Red Wings-Islanders Tweetcap: Detroit escapes the first-game-back trap, earns a measure of revenge vs. the Isles

The Detroit Red Wings opened their pre-Christmas stretch run by hosting the New York Islanders on Tuesday at Little Caesars Arena, facing a team that’s won 3 straight and 6 of their past 7 games.

The Islanders have also pummeled the Red Wings in their first two meetings, defeating Detroit 7-2 and then 5-0, so there was a bit of a revenge factor involved in tonight’s affair.

The Red Wings are also in a situation where they need to accumulate as many wins as possible to remain in the Atlantic Division and/or Wild Card playoff race as the Atlantic division’s stacked with incredible parity at present, so every night is a challenge not to be overlooked.

On Tuesday night at LCA, the Red Wings earned a measure of revenge, winning a 3-2 decision over the Islanders that was very hard-fought.

Emil Heineman would actually open the scoring at 4:27 of the 1st period, and the Wings looked pretty gassed throughout the 1st and part of the 2nd, but the Wings shook off the “First Game Back From A West Coast Swing Sleepies” (FGBFAWCSS) as the 2nd period progressed, and in the 3rd period…

Axel Sandin Pellikka would break Sorokin’s shutout at 2:03, from Lucas Raymond; 1:22 later, at 3:55, Alex DeBrincat would score a power play marker from Seider and Raymond, to break the tie…

And while Scott Mayfield would tie things up at 11:26, a bad penalty by Mayfield would yield Alex DeBrincat’s game-winner, his 20th, from Seider and Raymond, at 17:43 of the 3rd.

Patrick Roy would pull the stellar Sorokin, but the Red Wings spent most of their time almost getting Alex DeBrincat a hat trick instead while the Isles were up 6 skaters to 5.

PREGAME: John Gibson and Ilya Sorokin led their respective teams out onto the ice at Little Caesars Arena…

Continue reading Red Wings-Islanders Tweetcap: Detroit escapes the first-game-back trap, earns a measure of revenge vs. the Isles

Red Wings-Blackhawks Tweetcap: DeBrincat, Kane, Gibson star as Detroit takes a 4-0 decision from Chicago

The Red Wings attempted to close out their 6-game road trip with a victory against the Connor Bedard-less Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday at the United Center. Wrapping up the road trip with a series of 3 games in 4 nights and 4 in 6 wouldn’t be easy, but these road trips always present challenges in terms of the quantity of games played over a short period of time.

On Saturday night, the Blackhawks gave Detroit no inch, out-shooting Detroit 26-24 and an ugly 12-4 in the 3rd period…

But Detroit got a whole bunch of goals early, and John Gibson was up to the task the rest of the way, helping Detroit pitch a 26-save shutout en route to a 4-0 win over the Blackhawks.

Alex DeBrincat would score only 55 seconds into the 1st period, from Copp and Kane, and DeBrincat would return the favor at 4:35, setting up Kane for a 2-0 marker.

After Detroit killed off a couple of Chicago power plays–3, to be exact–Emmitt Finnie scored his 7th from Raymond and ASP, who danced along the blueline to set up the goal, at 14:23 of the 2nd…

And while the Hawks dominated the 3rd, Alex DeBrincat would earn his 3rd point of the night via an empty-netter, despite doing his best to set up Patrick Kane repeatedly for goal #499. Instead, DeBrincat would score his 18th of the season, and Kane would be stuck on #498.

Detroit took 4 of their 6 road games, and while they didn’t quite sweep Western Canada, the Wings won 3 games over the course of 4 nights and 4 over 6 in the final portion of their road trip. Ultimately, the 4-1-and-1 road trip gives Detroit 9 of 12 on the road trip.

Now the Wings go home and play a set of back-to-backs on Tuesday/Wednesday (vs. the Islanders and Mammoth), they get another two-day break on the 18th and 19th, and they play matinees against Washington on the 20th and 21st. A game at home against Dallas will wrap up the pre-Christmas schedule.

PREGAME: John Gibson and Arvid Soderblom led their respective teams out onto the ice at the United Center:

Continue reading Red Wings-Blackhawks Tweetcap: DeBrincat, Kane, Gibson star as Detroit takes a 4-0 decision from Chicago

Red Wings-Oilers Tweetcap: Hyman, McDavid jinx Wings in Edmonton

The Detroit Red Wings played in a back-to-back game on Thursday night, looking to establish a 4-game winning streak while battling the explosive Edmonton Oilers.

On Thursday evening, the Red Wings somewhat predictably ran out of gas, and they ran into a star-studded Edmonton team that was able to both impose its will upon Detroit, get great goaltending from Stuart Skinner, and take advantage of some poor time management by a couple of Wings D shifts where the Oilers scored when Detroit’s defenders got caught on the ice for over 2 minutes.

Ultimately, Zach Hyman would score at 14:25 on the power play (and a cheap one at that as Patrick Kane barely hooked Human), Mattias Ekholm would score through an Albert Johansson screen (he and Travis Hamonic got caught out very long) at 2:46 of the 2nd…

And while Simon Edvinsson would score by driving the net (from Danielson and Soderblom) at 5:41 of the 2nd, Hyman would score again at 17:48, this time with Seider and Edvinsson on the ice for 2+ minutes, via a gorgeous between-the-legs pass from McDavid that left Hyman to tap the puck in behind 4 Wings defenders…

And Hyman would score his empty-net hat trick at 18:43 of the 3rd, on a 2-on-1 with McDavid, who had 4 assists on the night.

Cam Talbot was valiant in the net despite giving up 3 goals on 28 shots against, the Wings were very good, but they couldn’t finish on Skinner, and they made just enough mental mistakes and managed their ice time just poorly enough to get beat.

The Wings will stay in Edmonton tonight and fly to Chicago tomorrow to close out their 6-game road trip against the Hawks on Saturday night.

PREGAME: Cam Talbot and Stuart Skinner led their respective teams out onto the ice at Rogers Place:

Continue reading Red Wings-Oilers Tweetcap: Hyman, McDavid jinx Wings in Edmonton

Red Wings-Flames Tweetcap: Detroit ropes a knuckle-biter in Stampede City

The Detroit Red Wings faced a Calgary Flames team that had gone 7-2-and-1 over the course of their past 10 games on Wednesday night, with Calgary hoping to sweep a 4-game home stand. Detroit was looking build upon a 2-game winning streak as they entered a set of 3 games to be played over the course of 4 nights.

On Wednesday night in Calgary, the Red Wings won a WILD ONE in the Saddledome, roping Calgary up 4-0 over the first 40 minutes of play, only to surrender 3 goals in the 3rd period, and emerging with a 4-3 victory (in no small part thanks to a 34-stop performance by John Gibson).

Alex DeBrincat would open the scoring with a nice little give-and-take from Patrick Kane at 1:02, and at 4:33, Axel Sandin Pellikka ripped a one-timer from DeBrincat through Logan Cooley…

At 7:41, DeBrincat would score his second goal of the game from Andrew Copp, and at 9:09 of the 2nd, Larkin would score from Raymond on a glorious break-away-from-the-pack race…

But Joel Farabee was given a penalty shot as the Simon Edvinsson-less Wings (Edvinsson suffered a “lower-body injury” and left the game after 2 periods of play) surrendered a rush where ASP got caught hooking Farabee, and he beat Gibson over the glove one-on-one at 8:02…

At 9:07, Matt Coronato would make it 4-2, and at 14:40, MacKenzie Weegar blasted a shot through a sea of Red Wings and Flames to make it 4-3…

But Detroit held on and emerged with a victory that was waaaaaaay harder than it should have been to grab, especially with the Edmonton Oilers resting at home, waiting for tomorrow night’s affair.

PREGAME: John Gibson and Devin Cooley led their respective teams onto the ice at the Scotiabank Saddledome:

Continue reading Red Wings-Flames Tweetcap: Detroit ropes a knuckle-biter in Stampede City

Red Wings-Canucks Tweetcap: Gibson’s shutout powers Wings to 4-0 win over Vancouver

The Detroit Red Wings emerged from an 0-3-and-1 slide via Saturday’s 4-3 victory over the Seattle Kraken, and Detroit headed into Western Canada to begin a stretch of 3 games in 4 nights against Vancouver (Monday), Calgary (Wednesday) and Edmonton (Thursday).

On Monday night, the Red Wings won what I can only describe as a weird one. Vancouver out-shot Detroit 36-20, and had a fair amount of Grade-A scoring chances, but John Gibson’s sight lines were clear, so he pitched his first shutout as a Red Wing…

And James van Riemsdyk (at 14:14 of the 1st) and Andrew Copp (at 15:15 of the 1st) pushed the Wings out to a 2-0 lead, which is pretty much all they needed en route to a 4-0 victory over Vancouver.

Nate Danielson would score his second goal on a gorgeous little give and go between Kasper and Sandin Pellikka (who also set up Copp’s goal), and Dylan Larkin would get his 16th via an empty-netter…

But the Wings really owed Gibson, because as great as the Wings played above the red line, they were shaky at times in front of their own goaltender against a struggling Canucks team, and thankfully, Gibson has begun to deliver.

All in all, the Red Wings are now 2-0-and-1 going into games 4, 5 and 6 of their 6-game road trip, about to embark on a set of 3 games to be played over the course of 4 nights, so they needed these points, and the “how” is a little less important than the “how many.”

2. Necessary. Thank you, John.

PREGAME: John Gibson and Kevin Lankinen led their respective teams out onto the ice at Rogers Place (and Cam Talbot was last in the warmup line)…

Continue reading Red Wings-Canucks Tweetcap: Gibson’s shutout powers Wings to 4-0 win over Vancouver

Quick health update

Hi, everybody. Here’s an update on the state of my health:

I’m still doing the “Tweetcaps” so that you have some sort of content and that I don’t feel completely useless, but my fatigue from whatever I’m suffering from has not gone away, and I tend to need a day to recover before I’m able to work on the next game.

I did see my doctor this past Monday–I had a physical this week–and I’ll be having a significant number of labs taken via a blood draw this upcoming Monday. I hope that we’ll find an answer as to what’s going on from the blood tests.

I’m incredibly, incredibly frustrated with my continued illness. I want to come back every morning, and I keep hoping when I go to bed that I’ll feel good enough to sit up and work the next day, but that has yet to happen, and it’s driving me nuts. I’m doing my best to get back, but my body isn’t responding, and it’s tremendously disappointing. I can take care of Aunt Annie, but that’s about it. My own self-care has really suffered over the past couple of months, and it sucks.

I still want to come back and work the blog as I have previously been able to work, but my body is not cooperating.

I love this job and I do not plan on giving it up, but my hiatus continues for the present moment. I just want to get back to work, and I’m doing everything I can to get healthy again.

Raymond + ASP + Danielson + a 1st round pick for Quinn Hughes? No, thank you.

As the hype and buzz regarding the Red Wings pursuing Vancouver Canucks captain Quinn Hughes percolates around the NHL, the Vancouver Province’s Ben Kuzma provides a reality check in terms of what the Canucks’ asking price might include:

He doesn’t have a no-trade clause, so the successful bidder needs assurance he’s not just a one-year lease before hitting free agency. That’s where ties will play a prominent role.

There are his formative years in Michigan with the U.S. National Team Development Program and the NCAA Wolverines. It’s also where he has a home. And at age 18, Hughes was the youngest player in the 2018 world hockey championship and looked like a veteran as the U.S. claimed bronze.

Long-serving Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin was his world championship teammate and roommate. They’ve also trained together and formed a lasting and respectful bond. And Hughes has long admired Detroit winger Patrick Kane.

The Canucks could push for first-line right-winger Lucas Raymond, 23, second-pairing rookie defenceman Axel Sandin-Pellikka, 20, first year third-line centre Nate Danielson, 21, plus a 2026 first-round draft pick. Raymond, Sandin-Pellikka and Danielson are first-round picks.

Raymond had 80 points (27-53) last season, and would be a vital addition if Kiefer Sherwood, and possibly Conor Garland, are traded. Sandin-Pellikka projects as a power play quarterback, and Danielson needs to develop a complete game at the NHL level.

Continued; I’m fairly certain that Canucks GM Jim Rutherford WOULD ask for either one of Lucas Raymond or Moritz Seider, a top prospect like ASP or Danielson, and a 1st round pick as compensation for Hughes…

And that’s why this is not going to happen.

Red Wings-Bruins Tweetcap, rematch version: The squeaky win gives the Wings some ‘grease’

The Detroit Red Wings attempted to snap an 0-3-and-1 streak against the same Boston Bruins team that delivered a 3-2 shootout loss to the Wings on Saturday evening, all ahead of a 6-game road trip that will test the team’s resolve.

On Tuesday nigh at Little Caesars Arena, the Red Wings prevailed in a 5-4 decision over the Boston Bruins, nearly blowing 3-0 and 5-2 leads in the process…

But John Gibson, 2 bad 5-hole goals included, stopped 31 of 35 shots, Detroit was able to yank Jeremy Swayman, who gave up 5 on 23, and James van Riemsdyk, Moritz Seider, Alex DeBrincat, Ben Chiarot and Lucas Raymond all scored…

Seider had a goal and two assists, Kane had 2 assists, DeBrincat and Raymond both had a goal and an assist, Danielson of all people led the Wings with 5 shots, Bernard-Docker had 6 hits, and there was this, too:

PREGAME: John Gibson and Jeremy Swayman led their respective teams out onto the ice…

Continue reading Red Wings-Bruins Tweetcap, rematch version: The squeaky win gives the Wings some ‘grease’

Red Wings-Bruins Tweetcap: Shootout loss, momentum win

The Detroit Red Wings opened a 2-game home-and-home series against the Boston Bruins while battling through a 3-game losing streak. Boston wouldn’t have the services of David Pastrnak, but when you’re struggling like the Red Wings, the enemy within is often more difficult to battle than the enemies you face.

On Saturday night at TD Garden, the Red Wings lost a very literally hard-fought game to the Boston Bruins, dropping a 3-2 shootout decision.

Jeremy Swayman stopped 26 of 28 shots and 3 Red Wings shooters; Cam Talbot stopped 17 of 19 and afforded Casey Mittlestadt the shootout winner.

However, the Wings rallied from 2 1-goal deficits (both on goals from Morgan Geekie) in a low-event game, via goals from Lucas Raymond at 6:38 of the 3rd and Michael Rasmussen at 18:06, with Cam Talbot pulled for an extra attacker.

Dylan Larkin also had 2 assists, and Moritz Seider worked his ass off to rally after getting into a scrap which Mark Kastelic won handily.

PREGAME: Cam Talbot and Jeremy Swayman led their respective teams out for warmups…

Continue reading Red Wings-Bruins Tweetcap: Shootout loss, momentum win

Red Wings-Lightning Tweetcap: The easy blame’s on Gibson. The real truth is that the Wings’ defensive game sucks right now.

The Detroit Red Wings headed into today’s match-up with the Tampa Bay Lightning having lost 3 of their past 4 games, and having surrendered 18 goals over their past 4 endeavors.

Sitting just outside the NHL’s playoff picture, it isn’t necessarily time for the team to panic, but it’s definitely time for the Wings to recommit themselves to playing sound defensive hockey.

Tampa Bay came into today’s game boasting a 5-game winning streak, so the Wings faced a stiff challenge today.

On Friday afternoon at Little Caesars Arena, the Red Wings laid another egg, bluntly, dropping a 6-3 decision to the depleted Lightning.

J.T. Compher would open the scoring 11:29 into the 1st, off a fine assist from Michael Rasmussen (who had his best game of the year), but Raddysh, Goncalves and Gourde would give Tampa a 3-1 lead by 3:01 of the 2nd period, and while the aforementioned Rasmussen would make it 3-2 at 3:13 of the 2nd…

Yanni Gourde was able to hack a rebound over a prone Gibson at 16:09, and after Dylan Larkin scored the 4-3 goal at 18:26, Tampa held Detroit off the scoreboard during a mid-3rd-period power play, and just after killing it, Jake Guentzel tipped the 5-3 marker at the top of the crease at 12:37 of the 3rd.

Detroit pulled Gibson with about 3:30 left in the 3rd, but Brandon Hagel simply scored an empty-netter at 17:13 to afford Tampa a larger margin of victory than perhaps was needed.

While Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 33 of 36 shots, I’m not blaming John Gibson for this one. Tampa had too many looks that were either involving traffic, rebounds or tips, and it’s unfair to blame the goalie alone when the defense in front of him was so very atrocious.

Detroit’s got to clamp down defensively if they are to head into Boston and snap that 3-game losing streak tomorrow night.

PREGAME: John Gibson and Andrei Vasilevskiy led their respective teams out onto the ice for warmups:

Continue reading Red Wings-Lightning Tweetcap: The easy blame’s on Gibson. The real truth is that the Wings’ defensive game sucks right now.