, things looked good for the Red Wings, but Vegas blew the doors off the game in the 2nd period, taking 2-0, 3-1 and ultimately 5-1 leads before Joe Veleno’s late goal made the score a semi-respectable 5-2.

Givani Smith got the only Wings goal that mattered, and Moritz Seider got dinged in the side of the knee with the puck late in the 3rd period, having to leave the game…

Sending good vibes to big Mo. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/IZZKWSOf6E— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) November 19, 2021

So we waited for news on that front.

And Detroit dropped to 0-and-3 on their road trip, which ends on Saturday night in Arizona.

Continue reading Red Wings-Golden Knights quick take: Vegas scored on their chances, and Seider got hurt. Ouch.

Game-day notebook round-up: Larkin got a false positive test, is okay to rejoin team; Staal is out

The Red Wings’ beat writers shared the news that Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin “false positive” tested for COVID during the Red Wings-Stars game on Tuesday, so Larkin will rejoin the team tonight in Vegas.

MLive’s Ansar Khan has more…

“Disbelief, frustration and then the possibility that I had COVID and trying to get out of there and not infect anyone, although I’d played two periods,” Larkin said. “I thought a lot about the guys and not having a bigger situation come out of it. Just an unfortunate situation and I really felt like we were coming on. I wasn’t really able to watch the third there.”

Coach Jeff Blashill noted how quickly COVID can spread through a team.

“It’s frustrating, but at the end of the day everybody is probably going through different things that can be frustrating with COVID,” Blashill said. “That’s just the reality of it. You got to deal with it.”

Vaccinated players and team personnel are required to be tested every 72 hours, but in a situation like this, they were all tested again after the Dallas game. Tyler Bertuzzi, the NHL’s lone unvaccinated player, is tested daily.

The Red Wings were tested earlier in the day Tuesday, but results weren’t available until later that evening.

“We’re at the mercy of the home team,” Blashill said. “Most of the teams in the league have the ability to get those turned around quickly (30 minutes, he said). Dallas doesn’t have that. I think they’re working towards that.”

As does the Free Press’s Helene St. James…

Continue reading Game-day notebook round-up: Larkin got a false positive test, is okay to rejoin team; Staal is out

Prospect round-up: Kivemaki 1A in Liiga; Wallinder’s 1A bests Soderblom’s goal in Rogle-Frolunda showdown

Of Red Wings prospect-related note in Europe today:

In the Finnish Liiga, Otto Kivenmaki had an assist, finishing even in 14:22 played as the Lahti Pelicans won 5-3 over SaiPa;

Eemil Viro finished at +1 in 18:26 played as TPS Turku won 5-2 over Assat Pori;

In the SHL, Albert Johansson finished even with 1 shot on goal in 17:44 played as Farjestads BK lost 3-2 to Malmo;

William Wallinder had an assist, finishing at +1 in 8:29 played as Rogle BK won 4-3 over Frolunda HC.

Theodor Niederbach finished even with 1 shot in 12:44 played for Frolunda, Elmer Soderblom had a goal on 3 shots, finishing at +1 in 15:50 played, and Rakapuckar’s Henrik Lehman reports that Simon Edvinsson was injured at the World Junior Championship’s Four Nations Cup and had to sit out the game:

Update: And in North America, Oscar Plandowski finished even in the Charlottetown Islanders’ 7-3 win over Moncton.

In the OHL, Pasquale Zito finished at -3 with 3 shots and a 7-for-15 faceoff record in the Windsor Spitfires’ 7-4 loss to Erie.

Vegas has the COVID blues, too, won’t hold morning skate today

According to Field Level Media’s preview of tonight’s Red Wings-Vegas Golden Knights game (10 PM EST on Bally Sports Detroit/ATT Sportsnet West/Sportsnet East/Sportsnet Ontario/Sportsnet Pacific/97.1 FM), the Vegas Golden Knights, who stand at 9-7-and-0 after Tuesday’s 4-2 loss to Carolina, have COVID issues:

Despite having to deal with a never-ending rash of injuries and illnesses, Vegas Golden Knights coach Peter DeBoer remains upbeat heading into Thursday night’s game against the Detroit Red Wings in Las Vegas.

The Golden Knights found out before Tuesday’s 4-2 home loss to Carolina that forward Jonathan Marchessault, who leads the team with nine goals, had entered COVID protocol joining forward William Carrier who was placed there on Monday.

The Golden Knights, who are 8-3 in their last 11 games, were already without key players like left wing Max Pacioretty (fractured left foot), center William Karlsson (broken foot), center Nolan Patrick (upper body), and defensemen Zach Whitecloud (hand surgery) and Alec Martinez (facial laceration).

Defenseman Shea Theodore left Tuesday’s loss after losing an edge and crashing into the end boards and Evgenii Dadonov also left with a facial laceration after getting hit in the face with a stick. The team added forward Michael Amadio to COVID protocol on Wednesday and also canceled its planned media availability.

Vegas is also without center Jack Eichel, obtained in a trade with Buffalo on Nov. 4, until the end of the February after he underwent artificial disc replacement surgery in his neck on Nov. 12.

“You’ve got to look for a silver lining,” DeBoer said after Tuesday’s loss. “Hopefully the silver lining is we’ll deal with it now and maybe we’ll get a little luck in the injury front down the stretch and at the important time of the year. That’s all you can hope for.”

“I don’t think anybody’s going to feel sorry for the Vegas Golden Knights in this league,” added forward Mark Stone, who recently returned from a right knee injury that sidelined him 12 games. “The success we’ve had in four years, nobody’s feeling sorry for us, so we’ve got to find ways to generate points, generate wins.”

NHL.com’s Danny Webster reported the following yesterday…

The Las Vegas Review-Journal’s David Schoen asked NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly about the Golden Knights’ COVID issues as well:

Continue reading Vegas has the COVID blues, too, won’t hold morning skate today

Prospect catch-up post: Larsson wins in Allsvenskan; LDN 1A in J20; Pickard stops 46 shots in Grand Rapids’ AHL loss

Of prospect-related note from Wednesday, in both Europe and North America:

In the Swedish Allsvenskan, Filip Larsson stopped 28 of 29 shots as HV71 Jonkoping won 2-1 over AIK Stockholm;

Jesper Eliasson was the back-up in Almtuna IS’s 5-3 win over Troja-Ljungby;

In the Swedish J20 league, Liam Dower Nilsson had an assist, finishing at +2 with 2 shots on goal in Frolunda HC’s 5-2 win over Rogle BK;

And in the AHL, the Grand Rapids Griffins dropped a 2-1 OT decision to the Chicago Wolves in their annual schoolday matinee game. Calvin Pickard stopped 46 shots in the loss, as the Griffins website’s recap notes:

Continue reading Prospect catch-up post: Larsson wins in Allsvenskan; LDN 1A in J20; Pickard stops 46 shots in Grand Rapids’ AHL loss