The Malik Report

The Detroit Red Wings face a difficult road trip this week, facing the Columbus Blue Jackets (Monday), Dallas Stars (Tuesday), Vegas Golden Knights (Thursday) and Arizona Coyotes (Saturday), all on the road, in a set of 4 games to be played over the course of 6 nights.

That warning being issued, MLive’s Ansar Khan notes that the 8-6-and-2 Wings have turned their ship around over the course of last week’s 4-game home stand:

The mood surrounding the Detroit Red Wings changed dramatically in one week, culminated by Saturday’s 3-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Dylan Larkin’s overtime goal.

Just seven days before, the Red Wings were riding a four-game winless streak, had difficulty scoring and weren’t sure when Larkin would return after being away for personal reasons.

“We sat in Buffalo, and we talked on the ice in practice,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “We talked about the fact that the week prior, we had a ton of confidence. And then all of a sudden, we had not much confidence. I thought that third period in Buffalo was huge, the end of it, how good Tyler (Bertuzzi) played there. We’ve picked up steam from there.”

The Red Wings are 4-1-0 in their past five, improving to 8-6-2 on the season as they head on a four-game trip starting Monday in Columbus. The Canadiens, who has defeated Detroit twice this season — 6-1 and 3-0 in Montreal — dropped to 4-10-2.

“We’ve been a good hockey team at home, we’ve played well on the road at times,” Larkin said. “Through a long season you’re going to go through tough stretches. Our response has been great. It’s something that in the past few years we haven’t had that response, where we weren’t able to dig ourselves out of holes where three games has gone to five or seven games. We came home and turned it around. We didn’t play as good as we wanted to against Washington (2-0 loss Thursday). We responded tonight. We played hard.”

Continued; here are extended highlights of Saturday’s win from AWood40:

The Free Press’s Helene St. James answers a reader question as to whether Sergei Fedorov or Alex Ovechkin was/is a better Russian hockey player this morning, and St. James’ answer in her subscriber-only missive is definitive:

But given a choice between drafting the two, I’d take Fedorov. He was an incredible player at both ends of the ice, a superstar forward who impressed equally when asked by Scotty Bowman to play as a defenseman — so much so there was chatter within the organization that Fedorov would have been in the mix for a Norris Trophy had the experiment become permanent.

In 1993-94, with Steve Yzerman injured for a chunk of the first half, Fedorov’s expanded role led to a career year. He paced the Wings with 56 goals and 64 assists, and his 120 points were second in the NHL only to Gretzky’s 130. Fedorov was awarded the Hart Trophy (NHL’s most valuable player) and the Selke Trophy (best defensive forward), along with the Lester B. Pearson (most outstanding player as voted by NHL players).

No other player in NHL history has won the Hart and Selke in the same year.

Fedorov’s skating was on another level. His explosiveness came from the training he went through as a youngster, when he’d lie on the ice, jump up, race to the blue line, kneel, jump up and race to the other blue line then repeat the drill. His leg strength was legendary.

Fedorov once scored five goals in one game, capping a historic performance in overtime, 5-4 against the Capitals on Dec. 26, 1996. (The news was somewhat overshadowed in Detroit because that was also the day the Detroit Lions fired Wayne Fontes).

Continued (paywall)

According to HockeyNews.se’s Henrik Sjoberg, Red Wings prospect Simon Edvinsson won’t be playing in today’s game 4 Nations Cup game for Sweden because coach Tomas Monten believes that 3 games in 3 days would be too difficult for the Frolunda HC defenseman to deal with as he’s just returning from an illness.

What follows is roughly translated from Swedish:

Frolunda defenseman won’t play against Russia

Angelholm, Sweden. Simon Edvinsson has been Sweden’s team captain in Angelholm and the Frolunda defenseman is moving toward a key role on the World Junior Championship team.

But he won’t play against Russia today.

“Three games in three days would be too tough, “says Tomas Monten to HockeyNews.se.

The Junior Crowns defeated the Czech Republic on Friday (5-0) but lost against Finland (3-0) yesterday [at the 4 Nations Cup].

Today, the 4 Nations tournament in Angelholm comes to an end when the Swedes face Russia at the Catena Arena.

Frolunda defenseman Simon Edvinsson looks to be an important piece of the puzzle in the Swedish World Junior Championship team, and during this past weekend, he has gained confidence as one of the team captains in what has been his first experience with the Junior Crowns.

But against the Russians, the team will have to do without him today–Edvinsson has finished playing in Angelholm.

“When Simon was sick last week and couldn’t train or play, the plan was that he would only play in two games. Three games in three days immediately after a week without skating on the ice would be too tough,” says national team coach Tomas Monten to HockeyNews.se.

The 18-year-old has impressed this weekend in front of several representatives of the Detroit Red Wings–who drafted him as the sixth overall pick earlier this year.

During this fall, he’s posted 9 points (1 goal + 8 assists) in 16 games for Frolunda HC.

Of prospect-related note on Saturday:

In the Swedish Allsvenskan, Filip Larsson stopped 21 of 22 shots in HV71 Jonkoping’s 3-1 win over Tingsryds;

At the 4 Nations Cup, Eemil Viro finished at +1 with 1 shot on on goal as Finland won 3-0 over Sweden. Simon Edvinsson finished even with 2 shots for Sweden, with William Wallinder finishing at -1;

In the ECHL, Kaden Fulcher stopped 12 of 15 shots as the Toledo Walleye lost 3-0 to Fort Wayne, with two defensemen out on COVID protocol and 2 defensemen signed to pro try-outs;

In the QMJHL, Jan Bednar stopped 30 of 34 shots in the Acadie-Bathurst Titan’s 6-4 win over Shawinigan;

Continue reading Saturday prospect round-up: Fulcher, Walleye falter; Zito 1G in OHL; Mastrosimone 2 A, Mazur 1G in NCAA

Of Red Wings-prospect-related note from Friday afternoon and evening:

In the Swedish Allsvenskan, both Gustav Berglund and Albin Grewe were injured in Mora IK’s 3-2 loss to Bjorkloven;

Jesper Eliasson was the back-up in Almtuna IS’s 3-1 loss to MoDo;

And Filip Larsson was the back-up in HV71 Jonkoping’s 4-3 overtime win over Vasterviks IK;

In the Four Nations Cup, Eemil Viro finished even with a penalty taken in Finland’s 6-3 loss to Russia;

Simon Edvinsson had 2 assists, finishing at +1 with 2 shots, and William Wallinder finished at +2 as Sweden won 5-0 over the Czech Republic;

In North America, in the AHL, Turner Elson and Riley Barber scofred goals and Calvin Pickard pitched a 34-save shutout in the Grand Rapids Griffins’ 2-0 win over the Manitoba Moose. The Griffins’ website posted a recap, photo gallery and highlight clip:

In the ECHL, Kaden Fulcher was the back-up in the Toledo Walleye’s 3-2 loss to Wheeling;

Continue reading Friday prospect round-up: Edvinsson 2A at 4 nations; Griffins beat Manitoba; Zito 3+1 in OHL, Mazur 1+2 in NCAA

The Grand Rapids Griffins were not able to sweep their weekend series against the Manitoba Moose, following up a 2-0 win on Friday with a 6-2 defeat to the Moose on Saturday evening.

Turner Elson and Kyle Criscuolo’s goals came amidst a flurry of Moose markers, and there is some concern as Victor Brattstrom gave up 4 goals on only 19 shots on Saturday. He was replaced by Calvin Pickard for the 3rd period, and Pickard gave up 2 more goals on 16 more Moose shots, but Brattstrom now stands at 0-3-and-1 with a 5.32 GAA and a .835 save percentage.

Anyway, here’s the Griffins website’s game recap:

Manitoba Moose 6 at GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS 2

Nov. 13, 2021

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Griffins fell to the Manitoba Moose 6-2 on Saturday at Van Andel Arena, which ended their three-game winning streak.

Despite the loss, Riley Barber (4-5—9), Jonatan Berggren (3-4—7) and Taro Hirose (2-7—9) all extended their point streak to six games.

The opening period was not in the Griffins favor as they let in four goals, the most given up in a period this season. At the 6:40 mark, Manitoba’s Austin Poganski made a pass to Jimmy Oligny who stood in the slot and sent a one-timer through the legs of netminder Victor Brattstrom and gave the Moose the early score.

With 9:11 remaining in the period, Manitoba attacked again when C.J. Suess danced around the defenders in the Grand Rapids’ zone and fired a wrister into the net, extending its lead to two.

After a pair of unanswered goals, Berggren stood at the left circle and connected with Turner Elson as he skated down the slot by himself to put the Griffins on the board at the 12:40 mark. This tally marked Elson’s second straight game with a goal and third in the last four contests.

Just as Grand Rapids scored its first, Manitoba added another to its lead. With 5:06 remaining, Mikey Eyssimont chased the puck behind the net and wrapped around the goal mouth for the score.

At the 15:14 mark in the opening period, Kristian Reichel fought for the loose puck when teammate Jeff Malott got free and stood in between the circles and smashed the puck into the right corner, extending the Manitoba lead to three.

As the middle frame began, Brattstrom was relieved of his duties by Calvin Pickard. The Griffins then went on to allow just two shots in the second, which was the fewest allowed in a period this campaign.

With 10:27 left in the frame, Barber got tripped by an opposing players stick and slid to make a pass to an open Kyle Criscuolo who stood left of the goal crease and reduced the Grand Rapids deficit to two, marking his second goal of the season.

As the final period started, Manitoba looked to take advantage on the power play. At the 1:25 mark, Malott took a shot but Pickard was able to make the save. However, the rebound fell to Greg Meireles and he finished the opportunity in the left corner to extend the Moose lead, 5-2.

With 16:20 remaining, Reichel skated down the right side on a 2-on-1 break and found Maier who took a shot from the slot to give Manitoba the 6-2 victory.

The third period saw Grand Rapids register only two shots, marking the fewest attempts in a period for the Griffins this year. Grand Rapids garnered just 16 total shots in the contest, which was the fewest attempts in a game since Oct. 22, 2021 when the team totaled 22 chances at Manitoba.

The Griffins also posted a photo gallery, and a highlight clip:

The Detroit Red Wings’ 3-2 overtime victory over the Montreal Canadiens felt a little bit unbelievable given how badly the Red Wings were out-played in the 3rd period, but Alex Nedeljkivic made 13 stops, some spectacular…

And Detroit managed to sneak their way into overtime, where Dylan Larkin scored a beautiful goal off Samuel Montembeault, who replaced Jake Allen after Larkin was very dirtily shoved into Allen by Jeff Petry earlier in the game.

For what it’s worth, Larkin had this to say to the Free Press’s Helene St. James:

Larkin said he was worried about Allen on the play. “I can’t do much,” Larkin said. “I’m full speed, Petry is full speed. A little push. I’m can’t move. I’m tired, I’m at the end of my shift. I can’t do anything. I think about him, I think about myself, yes, with injuries. It was a tough play and I feel really bad about it.”

Thanks to Larkin’s OT goal, most things ended well* for the Red Wings, who finish with 3 victories on their 4-game home-stand by taking their only victory of the season from the Canadiens.

Continue reading Red Wings-Canadiens wrap-up: in 600th meeting between franchises, Larkin’s 300th point is the OT winner

The Detroit Red Wings played their third and final game of the season against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night, hoping to snap an 0-and-2 losing streak against the Habs.

With most of Red Wings blog-dom in the crowd due to the Winged Wheel Podcast and Winging It in Motown meet-ups taking place, the Detroit Red Wings surrendered a 1-0 lead to the Canadiens, Dylan Larkin and Pius Suter scored goals under a minute apart to give the Wings a 2-1 lead, Montreal tied the game early in a 3rd period that the Habs dominated, but Alex Nedeljkovic was huge, and Dylan Larkin scored a gorgeous goal in overtime to deliver a 3-2 OVERTIME victory for the Red Wings.

Continue reading Red Wings-Canadiens quick take: Wings win in OT in front of a fine partisan crowd

Back to the Walleye he goes…

? PLAYER ANNOUNCEMENT(S) ?

We’ve signed veteran defenseman Steve Oleksy to a PTO.

Oleksy skated in 36 games with us back in 2019-20, posting 15 points (1G, 14A) and 62 PIM. He’s also appeared in 73 career NHL contests. pic.twitter.com/iJkeBVPpe8— Toledo Walleye (@ToledoWalleye) November 13, 2021

MLive’s Ansar Khan posted a notebook which sets up tonight’s game vs. the Montreal Canadiens (7 PM EST start on Bally Sports Detroit Plus/City TV/Sportsnet East/TVA Sports/97.1 FM), and the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan picked the same topic to cover in his game-day notebook:

The Wings have their last chance to earn two points against the Canadiens on Saturday —  the teams only meet three times this season. The Wings will have to play a more complete game than the previous two times.

“They were probably a little bit different games,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “The first game (Oct. 23, a 6-1 loss), we started fine. We got into penalty trouble, and then we weren’t able to create enough after that. The last game (Nov. 2, a 3-0 loss), we played poorly. It was the worst game, I think, we’ve played all season in terms of how we actually played, in terms of our energy. We were a step behind the whole night. It was an egg for us, just one of those nights.”

One noticeable difference in Saturday’s game will be the presence of forwards Dylan Larkin and Tyler Bertuzzi for the Wings.

Bertuzzi hasn’t been available for the Wings in either game in Montreal because of his vaccination status. The fact Bertuzzi has decided to dec a shot, makes him unable to go into Canada. The Wings also didn’t have Larkin in the last game, as he returned home to deal with a family emergency.

Larkin and Bertuzzi are two of the Wings’ best offensive players. But teams will miss players at certain points of the schedule for injuries, or any other number of reasons, Blashill said. It’s important to overcome the absences.

“In the NHL you’re always going to be in situations where you’re missing guys, and you have to find a way to be successful,” Blashill said. “We’ve seen Montreal play great hockey and in the last game they were outstanding against us. They won every loose puck, every battle, they made us look poor defensively.”

Continued