The Malik Report

MLive’s Ansar Khan offers “good” and “concerning” observations as the Red Wings hit the 20-game mark, and among his six observations are the following:

Dynamic duo of rookies: It has been 20 years since teammates finished 1-2 in Calder Trophy balloting (Dany Heatley and Ilya Kovalchuk of the Atlanta Thrashers). It could happen this season with Lucas Raymond (team-leading 19 points) and Moritz Seider (13 points), who rank 1-2 in the rookie scoring race. Raymond, the fourth overall pick in 2020, has fit in seamlessly on the top line with Larkin and Tyler Bertuzzi due to his passing ability, dangerous shot, and hockey sense. Seider, the sixth selection in 2019, has been their best and most consistent defenseman, playing all situations and logging more than 22 minutes a game.

…

Captain regains form: Larkin’s first season as captain was disappointing (nine goals and 23 points in 44 games). He has equaled that goal total in just 16 games and is averaging a point a game (16 points) despite some unusual circumstances. He was suspended for one game (punching Tampa Bay’s Mathieu Joseph in retaliation for a hit from behind), missed three games due to a family emergency, and was forced to sit out the third period in Dallas last Tuesday because of what turned out to a false positive COVID-19 test.

…

Power play not potent enough: Sure, it was the preseason, but the Red Wings showed positive signs on the power play under new assistant coach Alex Tanguay. And while they have improved slightly, from 11.4 percent last season to 15.8 percent currently, it’s still not good enough. Despite having more depth and options with the additions of Raymond, Seider, Nick Leddy and Pius Suter and a healthy Bertuzzi, some of the same issues persist. They’re not getting enough shots on net and have been one shot and done too often.

Continued

DobberHockey’s Tom Collins posted a list of 10 players who should be able to sustain their scoring paces after starting strongly, and Red Wings rookie Lucas Raymond made Collins’ list:

2. Lucas Raymond: Raymond is a great example of a coach who puts a rookie in the best opportunity to succeed. How many times do we see a head coach bring a rookie in slowly, putting him on the fourth line to average seven minutes a night and forcing the rookie to “earn” his spot? Then the rookie doesn’t produce and it takes years before they are given a real shot. Despite the great preseason Raymond had, there was still talk he was going to be sent down to start the season. Instead, he was rewarded and made the team. He was immediately put on the top line and top power-play unit, where he continues to stay. His points-per-game may slow up a little, but as long as he is given the opportunity, he could flirt with 70 points. 

Continued; Raymond might not hit 70 points, but if he stays healthy, he’s proven to be a consistent contributor.

The Free Press’s Helene St. James posted a subscriber-only article discussing 10 observations she’s made as the Red Wings hit the 20-game mark, or the “quarter pole” of their 82-game schedule:

Luke at him: Lucas Raymond picked up his 12th assist of the season on Larkin’s goal Saturday. The rookie’s performance really is remarkable for his consistency. He has points in 12 games, and 19 after 20 games. That’s only two behind Steve Yzerman’s pace in his rookie year of 1983-84.

…

Bert backs off: Tyler Bertuzzi’s early scoring pace — 14 points over his first 10 games — was not sustainable, but his overall play has dropped. He has two points during his past seven games, has been prone to turnovers and hasn’t played with the grit that makes him so effective. For the Wings to rebound, they need Bertuzzi back on his ‘A’ game.

…

Power outage: The Wings have one power play goal in their past seven games, during which they’ve had roughly 21 minutes total with an extra skater. They had two power plays in the second period Saturday but weren’t able to build on their 1-0 lead. It’s been an issue for several seasons, but this season there are enough skilled players to form two units. Coaches have moved players around on the units, but this is another area where the Wings need to gain some confidence.

Playoffs? The Wings are right in the middle of the pack in their division; they entered Sunday at No. 4 in the Atlantic, a couple points out of a playoff spot (though it’s skewed somewhat by the disparity in games played). But they’re only a bit below .500, which is pretty good, all in all. They’re certainly more fun to watch than the previous couple seasons’ version of the franchise. They need to use this mini-break to recharge and get back to being a team that out-hustles its opponent regularly.

Continued (paywall)

This is damn impressive, per David Gunnarsson, a.k.a. “DaveArt“:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by David Gunnarsson (@daveart)

As the Free Press’s Helene St. James notes, tomorrow night, Bally Sports Detroit and the Jamie Daniels Foundation will air the “Celebrity Roast of Brett Hull” at 8 PM EST and 9:30 PM EST.

There is a silent auction of some pretty cool charity items up right now on the Jamie Daniels Foundation’s auction page, as St. James points out:

Brett Hull was known for his shot and his boisterous personality, and his tenure with the Detroit Red Wings made him a natural to be in the spotlight for the third annual Jamie Daniels Foundation roast.

The reason behind the celebrity roast, which will be telecast at 8 p.m. Monday on Bally Sports Detroit, is the tragedy of substance use disorder, a disease that continues to devastate society. The roast raises money for the cause, with a focus on prevention and recovery.

Hull follows Scotty Bowman and Mickey Redmond in the spotlight.

“He’s a natural,” Ken Daniels said. “We told him it’s more of a tribute. I mean, nobody really gets roasted, though many of the stories on there are pretty damn good with Brett. We have Brian Burke and Garth Butcher and Kelly Chase, his uncle Dennis and Ken Hitchcock. There are many stories. Mike Modano is in there.”

Ken Daniels and Lisa Daniels-Goldman are still hard at work helping to de-stigmatize the diagnosis and treatment of substance use disorder:

It’s enjoyable, but also emotionally draining for Daniels, the Wings’ play-by-play announcer. He and Lisa Daniels-Goldman established the foundation in 2018, two years after their son, Jamie, died from an overdose at 23 after ingesting a synthetic opioid.

“We show families who have lost a loved one to SUD,” Daniels said. “In the 12 months that ended in April, over 100,000 people died from opioids.

“This is about continuing the conversation. In three years, we’ve raised close to $1.2 million, which is pretty remarkable.”

My blog lives a sort of double existence as I have a “Twitter audience,” which is 9,000 strong, and a blog audience which is not quite as big. I find it interesting that the two groups of TMR followers can be discussing two completely different things.

This evening, the Twitter folks who follow @georgemalik are still pissed off about the way that the Red Wings’ 2-1 OT loss to Arizona last night ended:

Now there are a dozen reasons why this goal didn’t have to count as the gamer, from the lazy Michael Rasmussen icing that cost the Wings the game-tying goal from Ryan Dzingel at 13:31 of the 3rd to the Red Wings’ lack of killer instinct in the 3rd period, where the Wings went from out-shooting Arizona 16-6 in the 2nd period to being out-shot 13-10…

But Red Wings captain was pretty pissed off after the game, mostly with Jakub Chychrun being allowed to whack the puck out of Alex Nedeljkovic’s glove, as he told Bally Sports Detroit:

Ultimately, two penalties were committed on the play: Chychrun hacked the puck out of Nedeljkovic’s glove, and, when Phil Kessel pitchforked Nedeljkovic in his crease, Kessel prevented Nedeljkovic from getting back from the lip of his crease into said crease to stop Clayton Keller from scoring.

But the goal counted after an NHL “war room” review, and that’s an indictment of two things:

1. The NHL, for no longer protecting goaltenders;
2. And the Red Wings, for not possessing the killer instinct to score that necessary 2-0 or 2-1 goal that would have provided Detroit with a 3rd period cushion.

One way or another, the game is over, and the Coyotes won it. That’s the biggest issue to be rectified–the result–and the process by which one rectifies that is by what the Red Wings can do–move forward as they come home, practice, and prepare for a two-game week by sharpening their all-round games.

Detroit needs to both score goals and surrender fewer goals against, and both issues were on full display last night. That’s the Red Wings’ problem to solve, through practice and playing better vs. St. Louis on Wednesday and Buffalo on Saturday.

The last month has been pretty hard in the Malik household, and in full disclosure, I’m about to share some information that may seem irrelevant to me trying to do my job, so if you’re not into this sort of thing, you may want to scroll on.

But I have found that sharing “what’s going on” seems to help people, although I’m not looking for pity or even sympathy here, just understanding, so we’re gonna get into the reasons why TMR has been “banged-up” of late.

Anyway…

Continue reading Banged-up but battling

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff looks back at Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin’s 2021-2022 season thus far, which has included a suspension for fighting back against Mathieu Joseph, a family emergency that took him away from the team for a week, and a false positive COVID test that sidelined him for the third period of what was ultimately a Wings loss.

As Duff notes, Larkin is displaying a level of maturity at 25 years of age that you’d hope the Wings’ captain would display:

Dealing with a serious neck injury over the summer and a family crisis earlier this year, Larkin is admitting to taking stock of his life. He is trying to step away from emotional reactions. Instead he’s choosing to take a step back, seeking out the best response during such trying situations.

“I think the highs and lows . . . they’re pretty dramatic at times, especially if you let them be,” Larkin said. “I feel like at times I’ve really let them get to me. This year, I really worked on not letting that happen, whether it’s going well or it’s not, whether things come into your life and take you out of the lineup for a week or you can’t play a third period. I’m really just trying not to let it get to me and be grateful that I’m here.”

That’s certainly the mature way to handle such scenarios. And perhaps it’s also playing a role in what’s so far been a tremendous rebound campaign for the Detroit captain. Already, Larkin has scored nine goals. That’s as many as he tallied all of last season.

Regardless, Larkin’s ability to also recognize that it’s the best approach for him and his team is quite impressive.

Continued; on the ice, Larkin is the Red Wings’ “engine, “and off the ice, he’s their conscience. That’s all you can ask from a young captain.

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan filed a subscriber-only article discussing the Red Wings “at the quarter pole” as the 8-9-and-3 Wings hit the 20-game mark in Saturday’s 2-1 OT loss to the Arizona Coyotes.

There are many positives for the Red Wings ahead of a more favorable practice and game schedule in December, after playing 11 games in 17 nights this past month, but the Wings’ good habits have fallen on hard times as the games piled up and the lack of practice time hurt their structure:

The way the Wings played when starting the season 4-2-1, then winning four of five games after losing four consecutive games to open November, was encouraging for a team that was learning how to win.

“(The) swagger starting the season, we played hard and confident,” Larkin said.

But on this recent four-game trip, issues on team defense, inconsistent offense, and signs the Wings hadn’t completely learned how to put teams away all surfaced.

“This past road trip we haven’t been as confident,” Larkin said. “With a one-goal lead (such as Saturday), we have to be a way more confident hockey team. We haven’t been able to practice much. But we’re going back home, have a couple of hard practices and start figuring things out and get back to what it takes for us to be successful. Playing hard, together and playing fast.”

Saturday’s gut-wrenching loss was a sign this particular Wings’ roster still is grasping for contender’s status. The Wings held that 1-0 lead on the Coyotes for much of the game, and yet, weren’t able to snare that second goal, which could have been the difference in the game.

The Wings played too much in the defensive end as the game progressed, and ultimately, it cost them.

“We didn’t have enough push, maybe not push, but sustained pressure and it’s a balancing act,” Blashill said. “We have to keep working and figuring it out. We haven’t won enough as a group here over the last number of years to say that we know how to do that. We’re still working to do that, and we’ve made progress at times, but it’s something we have to keep getting better at. This is the area, probably the biggest area, when you have leads, and you’re not able to build on that lead, finding a way to win. And I do think it’s a big area we have to keep growing as a group.”

Continued (paywall)

As the Red Wings return home from an 0-3-and-1 road trip, MLive’s Ansar Khan discusses the Red Wings’ inability to close out games, as illustrated by both their road and home records of late:

“You got to find ways to grind out those games like that to a win,” Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. “We played good enough to win the hockey game, so it’s unfortunate to walk out and not have won. We created enough scoring chances to win. I thought overall we defended much better.”

The Red Wings (8-9-2) continue to be streaky. In the past three weeks, they have gone 0-3-1, followed by a 4-1-0 run and now another 0-3-1 skid.

They squandered an opportunity to pick up two points against the team with the worst record in the NHL (3-13-2).

The Red Wings started the trip with a 5-3 loss in Columbus Monday, a game they led 3-2 with less than five minutes remaining in regulation.

“I thought the biggest thing that hurt us tonight was we got to continue to learn how to play real smart, how to not give them much in the third but sustain pressure and score the next goal,” Blashill said. “They had more pressure than we did in the third. They double-shifted that line with Keller and (Phil) Kessel and they sustained a ton of pressure. So, it’s a learning process for our group and it’s something that at times I think we’ve done well. This is a hard league and you got to continue to find ways to grow as a group.”

Continued