Red Wings-Blue Jackets preseason wrap-up: despite superb 3rd period comeback, Detroit’s got bugs to work out before Friday’s regular-season opener

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The Columbus Blue Jackets walked into Detroit and took a 4-2 decision over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night. As such, Detroit’s preseason ended on a sour note, with the Wings dropping to 2-1-and-1 over the course of 4 short preseason games.

The problem with Saturday night’s game wasn’t the outcome per se.

The Red Wings rallied from a 3-0 deficit in the 3rd and nearly tied the game while firing 34 shots and a staggering 86 shot attempts on Jet Greaves, who was very good, but didn’t need to be spectacular as Columbus blocked 29 shots, and Detroit fired 23 pucks wide of the net…

But Columbus’ first goal, a power-play marker by Charlie Coyle, was as simple as, “Win the faceoff, defenseman takes puck, passes to half boards, lateral pass, crease tip behind Anton Johansson’s stick, goal” at 14:40 of the first.

Columbus doubled up its lead 4:04 later, off a rare turnover from Moritz Seider turned one-timer by Valeri Nichushkin, so John Gibson had very little chance to stop either goal…

Another awful turnover at center ice yielded a 2-on-2 in which Ryan Lomberg found Jack Williams, who blasted the puck past Axel Sandin Pellikka and top shelf over Gibson at 3:55 of the 2nd period…

And Detroit slowly but surely dug back into the game after that, but Columbus had a pretty easy time of stifling Detroit’s offense until the Wings broke through in the 3rd period, with Ben Chiarot ripping a Marco Kasper won faceoff through traffic at 6:39…

Chiarot and Kasper would find each other again as Kasper blazed through the middle of the ice and into the zone off a Chiarot outlet, and Michael Rasmussen jammed home a loose puck to make it 3-2 at 14:19…

But the Red Wings’ furious late-3rd-period rally was repelled, the fact that the Wings didn’t score on 4 power plays didn’t help, and they scored a relatively easy empty-netter with 11 seconds remaining to salt the game away.

The Wings were just either a step behind in terms of their skating, a play short in terms of their execution, or both, and they looked lackadaisical at times as well, which you don’t want to see when you’ve got all but an NHL lineup playing its “dress rehearsal” game.

The fact that Lucas Raymond stood up for Alex DeBrincat after Carson Soucy tried to cross-check DeBrincat into next week from behind was a good sign, and the team never gave up, but the Wings made the easy parts of the game look difficult, and the difficult parts of the game look extreme.

After the game, Red Wings coach Todd McLellan remained optimistic, but McLellan admitted to Detroit Hockey Now’s Max Smith that Gibson had a light but difficult workload…

“[John Gibson] Gibby tonight didn’t have a lot of work, but he had some tough work.” McLellan said.

Even the Red Wings best players weren’t immune from making mistakes tonight. Columbus’ second goal came after Mo Seider’s attempt to clear the puck from behind the net got intercepted by Charlie Coyle and sent home by Valeri Nichushkin. The former Avalanche forwards both finished the night with a goal and assist for Columbus.

Meanwhile, the Red Wings were anemic on the power play, going zero-for-four on the night with only ten shot attempts recorded with the man advantage.

“Our forecheck, and like control of forecheck was really good. But we turned a lot of pucks over and we couldn’t really connect and pass.” Marco Kasper said.

And Axel Sandin Pellikka summarized the team’s outlook regarding the game as a whole…

“We had a lot of chances before [the third period]. We just didn’t execute. I think our third period here we really showed what we’re in for.” Axel Sandin-Pellikka said.

Ben Chiarot, the Red Wings other two point player on the night, and Rasmussen, names not usually called out for their offensive prowess, managed to make the game interesting for the second half of the third period by making it 3-2 off of Kasper’s assists. However, it wasn’t enough to complete the rally, and the Blue Jackets put the game away after the Red Wings pulled John Gibson from the net, scoring the empty netter with a little over ten seconds left.

“I think some players are really ready to play.” McLellan said. “Some need a little more time this week to polish things up.”

Sandin Pellikka told the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan that he was satisfied with his team’s rally…

“The bounce-back in the third period was awesome,” said defenseman Axel Sandin-Pellikka, who’s vying for a roster spot. “We had (offensive) chances before, but we didn’t execute. Our third period, we really showed (their best performance) and created chances and executed. We just fell short there and it was a good end to the game.”

And coach McLellan offered the following:

“We played a real NHL team and I didn’t mind our game,” coach Todd McLellan said. “We were a little bit sloppy with the puck. Passing from A to B was sometimes at B’s feet or 2 feet in front of him and it cost us a couple of goals. But other than that, I didn’t think we were under siege. We had some scoring opportunities, and if it ends up on the stick a second earlier or a different angle, we have a chance to finish. I didn’t mind tonight’s game. It should set us up for a good week of practice and away we go.”

Rosters need to be turned it by Monday, Sept. 28 at 5 p.m. The Wings’ 23-man roster has some uncertainty to it currently with Dylan Larkin (upper body) injured, restricted free agent Simon Edvinsson unsigned, and young players like Sandin-Pellikka, Anton Johansson, Nate Danielson, Michael Brandsegg-Nygard and Carter Mazur all fighting for possible available roster spots.

“What I can tell you is Monday the roster will go out and you’ll see names that could change real quick,” McLellan said “There could be paper moves or moves made for waiver reasons or something is in the hopper somewhere else that you have to buy time. We don’t play until Friday, so we have four days until we play, so there could be some movement.”

Kasper told DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills that the Red Wings’ players have to straighten out their detail work…

“I think it was partially good,” said Marco Kasper, who led Detroit offensively with two assists. “Some things about our game definitely have to step up. Like, I thought we played really well on our forecheck, but then we turned a lot of pucks over and couldn’t really connect passes. I think that’s got to get a lot better… Maybe try not to go lateral too much but be a little bit more direct.”

And coach McLellan was happy with the Wings’ push-back when Soucy tried to shove DeBrincat through the boards…

At 4:22 of the third period, Alex DeBrincat went head-first into the end boards behind Columbus’s net after being cross-checked by Carson Soucy. Lucas Raymond immediately came to his defense – going after Soucy – and DeBrincat skated to the bench before returning later in the frame.

“There isn’t a player on our team that can’t respond in those situations,” McLellan said. “Rarely does anything come out of it, but at least you’re there and you’re standing your ground. We saw that the last two games, and we’re going to continue to have that. We need that. It’ll bond us. It’ll bring us together more. I think during this season, we’re going to really have to rely on each other and create a bond and a trust to get through a lot of different things.”

Also of note from Mills:

McLellan on what he thought of Detroit’s four-game preseason schedule

“Fast. This happened quickly, as we thought it would. We talked about having some early urgency and trying to get things into play quickly. For the most part, I think we accomplished that. I think some players are really ready to play. Some need a little more time this week to polish things up, and then we should be ready to go.”

Kasper on where his game stands heading into the regular season

“It’s good to get some points, but you’re obviously looking to get the points as a team. I think whatever way I can contribute, it’s important for us and that’s my main focus. It’s also good to get a couple of points. It’s a quick turnaround during Camp, just two games, and got to be ready.”

The Red Wings will likely take Sunday off before returning to practice Monday through Thursday; they host the New York Rangers in the home opener on Friday at 6:30 PM.

MULTIMEDIA:

Highlights: NHL.com posted a 10:24 highlight clip:

Sportsnet posted a 9:58 highlight clip:

Post-game: The Blue Jackets’ website posted a 9:23 clip of comments from Jack Williams, Carson Soucy, Jet Greaves and coach Rick Bowness;

The Red Wings posted a 12:20 clip of comments from Marco Kasper, Axel Sandin Pellikka and coach Todd McLellan:

The Free Press’s Helene St. James also posted a condensed 2:10 clip of Kasper’s remarks;

Photos: All the regular photographers were at Justin Verlander’s farewell game, so there were no newspaper pictures from this one.

Statistics: Here are the Game Summary and Event Summary:

Red Wings notebooks/also of Red Wings-related note: The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan took note of coach McLellan’s take on the Red Wings’ waiver pick-up on Saturday, Andreas Englund:

“Eggie is an outstanding human being,” McLellan said. “He will fit into our room well. He works hard at his game. He’s played in the system that we are trying to put in. He’s physical and tough and he shepherds the group. We like all those attributes that he’ll bring.”

And Detroit Hockey Now’s Max Smith wrote an article about the Red Wings’ likely workload for John Gibson this upcoming season, with coach McLellan admitting that the Wings didn’t get much in the way of back-up goaltending last season (sort of):

The Red Wings made Gibson one of the key features of their lineup for the upcoming season by not pursuing any marquee free agent netminders and letting go of the most NHL ready of their prospect goalies, Sebastian Cossa.

As their backup, the Red Wings signed former Florida Panthers goalie Daniil Tarasov to a one year contract. Tarasov has never started for more than 35 games in a year, and while Gibson is certainly no stranger to shouldering large workloads, fatigue was also apparent towards the end of last year.

Fatigue shouldn’t be a problem this early in the year however, it’ll be more about getting warmed up on the frigid playing surface early.

Tarasov will of course be the Red Wings primary option aside from Gibson, as the next three goaltenders on Detroit’s depth chart have exactly 0 NHL game experience between them. At that, only Michal Postava has started a full season with the Red Wings top farm club at the AHL level.

“In retrospect we may have ran Gibby too hard. He won’t tell you that. He’ll say, I want to be in there more.” McLellan said.

Red Wings-Blue Jackets preseason Tweetcap: Columbus’ Greaves out-foxes sloppy Red Wings in a 4-2 defeat

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The Detroit Red Wings battled the Columbus Blue Jackets in both teams’ preseason finale at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday evening, with Detroit looking to hold a dress rehearsal for the regular season against an NHL-caliber Blue Jackets roster. Detroit boasted a 2-0-and-1 record going into the game, while Columbus was 2-and-1.

On Saturday night at LCA, the Red Wings lost a frustrating 4-2 decision to the Columbus Blue Jackets, going down 3-0 before rallying to make it 3-2 in the 3rd, only to surrender an empty-netter while 6-on-5.

Jet Greaves was tremendous, stopping 32 of 34 shots, with the Wings firing a staggering 84 of 86 attempts on goal, but Columbus blocked 26 shot attempts, won 58% of their faceoffs, and were opportunistic in pouncing upon the Wings’ mistakes.

Charlie Coyle opened the scoring on the power play, by taking a faceoff won to Zach Werenski, to the side boards, where Kirill Marchenko tapped the puck across the slot to Coyle, who beat Anton Johansson to the net at 14:40 of the 1st;

Valeri Nichushkin tapped home a Coyle pass at 18:44 to make it 2-0;

3:55 into the 3rd period, Jack Williams beat Gibson up high to make it 3-0…

And while Ben Chiarot blasted a shot through traffic at 6:39 of the 3rd, and Michael Rasmusssen tapped a Kasper pass into the net at 14:19 of the 3rd…

Detroit could not convert on their 4 power plays, Greaves out-played Gibson, and Columbus salted it away with a Cole Sillinger empty-netter at 19:49 of the 3rd.

The Red Wings also emerged unscathed from an injury scare when Carson Soucy took double minor for cross-checking Alex DeBrincat into the end boards from behind at 4:22 of the 3rd; DeBrincat would head to the medical room for a couple of seconds, but return to the bench by the time that Lucas Raymond sat in the box for sticking up for DeBrincat.

Detroit finishes its preseason at 2-1-and-1.

PREGAME: John Gibson and Jet Greaves led their respective teams out onto the ice:

Continue reading Red Wings-Blue Jackets preseason Tweetcap: Columbus’ Greaves out-foxes sloppy Red Wings in a 4-2 defeat →

Press release: Grand Rapids Griffins defeat Cleveland Monsters 3-1 in Toledo preseason game

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The Grand Rapids Griffins defeated the Lake Erie Monsters 3-1 at Toledo’s Huntington Center today, kicking off the first half of a back-to-back slate of exhibition games in the “Glass City.”

The Griffins’ website posted a recap of the game:

GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS 3 vs. Cleveland Monsters 1

TOLEDO, Ohio — In their first preseason game since 2016, the Grand Rapids Griffins came away with a 3-1 victory over the Cleveland Monsters at the Huntington Center, highlighted by a two-goal performance from Sheldon Dries.

In addition to Dries, rookie Kienan Draper tallied the Griffins’ final goal and Michal Postava received the nod in net and totaled 15 saves on 16 shots. The Griffins did not see a power play in the contest, but the penalty kill went 3-for-3 with a shorthanded tally. 

Despite holding a 7-4 shot advantage, the Griffins trailed 1-0 after the first period. Shortly after a bout between Ronnie Attard and James Malatesta, Cleveland’s Boston Buckberger struck first at 13:13 of the opening frame.  

Grand Rapids got on the scoreboard 4:29 into the second period when Dries collected a rebound in the crease and stuffed it inside the right post. Dries tallied his second goal of the period with 2:24 remaining while shorthanded. Shai Buium ripped the puck from the left point and Dries redirected it past Evan Gardner to claim a 2-1 lead going into the final stanza. The Griffins outshot the Monsters 12-4 in the second. 

Draper lit the lamp 6:43 into the third period with a shot from the high slot. The Monsters pulled their netminder with 2:23 remaining for a 6-on-4 power play but failed to generate a goal and the Griffins skated away with a 3-1 victory. 

The Griffins also posted an 8:50 clip of post-game comments from Kienan Draper, Sheldon Dries and coach Dan Watson:

Continue reading Press release: Grand Rapids Griffins defeat Cleveland Monsters 3-1 in Toledo preseason game →

Keeping an eye on Red Wings prospect Carter Bear

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Bleacher Report’s Hannah Stuart compiled a column of prospects to “get excited about” on each of the NHL’s 32 teams. For Detroit, she picked someone who isn’t going to make the Red Wings’ roster this month as the Wings player to watch as he begins his professional hockey career with the Grand Rapids Griffins:

Detroit Red Wings: Carter Bear

Forward Carter Bear is fun as all get-out offensively and brings a motor that doesn’t quit; with the Detroit Red Wings in a bit of disarray of late, fans might enjoy turning their attention to the Grand Rapids Griffins to watch him and other highly skilled prospects for a while as that situation sorts itself out. 

Bear came into camp this season with a noticeable difference in both maturity and skill refinement, answering any questions that leadership might’ve had about whether he could transfer his abilities to the next level. He’s added both strength and confidence, aspects of the game necessary for a player with Bear’s skill set and style to succeed in the NHL.

He really digs in when he goes after the puck, and had quite a few people saying he could push for a roster spot this season, but unfortunately he recently suffered an upper-body injury that will have him out anywhere from a week to 10 days, which wipes out his chances of appearing in any further preseason efforts. Still, he’ll likely make some NHL appearances as an injury call-up, and if he gets his claws into a roster spot, don’t be surprised if he manages to keep it.

Continued; Bear’s only 19 going on 20 in November, but he impressed with his grit, skating and puck savvy both in the prospect tournament and in the one exhibition game he did play in before suffering that “upper-body injury.”

He’s got to get stronger and more assertive when battling for the puck, but Bear’s combination of raw skill, a great work ethic and strong self-belief make him an intriguing prospect to watch when he gets his legs underneath himself in Grand Rapids.

Coach McLellan is (mostly) pleased with the Red Wings’ preseason

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DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills asked Red Wings coach Todd McLellan to give his impressions of the pluses and minuses of Detroit’s training camp and abbreviated preseason, all ahead of tonight’s exhibition finale against Columbus (7 PM EDT start on Detroit SportsNet/97.1 FM):

“Just the unity of the players right now is fairly good, but we haven’t really played yet,” Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan said. “I had some concern about that. Not that they’re going to be torn apart, but just how they were going to deal with all of this stuff. And to this point, the locker room, the practices, the intermingling that I do with the group, they’re handling it fairly well. I don’t want to say that’s a surprise, but that’s good to see in here.”

A lot of credit goes to Detroit’s veterans for helping foster that environment this fall, a group that largely set the tone in Thursday night’s 3-2 overtime victory over the Buffalo Sabres – a physical, rather chippy contest that included the preseason debuts of established names like Alex DeBrincat, Lucas Raymond, Moritz Seider and Andrew Copp.

Now, based on Saturday’s morning skate, McLellan is again icing a lineup of mostly NHL regulars against the Blue Jackets – though some Opening-Night roster battles are coming down to the wire.

“It’s been very competitive,” McLellan said. “And the decisions, as I’ve said, they’ll basically decide with their play who ends up being on the team and who doesn’t. Separation has been created. Some individuals are getting another opportunity tonight, but there are obvious individuals that have stepped up – players that haven’t played on our club before have stepped up – and done a real good job. They have to continue to grow their game, but it’s starting to become clear to everybody in the organization.”

With the Detroit Tigers amid their final homestand of the 2026 MLB season this weekend, it was only fitting that McLellan borrowed some baseball terminology to describe how the organization is deciding who might make up the club’s 23-man Opening-Night roster.

“A lot of the immediate evaluation goes into it, because this is who you are in the moment,” McLellan said. “They do have track records that we have to refer to. Maybe things aren’t going quite as well for them in the moment right now or somebody has hit a bunch of home runs that normally doesn’t hit the long ball, so we have to be realistic and take their whole body of work into consideration. But basically, Training Camp, last game, roster on Monday. It’s about right now. Can you help us? That’s where we’re at.”

Nate Danielson looks to improve his offense as the preseason winds down

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Red Wings prospect Nate Danielson will play tonight on a line with Carter Mazur and Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, and Danielson told the Hockey News’s Michael Whitaker that he’s feeling better after missing seven months with a stress fracture in his upper leg:

“I think it’s been pretty good,” Danielson said of his play after Saturday’s morning skate. “I think it’s been nice to get into more games and get back into game mode over the summer. But it’s gotten better as the games have gone on. I feel like every time you play, you want to make a good impression,” he continued. “Obviously, it’s the last preseason game; I just want to have a good game and continue to grow.”

Danielson, who had three goals and 12 assists in 18 games with the Griffins last season, wants to capitalize more on his scoring chances, something Grand Rapids coach Dan Watson also emphasized earlier this month during the Prospects Tournament.

Watson said he’d like to see Danielson be more selfish with the puck and bear down on his scoring chances, something the young forward acknowledges he wants to do.

“I feel like I’ve heard that before,” Danielson said. “I think sometimes I tend to look for another pass, but I think I’m always trying to make the right play, whether it’s a pass or a shot. I think it’s just about getting into the mindset that if I have a shot, take it, especially in this League. If you look for that pass, that’s often when they can get a stick on it.”

Wings coach Todd McLellan believes that the young center can indeed provide offense and goals as the Wings look to shore up their scoring:

Continue reading Nate Danielson looks to improve his offense as the preseason winds down →

Carter Mazur understands that he’s got more to give the Red Wings, needs to play better to make the team

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Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff reports that Red Wings forward Carter Mazur knows that, at 24 years of age, the non-waiver-exempt checker from Jackson, MI is on the cusp of making the Red Wings’ roster…and he’s on the cusp of not making the roster, too. Mazur told Duff that it’s “do or die” time in terms of trying to make the team:

“It’s a dream of mine to be a part of the Detroit Red Wings, and I feel like I have a lot more to show,” Mazur said.

He’s absolutely right on that count. The Mazur who has played for the Red Wings, both during this preseason and his eight-game audition late last season, isn’t anywhere near the same player who has looked dominant at times in the AHL with the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Mazur displays a scoring touch in GR that’s never been evident during his time with the Red Wings. He’s been pointless as an NHLer. Last season, Mazur scored 11 goals in 16 games with the Griffins.

He willingly shoulders some of the blame for that absence of NHL offense. Mazur is proving guilty of a crime many young players commit. So concerned are they about not making a mistake when on the ice, they forget to display the ability that earned them this chance.

“Yeah, I think mainly it’s been, for me, more systematic,” Mazur said of his struggles to shine as an NHLer. “I feel like I’ve kind of been relying on that more so than my own game. So I just need to get to that comfortability of the system so I don’t need to think about it during the game and I can just play.”

Wings coach Todd McLellan told Duff that Mazur’s potential remains high:

Continue reading Carter Mazur understands that he’s got more to give the Red Wings, needs to play better to make the team →

Friedman: Red Wings claim Angus Englund off waivers from Calgary

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Updated 2x at 4:58 PM: Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman:

Englund is a 30-year-old defenseman who stands at 6’3″ and 201 pounds. He’s mostly played in the AHL over the past couple of seasons, though he did have a serviceable season with the Los Angeles Kings in 2023-2024, playing 82 games and posting 1 goal and 9 assists for 10 points.

He’s signed to a 1-year, $900,000 contract.

Update: From Sportsnet…

Continue reading Friedman: Red Wings claim Angus Englund off waivers from Calgary →

Two things: Mazur, MBN and Danielson vie for spots on the Red Wings’ roster; DeBrincat a candidate for an alternate captain’s ‘A’

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Of Red Wings-related note from MLive’s Ansar Khan:

  1. Khan discusses the Red Wings prospects’ attempts to stand out over the course of this exhibition season as the young players vie for jobs on Detroit’s opening night roster, noting this from coach Todd McLellan…

“Anton [Johansson] would be the surprise for me,” McLellan said. “I had heard real good things about him, but anytime you hear that … young player and is he going to need some time? He might still need that time. We’ll see where tonight goes.”

McLellan called it a competitive camp and said roster decisions will be based on whether the player can help right away.

“Separation has been created,” he said. “There are some obvious individuals that have stepped up, players that haven’t played on our club before that have stepped up, that have done a real good job. They have to continue to grow their game. But it’s starting to come clear to everybody in the organization.”

This from Carter Mazur, who would need waivers to be sent down to Grand Rapids…

“It’s kind of do or die in a way,” Mazur said of the game against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Little Caesars Arena (7 p.m., Detroit Sports Net). “It’s a dream of mine to be a part of the Detroit Red Wings, and I feel like I have a lot more to show.”

This from Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, who will play on a line with Mazur and Nate Danielson tonight…

Continue reading Two things: Mazur, MBN and Danielson vie for spots on the Red Wings’ roster; DeBrincat a candidate for an alternate captain’s ‘A’ →

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