The Malik Report

Of Red Wings prospect-related note in Europe:

In the SHL, Frolunda HC lost a 1-0 decision to Lulea Hockey, and they did so without Simon Edvinsson, who has COVID-19.

Elmer Soderblom finished even with 2 shots in 15:21 played, and Theodor Niederbach had 1 shot in only 3:02 played:

Frölunda gets shut out by Luleå, 0-1. Elmer Söderblom was perhaps the closest to breaking the shutout, with a wristshot to the crossbar in the final minutes.
Edvinsson not in the lineup still due to Covid-protocol. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/Tcgr9xJxcw

— IcehockeyGifs (@IcehockeyG) January 6, 2022

And, in Farjestads BK’s 3-2 win over Orebro Hockey:

Albert Johansson had an assist, finishing even with 2 shots in 17:48 played;

And Gustav Berglund did not play.

I chose to not post a Red Wings-Ducks game preview ahead of tonight’s game between the teams (10 PM EST start on Bally Sports Detroit Plus/Bally Sports California/Bally Sports San Diego/97.1 FM) because the 18-11-and-7 Anaheim Ducks have a significant number of moving parts heading into tonight’s game.

Anaheim won its last game, a 4-1 decision over the Philadelphia Flyers, thanks to a Troy Terry hat trick, but they were without Nicholas Deslauriers, Derek Grant, Ryan Getzlaf and beloved-by-the-columnists rookie Trevor Zegras due to COVID protocols, and the team didn’t practice on Wednesday (nor did the Red Wings), so we won’t know what the Ducks’ lineup looks like until the morning skate begins.

The 16-15-and-3 Red Wings’ 6-2 win over San Jose on Tuesday snapped a stretch in which the Wings had lost 6 of their previous 8 games, but the Wings are 4-10-and-1 on the road, and Anaheim’s win over Philly snapped a 4-game losing streak, so both teams would like to get on a roll here.

As you probably know by now, the Boston Bruins have eclipsed the Red Wings in the Atlantic Division and Wild Card standings, but the Ducks sit only 2 points behind Vegas in the Pacific Division standings, so, again, the stakes are pretty high tonight.

Red Wings play-by-play announcer Ken Kal was the first person to say, “Hello” this “morning”:

Continue reading Red Wings-Ducks morning skate Tweets and articles: Zegras out, Gibson tests positive for COVID for Anaheim

Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill bluntly challenged his team to play with increased urgency and intensity as the 2021-2022 season nears its halfway point, and Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen took note of Blashill’s remarks, as well as those of Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin:

Last Sunday, after a loss to the Bruins, Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin made an observation that drew everyone’s attention.

“I really felt when it’s gotten physical we’ve been mediocre,”  Larkin said. “We need to have better pushback when it gets physical.”

Larkin asked for more “pushback” and on Tuesday his teammates responded, Givani Smith came out against the Sharks and played physical from the beginning, Michael Rasmussen had one of his best games, making himself difficult to play against.

That’s really what this is all about. It’s not about fighting or roughing up your opponent. It’s about wearing down your opponent, making it miserable for them to play against you. Finishing checks. Being all over them when they have the puck. It’s driving hard to net. Forechecking relentlessly.

“Throughout the lineup we have to make sure we are making the opponent pay a hard price,” Blashill said.

That will be important tonight when the Red Wings start a three-game road trip with a game against the much-improved Anaheim Ducks. The Red Wings have played poorly on the road this season. They own 4-10-1 record in away games.  A good road trip might be what they need as they prepare for the second half of the season. The Red Wings are only one point behind Boston for a playoff spot. However, the Bruins have five games in hand.

The problem is the Red Wings aren’t the only team that will be looking to play with playoff urgency. Blashill said players on every team know they have “turn it up.”

Continued

Congrats to DetroitRedWings.com’s Daniella Bruce:

BIG NEWS!! I will be filling in for the great Paul Woods on the @DetroitRedWings radio broadcast for tonight’s game in Anaheim! A huge thank to @KenKalDRW for teaching me so much & always believing in me ??. Puck drop is at 10pm on @971theticketxyt. #LGRW— Daniella Bruce (@daniellabruce_) January 6, 2022

Looking forward to working with @daniellabruce_ on tonight’s broadcast. She has very good insight, a great communicator and has earned this opportunity. Speedy recovery to Paul Woods who should be back for the San Jose game. #gowings. @971theticketxyt @DetroitRedWings— Ken Kal (@KenKalDRW) January 6, 2022

Sportsnet’s Ryan Dixon gives praise to Lucas Raymond in a set of rookie-themed power rankings:

20. Detroit Red Wings (16-15-3)
The most impressive thing about Raymond, the rookie scoring leader with 29 points, might be his consistency. The 19-year-old Swede has not gone more than two games without showing up on the scoresheet this season.

Continued; Raymond’s having some difficulty scoring goals right now, but he’s still managed to be a positive asset for the Wings as he battles his way past the rookie “wall.”

Few things make me feel smaller and less significant than those days when fundraising goes south, and yesterday, the opening of Operation Tricorder, was one of those days.

I’m trying to raise funds to plain old fix the Pacifica so that I can drive to Grand Rapids with more than one headlight and more than one tail light, and, as you know by now, I’m trying to raise funds to replace a broken cell phone. Both items will be utilized at least partially to do stuff for the blog, but the cell phone is very admittedly also going to be used personally.

So that’s it. This is quite literally a non-profit blog, and I was hoping that you might not be so tapped out by the holidays and January’s status as a rough month to not give a hand, but maybe that’s the case.

I don’t have any commercials or ads to rely on, however, so I’ve got to ask anyway. We got the Moonshot done and I’m typing on my work computer because of you, and I remain hopeful that I’ll be able to raise the $200 for car repairs and $600 for the phone at some point soon. Let’s see what we can do.

If you’re willing to lend a hand, you can use PayPal at https://paypal.me/TheMalikReport, Venmo at https://venmo.com/george-malik-2, Giftly by using my email, rtxg@yahoo.com, at https://www.giftly.com. And you can contact me via email if you want to send me a paper check.

As always, many thanks for your time and readership.

Bummer news via The Athletic’s Max Bultman on Twitter and the one and only Corey Pronman:

No international tournaments in February at the junior level this season as the U18 5 nations in Finland, U19 5 nations in Sweden and U17 4 nations in USA are off.— Corey Pronman (@coreypronman) January 6, 2022

If Anaheim Ducks Wunderkind Trevor Zegras clears COVID protocols today, he will play opposite Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider tonight in Anaheim (10 PM EST start on Bally Sports Detroit Plus/Bally Sports California/Bally Sports San Diego/97.1 FM). The Athletic’s Eric Stephens and Max Bultman discuss and debate the Calder Trophy merits of the trio of super-rookies this morning:

Does one have an edge over the others?

Stephens: Looking at it right now, I’d say it’s neck and neck and neck. It is amazing that the Red Wings have not one but two leading candidates. And if Zegras were to win, it would make him the first Anaheim player to capture the award. Not even Kariya can make that claim — Kariya would finish third in 1995 behind Quebec center Peter Forsberg and Washington goalie Jim Carey.

On one hand, Seider has an edge in that playing defense at a high level in the NHL is a hard task and for a 20-year-old to be outstanding right off the bat should earn some extra points. Detroit coach Jeff Blashill isn’t protecting him either. Seider takes regular turns on the Red Wings’ penalty kill while also playing a big role in their power play. To be trusted with prime defensive assignments while also leading the blue line in scoring is quite a feat for a youngster.

On the other hand, Zegras is also playing a demanding position in centering Anaheim’s second line as he continues his maturation toward one day taking the reins from Ryan Getzlaf and becoming the Ducks’ No. 1 pivot. And it doesn’t hurt that Zegras has made the Ducks a dynamic team when he’s in the lineup and relevant on a national scale with his charisma and penchant for pulling off the unexpected.

Bultman: To me, it’s way too soon to call this race. These three players have each been the NHL’s Rookie of the Month over the first three months, and they each look like they’ll be able to keep it up as the season wears on. There’s not much separation.

But Seider and Zegras each have one area where they stand out from the other two.

For Seider, it’s his usage. Playing 22 minutes a night as a defenseman at such a young age speaks to the immense responsibility he’s already taken on. The fact so many of those minutes are coming from tough defensive-zone starts only compounds that, especially compared to Zegras, who has started nearly 80% of his even-strength shifts (among those that start on face-offs) in the offensive zone. When you factor that difference in, Seider’s production as a defenseman becomes even more impressive.

Continued (paywall)

The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn examines the NHL’s awards races via the standard that is his favorite advanced statistic, “Goals Scored Above Replacement Value,” and, not surprisingly, he’s giving the Calder Trophy to Trevor Zegras of the Anaheim Ducks based upon one stat:

Last we spoke, Detroit’s dynamic duo seemed to be running away with this award, specifically Lucas Raymond. In the 10 games since, neither player has added much value to Detroit unfortunately and that’s a direct result of five-on-five play. Raymond had seven points (but no goals) over that stretch, but he also has an ugly 38 percent expected goals rate. Moritz Seider didn’t fare much better, at 42 percent, and the rough month now has both players behind the eight ball in terms of on-ice impact. At five-on-five, both players have a 48 percent expected goals rate on the season.

Compare that to the current leader, Trevor Zegras, who is impacting all facets of the ice with 25 points in 30 games and a 56 percent expected goals rate. The latter mark is the second-best on the Ducks. He’s been a major reason the team is back in the playoff hunt, and the Calder should be his to lose at this point.

That can all change as the season goes on though, as there is very little separating the top of the class, with several standouts aside from the three big names. Michael Bunting deserves consideration despite his age for being a perfect fit on the Leafs’ top line next to Auston Matthews. He has some of the strongest five-on-five numbers of any rookie. Alex Carrier doesn’t have the most impressive scoring totals, but he’s thriving defensively in tough shutdown minutes next to Mattias Ekholm. The duo gets the toughest assignments every night, and Carrier has parlayed that into 53 percent of the expected goals. It’s a similar story for Jacob Middleton, who has helped reignite Erik Karlsson’s game in San Jose. Lastly, Carolina’s Seth Jarvis is scoring at a solid 52-point pace while posting impressive five-on-five impacts at both ends of the ice. His 61 percent expected goals rate leads the Hurricanes. He’s a dark-horse candidate. 

Continued (paywall); Raymond has hit a wall lately, but I’m not suddenly getting on the Zegras bandwagon due to his surge. If anything, the Red Wings hit a wall, too, dropping 6 of 8 games in December, and I believe that both the team and the two individuals mentioned will rebound.

The Free Press’s Helene St. James reexamines the Red Wings’ 6-2 win over the San Jose Sharks this morning, discussing the ways in which the Wings successfully snapped a 2-game losing streak with a dominant performance:

The Wings (16-15-3) didn’t practice Wednesday. They are scheduled to head to California to play the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday, the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday, and the Sharks on Jan. 12. The Wings have won just four of their 15 road games.

Beyond the offensive boost Tuesday — after scoring just once in each of the first two games out of the Christmas break — the Wings played well defensively against the Sharks. They also did a good job defensively on New Year’s Eve against the Washington Capitals. 

“Every night is a challenge,” Blashill said. “We did some things that will help you be good on the road. We played a fairly smothering style from a defensive standpoint in terms of not giving them space and I thought we laid pucks in behind and went and got them.

“You come out of the break, and you’re one goal and one goal. Confidence matters. When you’re able to get six, it helps guys, it helps guys feel good about themselves, helps the team feel good. I think confidence can breed more offense, so let’s hope that happens. Hopefully, we’re continuing to learn and grow as a hockey team and what it takes for us to be successful home and away, but especially on the road.”

Suter and Tyler Bertuzzi each had two goals, and Robby Fabbri also scored; 10 Wings came away with points.

“A lot of different guys scoring and playing well defensively, you can build from that,” Suter said. “Every win you take some confidence. The road trips haven’t been as we’d like so we need a performance like this.”

Continued (paywall)