A quick Red Wings-Devils preview

The Associated Press posted a short preview ahead of tomorrow night’s season-opener between the Detroit Red Wings and New Jersey Devils (7:30 PM EDT on ESPN+/hulu):

BOTTOM LINE: The New Jersey Devils host the Detroit Red Wings in the season opener.

New Jersey had a 52-22-8 record overall and a 27-16-4 record in home games last season. The Devils scored 3.5 goals per game last season while allowing 2.7 per game.

Detroit had a 35-37-10 record overall and a 16-20-5 record in road games last season. The Red Wings averaged 3.3 power-play chances per game last season, and converted on 21.1% (57 total power-play goals).

INJURIES: Devils: Erik Haula: day to day (undisclosed), Dougie Hamilton: out (wrist).

Red Wings: Matt Luff: out (undisclosed), Carter Mazur: out (undisclosed).

DHN’s Allen discusses the Wings’ three-headed goalie monster

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen filed a subscriber-only article which discusses the Red Wings’ three-goalie system, with which the team will start its 2023-2024 season:

Yzerman has three varsity goalies because they give the Red Wings the best chance of qualifying for the playoffs. To have a chance to earn a playoff spot, they must squeeze every point they can out of backup goalie starts.

Last season, the Red Wings picked up nine wins in 26 starts with their backup goalies. The Red Wings’ Alex Nedeljkovic and Magnus Hellberg picked up 21 out of a possible 52 points (40.3%). Starter Husso earned 59 out of a possible 112 points (52.6%). The Florida Panthers were 12 points ahead of Detroit for that final postseason spot. No. 1 Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky earned 51 out of a possible 98 starts (52%). Bobrovsky’s back-ups Spencer Knight and Lyon earned 41 out 66 (62.1%).

Those numbers illustrate why the Red Wings are going above and beyond to make sure their goaltending doesn’t hold them back. If the Red Wings earn a playoff spot, it will likely be by a point or two.

The original plan probably called for Reimer to backup Husso and then Lyon serving as the just-in-case goalie in Grand Rapids. Lyon would be called up in case of injury or if Reimer faltered. But the plan didn’t seem viable when the Tampa Bay Lightning lost Andrei Vasilevskiy for two months to an injury. It was speculated around the NHL that the Lightning would claim Lyon if the Red Wings put him on waivers to send him to Grand Rapids.

Continued (paywall)

Naming some of the Griffins’ more notable veteran players

TheAHL.com’s Patrick Williams posted a list of “familiar faces in new places” ahead of the AHL’s 2023-2024 season, and his list of notable Grand Rapids Griffins vets includes the following:

Forward Tim Gettinger joins the Detroit/Grand Rapids organization after five seasons with the New York Rangers, where he is joined by Nolan Stevens and Zach Aston-Reese, who signed a two-way deal with Detroit last week. Brogan Rafferty solidifies the Red Wings’ blue-line depth after helping Coachella Valley reach the Finals last spring.

Continued; players like Gettinger, Stevens, Aston-Reese and Rafferty aren’t Wings prospects (nor is Josiah Didier, for example), but the Griffins’ vets will help the Wings’ prospects grow and shine.

Promotional Tweets: ‘Time to make the [Red Wings-themed] doughnuts…’

You kids are probably too young to remember the headline, which was from a Dunkin’ Donuts ad. Instead, we’re going to Tim’s tomorrow:

Evening power rankings and whatnot

Amongst this evening’s Red Wings-related content:

  1. CBS Sports’ Austin Nivison posted a set of power rankings for the first week of the 2023-2024 season…

22. Red Wings: There is potential for the Red Wings to finish much higher than this ranking. The addition of Alex DeBrincat gives them a much-needed scoring touch at the top of the lineup, but there are still several questions about this roster. The forward depth leaves something to be desired, and the blue line is questionable outside of Moritz Seider and Jake Walman. There is pressure for the Yzerplan to come together this season, but Detroit might fall shy of a playoff spot once again.

2. USA Today’s Mary Clarke sounded similar notes in her power rankings…

23. Detroit Red Wings: Steve Yzerman and the Red Wings were incredibly active this offseason, bringing in names like Alex DeBrincat, J.T. Compher, Shayne Gostisbehere and Jeff Petry, among others. That much turnover usually results in a bit of a transitionary period as players find chemistry with one another and get used to the new systems in place. Even though these moves make the Red Wings objectively better, it likely isn’t enough to save them from a bullish Atlantic Division.

3. And the New York Post’s Larry Brooks offers this take on the Wings’ status in his preseason NHL preview, deeming Detroit to inhabit the NHL’s “mushy middle”:

The Red Wings continue to build under GM Steve Yzerman, but not with the immediate results the GM enjoyed in Tampa Bay. It’s getting a little bit late for a team that hit on Moritz Seider but whiffed like the Whammer in “The Natural,” on 2018 sixth-overall Filip Zadina, taken a pick ahead of Quinn Hughes.

Zadina, now a San Jose Shark, was drafted by Ken Holland and Tyler Wright. Steve Yzerman was not a part of the Red Wings’ organization at the time.

And it’s early yet.

A Red Wings blog