Videos from Saturday’s practice: Suter, Blashill

The Detroit Red Wings practiced at Little Caesars Arena’s Belfor Training Center on Saturday, and the one bit of news we received was that Nick Leddy will remain on unavailable due to COVID protocols when the Red Wings host the Boston Bruins on Sunday afternoon (1 PM EST start on Bally Sports Detroit/NESN/Sportsnet/97.1 FM).

Still smarting from Friday’s 3-1 loss to Washington, and while the aforementioned Bruins hosted the Buffalo Sabres in a matinee game in Boston, Pius Suter and coach Jeff Blashill spoke with the media today:

Tweets from Saturday’s practice: Leddy will still be out when Detroit hosts Boston on Sunday

The Detroit Red Wings hit the ice at Little Caesars Arena’s Belfor Training Center 12 hours after New Year’s hit, and some 14 hours after their 3-1 loss to the Washington Capitals:

First skate of 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣2️⃣‼️ pic.twitter.com/fR41feMpw6— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) January 1, 2022

The Wings will host the Boston Bruins tomorrow for a matinee game (1 PM EST start on Bally Sports Detroit/NESN/Sportsnet/97.1 FM), with Boston sitting 3 points back with 6 games in hand ahead of today’s 1 PM game vs. the Sabres, at TD Garden in Boston.

To state the obvious, winning tomorrow’s game vs. the Bruins is essential for the Wings to nurse their slim lead over the Bruins in the Wild Card and Atlantic Division standings for as long as possible.

Today, the players are going to want to get out of Dodge…I mean Detroit…by mid-afternoon, as we have a winter storm coming that’s supposed to dump 4-6 inches of snow on Southeastern Michigan. Nobody wants to drive on the roads during a rain-turns-to-sleet-turns-to-snow fest.

Anyway, the Wings’ beat writers have been conspicuously silent over the course of the last couple of practices, though they’ve been around for the Zoom calls. That’s been a little strange.

Speaking of Tweets from Zoom calls, we got one! And it’s not great news:

Jeff Blashill said he does not anticipate Nick Leddy being available tomorrow. #LGRW— Daniella Bruce (@daniellabruce_) January 1, 2022

THN’s Ferrari wonders whether Simon Edvinsson will play in the 2023 WJC

The Hockey News’s Tony Ferrari examined which World Junior Championship-participating players from the 2022 tournament in Edmonton and Red Deer can return for the 2023 tournament, in both Group A and Group B, and he notes that the Swedes’ defense has a big, Simon Edvinsson-sized question mark:

Sweden returns the fewest members of this year’s squad with just six players eligible to return. The wildcard will be defenseman Simon Edvinsson. The Red Wings prospect has been great in the SHL this year and was arguably the tournament’s best defenseman through two games at this year’s World Juniors. Could he be in Detroit next year at this time, preventing him from participating in the annual holiday U20 event? That’s certainly a possibility with the way the young Swede has tracked thus far.

Continued; Edvinsson may be in Detroit at this time next season, or he may be in Grand Rapids. In the latter case, the Wings would lend him to Team Sweden.

Khan in the morning: Wings frustrated by result, but not process, vs. Capitals

The Detroit Red Wings lost a disappointing and frustrating 3-1 decision to the Washington Capitals last night, beginning a stretch of 32 days in which the team plays on an average of once every other day.

This morning, MLive’s Ansar Khan filed his game recap, which notes that the Wings were frustrated with their inability to close out Friday night’s game, but relatively satisfied with their overall play:

“I thought we played well enough to win the hockey game, put ourselves in position to win,” Blashill said. “You’re super-disappointed. You want to find a way to win the game. We’re sitting there with the game to be had. Unfortunately, they made the play late and we didn’t.”

The Red Wings (15-14-3) hadn’t played since Dec. 18, having had four games postponed due to an excessive number of COVID-19 cases. They had 11 players in protocol at one point; all except for Nick Leddy returned this week and played in this game.

The Capitals (20-6-7) returned to action in Thursday’s 5-3 victory over Nashville.

“It was physical, emotional, tight-checking,” Red Wings defenseman Marc Staal said. “We were right there. It’s a tough way to lose it at the end for sure. After that long of a break and with guys in and out of protocols, I liked our effort and our intensity and our emotion. It’s something that we’ve got to repeat.”

Staal likely wasn’t alone among Red Wings questioning why Fabbri was called for a penalty at that stage of the game.

“It’s five minutes left, and a lot of stuff was going on during the game. I thought it was a tough time to call a penalty,” Staal said. “But it is what it is, and we got to try to kill it, and we (essentially) didn’t.”

Continued; I’m still confused as to what Fabbri was called for, and as several of you noted on Twitter last night, it was a shame that the Capitals were given a center-ice faceoff after an intentional offside on their power play, ultimately facilitating the play that led to Ovechkin’s goal.

Red Wings-Capitals wrap-up: Ovechkin’s milestone spoils Wings’ Rockin’ (Seider) New Year’s Eve show

The Detroit Red Wings lost a 3-1 decision to the Washington Capitals on Friday night, losing what was a tighter game than the score, due to a penalty that was either needless and stupid by Robby Fabbri, needless and stupid by the refs, who’d been given a bee under their bonnet by the chirping Caps after Moritz Seider got off Scot free from hitting Nic Dowd (unsportsmanlike conduct penalties aside), or maybe it was a little bit of both.

In any case, it was a bitter way to end what was in fact a good half-season for 15-14-and-3 Detroit, and Seider put on a masterclass in terms of poise as fellow Super-Rookie Lucas Raymond struggled a bit coming off the COVID list.

It was a game where a little more sustained offense, a little more discipline, and a little more finish would have given the Red Wings at least a point, if not two, but there are still apparently lessons that this year’s team needs to learn, and, shit, man, if the Capitals aren’t a team that teaches you lessons the hard way, I don’t know what team is a sterner teacher out there.

All of that being said, this makes Sunday’s matinee game vs. the Boston Bruins, who sit 5 points behind the Wings with six games in hand, absolutely monumental in terms of shifting the balance of power for that Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference standings, and even if you and I don’t believe that the Wings will make the playoffs (and I don’t), keeping the B’s off the Wings’ tails for a longer period of time would at least feel good.

That’s something that’s in short supply in Detroit sports these days.

Anyway, Friday’s “learning experience” for the Red Wings in terms of consistency of effort was yet another exclamation point upon a fantastic career for Alex Ovechkin, whose goal was–then wasn’t–then was again his 275th power play goal, breaking Dave Andreychuk’s record for the all-time power play goals record.

Continue reading Red Wings-Capitals wrap-up: Ovechkin’s milestone spoils Wings’ Rockin’ (Seider) New Year’s Eve show

Prospect Round-up: Walleye win outside; Mazur 1A in NCAA

Of Red Wings prospect-related note in North America on Friday:

In the ECHL, Billy Christopoulos stopped 34 of 36 shots as the Toledo Walleye won their “Winterfest” outdoor game, winning 7-2 over the Indy Fuel at Fifth Third Field. Here’s a highlight clip from the game:

Elsewhere, in the WHL, Cross Hanas missed the Portland Winterhawks’ 2-0 win over Seattle;

In NCAA Hockey, neither Robert Mastrosimone nor Chase Bradley played in the Boston University Terriers’ 5-1 win over Brown;

And in the University of Denver Pioneers’ 7-2 win over Alaska Anchorage:

Antti Tuomisto finished at +4 with 3 shots on goal;

Shai Buium finished at -1 with 3 shots on goal;

And Carter Mazur had an assist, finishing even with 2 shots on goal.

Recap: Grand Rapids Griffins win vs. Milwaukee with 14 skaters

The Grand Rapids Griffins won a bit of a “fast and loose” game against the Milwaukee Admirals by a 5-4 tally on New Year’s Eve, with a shorthanded Griffins team (which dressed 14 skaters) prevailing thanks to a goal by Riley Barber.

The Griffins’ website posted a recap…

Milwaukee Admirals 4 at GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS 5

Dec. 31, 2021

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Overcoming a depleted roster that dressed only 14 skaters – four shy of a full lineup – due to COVID protocols, injuries and NHL callups, the Grand Rapids Griffins gritted their way to a 5-4 victory over the Milwaukee Admirals on Friday in their 24th annual New Year’s Eve celebration at Van Andel Arena.

Victor Brattstrom earned his first AHL win, stopping 29 of 33 Admirals shots, for a Grand Rapids team that played just its second game since Dec. 11 due to a string of recent postponements. Seth Barton and Josh Dickinson netted their first goals as Griffins, helping the home team improve to 12-10-1-1 all time on New Year’s Eve.

Continue reading Recap: Grand Rapids Griffins win vs. Milwaukee with 14 skaters

Red Wings-Capitals quick take: 2021 ends on a sour note

The Detroit Red Wings hoped to ring in the New Year on a happy note, taking on the offensive powerhouse known as the Washington Capitals at Little Caesars Arena on New Year’s Eve.

The Red Wings got screwed by disjointed play and they got screwed by the refs, who afforded Washington a late 3rd period power play which resulted in an Ovechkin goal. Ultimately, Detroit did not do enough to continue their excellent start, and they lost 3-1 to the pesky, talented Capitals. See below for more:

Continue reading Red Wings-Capitals quick take: 2021 ends on a sour note