Tweets of note: Brandsegg-Nygard-less Red Wings Prospects win 3-2 vs. Dallas to sweep Prospect Games

The Detroit Red Wings closed out their two-game Prospect Games slate with a sweep, winning a tight 3-2 decision over the Dallas Stars’ prospects.

The Red Wings did so without the services of Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, who missed the game with a groin injury.

1st period: the Red Wings took a 1-0 lead at 14:58 of the 1st period, when Alexandre Doucet jabbed home the rebound of a good Hunter Johannes steal-cycle-and-shot:

The Wings also almost made it 2-0 on the power play late in the 1st period thanks to a goalpost by Nate Danielson:

Detroit was out-shot 10-7 in the 1st period, but, as Ken Kal suggested, the Red Wings’ defensive positioning and overall structure were excellent.

Seeing that kind of cohesion develop over the course of only two days is an endorsement of both the coaching staff and the players collective buy-in.

2nd period: Carter Gylander had to make some good stops as the Red Wings’ structure broke down during an early-period power play, and when Dallas earned a power play of their own on an undisciplined penalty by Chase Lefebvre, Gylander gobbled up the Stars’ shots.

The ice looked very level as the Wings and Stars met the halfway mark of the game, with the next goal looking incredibly important, and Dallas began to buzz around the Wings’ net, but a combination of good defensive structure and Gylander’s goaltending…

But Detroit chose to swap out Gylander for Landon Miller after Gylander pitched a 12-save shutout.

Miller had to battle his way through a Stars assault that included a goalpost behind Miller about 12:30 into the 2nd, but he settled down quickly…

Regrettably, Dallas tied the game 1-1 at 13:26, with Emil Hemming tipping a shot by defenseman Luke Krys.

Thankfully, Hunter Johannes found the rebound of a cycling pass by Amadeus Lombardi and Alexandre Doucet, and Detroit made it 2-1 at 16:45.

Borya Valis nearly gave the Wings a 2-goal lead, but Stars goaltender Bryan Thompson made a pair of point-blank saves.

3rd period: Dallas took an early hooking penalty at 36 seconds of the 3rd to give the Red Wings a power play…

But the Stars’ Anthony Romano hit the goalpost shorthanded as Shai Buium was hobbling toward the bench after blocking a shot with his right ankle, so Dallas earned the best chance of the Wings’ man advantage.

Dallas continued to press as the 3rd period progressed, but Miller was strong in goal.

Doucet tried to set up Lombardi about 5:30 into the 3rd period, and Doucet should have shot on the 2-on-1…

Dallas really worked the rope-a-dope in the 3rd period to try and score the game-tying goal, slowly but surely attacking, regrouping and attacking again…

And Detroit was getting “almosts” as Nate Danielson swiped the puck away from a Stars defender and almost tucked it through Thompson.

Dallas clanged another shot off the goalpost behind Miller at 10:55…

But Dallas also took a penalty at 13:39 for too many men, and Emmitt Finnie made him pay, scoring a top-shelf power play marker to make it 3-1 at 14:07 from Jakub Rychlovsky and Nate Danielson.

Dallas received a spurious power play as Brayden Edwards took a penalty with 5:23 remaining in the 3rd for a hook, and Dallas got their own set of “almosts” before pulling their goaltender with 3:20 remaining.

Nate Danielson thought he’d finished the scoring with an empty-netter with 2:06 remaining, but the Red Wings were called offside, negating the goal.

Dallas pulled the goaltender Thompson again, but a combination of big Miller stops, good blocks by the Red Wings’ defense, and another goalpost for Christian Kyrou, nailed down the win.

Dallas did score a goal with all of 0.6 seconds remaining, with Anthony Romano chipping a backhand over Miller’s blocker, but the Wings prevailed and swept the Prospect Games.

Dallas was far better in the 2nd game–full credit to them, they made the Red Wings work very, very hard for their victory–but Detroit hung in there and turned the tables on the Stars in terms of playing rope-a-dope hockey.

HSJ: Former Wings assistant equipment manager Dan Kerstetter passes away

The Free Press’s Helene St. James reports that a member of the Red Wings’ family has passed away:

The Detroit Red Wings are mourning the death of Dan Kerstetter, a Michigan State Police Officer who a decade ago spent three years working for the team.

Dan Kerstetter died Sunday after being struck by a car on the side of Interstate 75 Downriver on Friday, according to officials. A Motor Carrier Officer with the Metro North Post was stopped on the side of I-75 northbound near Dix in Lincoln Park conducting a traffic stop, when his patrol vehicle was struck at around 8:30 a.m., Michigan State Police Second District said in a post on X.

From 2012-15, Kerstetter worked as an assistant equipment for the Wings from 2012 to 2015.

“We’re all very sad and shaken by what has happened,” longtime Wings equipment manager Paul Boyer told the Free Press on Sunday. “We was a good friend to all of our staff. He was a personal friend of mine.

“We’ve very sad. We’re sad for his family. There’s no words that can say it. We’re all just shaken.”

Continued;

Tweet of note: Michael Brandsegg-Nygard out with a groin injury

Per The Athletic’s Max Bultman:

Update: Here’s more from Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen:

Detroit Red Wings 2024 first-round pick Michael Brandsegg-Nygard isn’t playing today against the Dallas Stars  because of a “slight tweek” of his groin.

Brandsegg-Nygard looked impressive, registering an assist, playing on Detroit’s top line, in a 5-1 win against Dallas Saturday in Game 1 of their two-game prospect series.

“It’s not bad at all, I don’t know what the number scale is, but there’s no sense in risking it with a quick turnaround,” Detroit Director of Player Development Dan Cleary said.

Will Bransdegg-Nygard play in North America this upcoming season, or will he stay with Skelleftea AIK?

“Steve (Yzerman) obviously is ultimately going to make that decision. But to some degree, Michael will also make that decision,” Cleary said. “It’s going to be a great experience for him, either which way, He was in Skelleftea, just prior to coming here. So I don’t know. We’ll see how it goes. Obviously, he’s going to play some preseason games and get a feel. We’re just gonna sit back and watch.”

Brandsegg-Nygard’s game is advanced for someone his age. Norway used him at the World Championships, playing him on a line with NHLer Mats Zuccarello 

“He’s a really strong kid,” Cleary said. ” Obviously, physically, he’s certainly not 18 years old, so he’s fit, he’s in good shape. But the small ice certainly is going to be something that I think he’ll benefit from. He’s got a wicked shot and release timing, and he’s strong enough to win those 50/50 battles to get loose in front. I’m really excited to see him play. I thought he looked real solid yesterday, as did a lot of other guys.”

Tweet of note: Red Wings release lineup for Game 2 vs. Dallas, stream link

Here is the Red Wings’ lineup and today’s stream link for the Prospect Game between Detroit and Dallas at 2:30 PM EDT:

Update: The stream link goes to the app download page. I’ll post the stream link as soon as it’s up.

Update #2:

Prospect round-up: ASP misses Skelleftea’s CHL loss vs. Sheffield; Forslund moves up to Mora’s 2nd line

Of Red Wings prospect-related note:

In the Champions Hockey League, neither Michael Brandsegg-Nygard nor Axel Sandin Pellikka (injury) took part in Skelleftea AIK’s 3-2 loss to the Sheffield Steelers;

And in the Swedish J20 league, Charlie Forslund played on the second line, a promotion from the fourth line, but he registered no points in Mora IK’s 4-1 win over Almtuna.

Tweets of note: Compliments and Walleye baby news

Of Red Wings and Toledo Walleye-related note today:

  1. Let the compliments flow!

2. Congratulations to Brandon Hawkins and family!

Reminder: Detroit plays Dallas in the second Prospect Games affair at 2:30 PM EDT

Per the Red Wings on Twitter:

The game will only stream on DetroitRedWings.com and the Wings’ app. No YouTube or Facebook today.

Tweet of note: the Plymouth gang

Per WXYZ’s Brad Galli:

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