The Malik Report

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen posted a notebook article in which he focuses upon Joe Veleno’s presence on the Red Wings’ second power play unit during Monday’s practice:

The Red Wings were 0-for-4 on the power play in a 5-1 loss to the Bruins. They are 0-for-13 on the power play in the last four games.  Since Nov. 18, they are 4-for-36 with the man advantage.

Their power play percentage has slipped to 14.4%, dropping them to 31st place in the NHL statistics in that category.

Even when they were on a five-game winning streak at the end of November and early December, they only scored one power play goal in that span.

“[Filip Zadina] has had been a lot of the rest of the players on the power,” Blashill said. “He has had moments of being good and too many moments of not being super effective. Otherwise the power play percentage would be way better.”

Rookie Veleno is a bubble player at this stage of his career and he feels as if Blashill is giving him a shot to show what he can do. Like Zadina,  Joe Veleno is trying to prove he can score at the NHL level. Zadina has four goals in 32 games and Veleno has three in 17.

“I’ve got to make the most of it with the opportunity that they’re giving me and take advantage of every situation, every game, every day that I get to come to the rink,” Joe Veleno said. “Not give them a reason to not put me in the lineup or to send me back down. That’s ultimately up to me and my work ethic, my compete and my urgency. If I set my expectations high and I do those things and I come to the rink every day and I apply those things, I think my chances of sticking around will be pretty good.”

Continued

From DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills’ notebook:

Over the next five games, the Red Wings are set to play four teams with winning records. Between Jan. 4-13, Detroit will face the Anaheim Ducks (17-11-7 overall), Los Angeles Kings (16-12-5), Winnipeg Jets (15-11-5) and twice against the San Jose Sharks (17-15-1).

Detroit dropped the first two games of its current homestand, and was 3-6 in the month of December. But when asked about his team’s current stretch compared to its impressive play in November, Blashill said nothing significant has changed.

“We’ve got to show that we’re a team that belongs on the win column as the games get harder and harder,” Blashill said. “But I don’t know that there’s any stark difference. It’s individual players playing at a high level and making plays in key moments.”

Continued

The 17-15-and-1 San Jose Sharks practiced at Little Caesars Arena ahead of tomorrow night’s game against the hometown Detroit Red Wings (who have a 15-15-and-3 record, and have lost 2 straight games). The Mercury News’s Curtis Pashelka reports that the Sharks are still smarting from their 8-5 loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday:

Bob Boughner and the Sharks on Monday sifted through the wreckage of their dreadful start the day before against the Pittsburgh Penguins, going through an uneasy video session before holding a no-nonsense practice at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

“I had a heart-to-heart with the guys,” Boughner said. “It wasn’t a fun meeting. It wasn’t a fun practice. But it was much needed.”

The Sharks (17-15-1) continue their four-game road trip Tuesday against the Detroit Red Wings, looking to put the stench of their 8-5 loss to the Penguins on Sunday as far in the rearview mirror as possible. San Jose was outscored 6-1 during a first period in which they couldn’t manage the puck, gave up a host of odd-man rushes, and offered little support to starting goalie James Reimer.

“I saw a lot of black and gold in that first 10 minutes,” Sharks defenseman Jake Middleton said. “They came out really firing.”

Reimer will likely be back in the Sharks’ net Tuesday, but Boughner wasn’t making the same promises about a handful of other players. Notably, Boughner said there could be some lineup changes on defense, and although he didn’t mention anyone by name, it’s fair to speculate where the adjustments might occur.

…

The Sharks have allowed 16 even-strength goals in their last four games.

“Anytime you lose like we did, get the play taken to you and certain guys continue just to have very below-average games for 60 minutes – and some other guys responded and improved – we’re looking at everything right now,” Boughner said when asked about the defense. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see some new faces tomorrow.”

Continued

MLive’s Ansar Khan filed his Monday notebook article, discussing the changes that the Red Wings are attempting to make to their power play as it continues to struggle:

Something needs to change on the Detroit Red Wings power play, whether it’s moving players into different spots, replacing one or two with others, or just better execution with the same cast.

“It is a balance,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “You can get yourself in trouble if you change too much. All the sudden you’re changing, you’re changing, you’re changing, you have no hope for chemistry. We really haven’t changed much. We’ve kind of stayed the course. We’ve tried to be patient.

“A lack of execution certainly tries your patience but so does lack of success. Sometimes the best thing is to stick with it and grind through it and sometimes the best thing is to make a change.”

The Red Wings are 0 for 13 on the power play their past four games, dropping to a tie for 30th in the NHL at 14.4 percent.

After going 0 for 4 while registering only four shots on the power play through two periods Sunday in a 5-1 loss to Boston, Blashill gave Joe Veleno a look on one of the units Monday in practice, replacing Filip Zadina.

Continued

The Hockey News’s Nicholas Emmanuelli accentuates the positive for the worst 10 teams of the 2021, and the Red Wings earn a mention in his article:

Detroit Red Wings (.500 points percentage)

After four straight bottom-five finishes in the overall standings, the Red Wings have begun to slowly make headway on their rebuild this year, amassing a .500 points percentage through 33 games.

In Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider, the Wings have two Calder frontrunners. Blueline prospect Simon Edvinsson – who comes from the same Frolunda program as Raymond – has 12 points in 24 games while playing over 20 minutes a night in the SHL. He’ll help too.

Continued

Red Wings defenseman Nick Leddy had “Coffee With Carley” Johnston recently, and here’s her 8:20 interview:

The Athletic’s Sean McIndoe writes a weekly column in which he discusses 5 teams that are “On the road to the Cup” and 5 teams that are “headed toward the best lottery odds,” and this week, he makes special mention of the Red Wings as a middling franchise amidst a rebuild:

Not ranked: Detroit Red Wings – The Wings are the last team in the league that we’ve never included in either the top or bottom five or a “not ranked” section. Let’s fix that today.

Why the lack of attention? It’s largely because in the big picture, this story is kind of boring. I don’t mean that as an insult. It’s just that in a weird season where lots of teams are spinning off in unexpected directions, Steve Yzerman has his Red Wings chugging along on the path back to contention. They’re a rebuilding team that was supposed to be better this year, but probably not good enough to actually make a run at the playoffs. That’s what they’ve been. Plenty of fans in places like Buffalo or Ottawa would love to be enjoying a rebuild that’s right on schedule.

That said, just because the results have been boring doesn’t mean the team has been. They’ve got two of the best rookies in the league in 19-year-old Lucas Raymond and 20-year-old Moritz Seider, plus Alex Nedeljkovic who still technically qualifies even though he was a Calder finalist last year. I’m not completely sure, but I feel like having three Calder frontrunners on the same rebuilding team might be good. Wings fans can also get excited about Dylan Larkin on his way to a career year, Tyler Bertuzzi being effective when he can play, and the possibility of a Jakub Vrana return at some point. Mix in lots of a cap room and some deadline-friendly trade pieces, and this is a fun team to root for as long as you’re OK looking ahead to the future. And I’m guessing most Wings fans are.

It’s not all great news. Even with Nedeljkovic playing well, they’re in the bottom 10 in goals against. The penalty kill has been rough, and the underlying numbers suggest they’re getting better results than they deserve. There’s also the question of how you find a path to the playoffs in the Atlantic, but that’s next year’s worry. For now, Wings fans can just enjoy the young talent, a few more wins than expected, and the knowledge that there’s a plan in place and it seems to be working.

Continued (paywall)

Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill addressed the Wings’ need to step up their physical play as the second half of the season approaches during today’s media availability, and the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan filed a notebook article regarding Blashill’s remarks:

“The physicality, it’s just the decision we’re going to match physicality and finish checks and make the opponent pay a price when they have the puck,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “There’s been times we’ve passed on checks, not all, but some. Throughout the lineup, we have to make sure we’re making the opponent pay a harder price.”

The Bruins appeared to thrive on that part of the game Sunday and used it to their advantage.

The leadership of veteran forwards Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand paced the Bruins, who rallied for a win Saturday in Boston against Buffalo. Twenty-four hours later at Little Caesars Arena, the Bruins set the tone for how they wanted the game to go against the Wings.

“Maybe it’s because they played the day before, but the start of that game, they were more ready to compete at that high level you must compete at,” Blashill said. “Certainly a lot of it was driven by the Bergeron line, and there were moments we competed hard back. But we have to make sure we recognize how hard you have to compete. We want it to be a separator for us, so that’s every game, not a lot of games.”

Continued (paywall)

I’m scheduled to see my friend Shaun for the first time in two years later this afternoon, and while I’ll bring the laptop upstairs, my focus is going to be seeing my friend later this afternoon and evening. I’ve known Shaun since I was 14, and he lives in Japan right now, so getting to see him in person is very rare.

Sometimes the blog doesn’t come first. Friends and family do.

Updated at 1:06 PM: The Red Wings returned to practice after Sunday’s 5-1 loss to Boston at Little Caesars Arena’s Belfor Training Center on Monday morning, and MLive’s Ansar Khan was the only beat writer to report that Nick Leddy joined the fray after clearing COVID protocols, but Pius Suter was absent due to unspecified reasons.

Khan also Tweeted that Filip Zadina was taken off the power play.

So, after practice, the Red Wings Tweeted that Suter took a “maintenance day”…

Pius Suter didn’t practice today, but coach Blashill said it was for maintenance and is expected to be available for tomorrow.— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) January 3, 2022

And you may take this for what you will:

#RedWings Blashill said Suter took maintenance day, should be available tomorrow. Leddy available but won’t necessarily play. Hasn’t decided if Veleno in on power play and Zadina out.— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) January 3, 2022

Coach Blashill spoke with the media for 11 minutes today:

Update: Joe Veleno spoke with the media after the coach: