The Malik Report

Okay, the Associated Press posted Red Wings-Islanders preview ahead of tomorrow’s game between the 13-12-and-3 Red Wings and the 7-11-and-5 New York Islanders (7:30 PM EST start on Bally Sports Detroit/MSG+/97.1 FM), and Field Level Media posted another Wings-Islanders preview this afternoon:

The New York Islanders are showing signs of life after an 11-game winless streak. They have won two of their last three heading into their road game against Detroit on Tuesday.

The Islanders ended the long drought with a 5-3 triumph in Ottawa on Tuesday. Following a one-goal loss to Nashville on Thursday, they defeated New Jersey 4-2 on Saturday. The most recent victory had historical significance — it was their first at new UBS Arena.

“I’ll give the fans the credit for the win,” head coach Barry Trotz said. “They stuck with us through the whole game. They stuck with us through the last six or seven games. I was sitting in the office here and you could hear the thunder of the fans in the locker room, in the coaches’ room, that’s fantastic. … We’re going to dig ourselves out of this and try to make some noise.”

Mathew Barzal contributed a pair of assists against the Devils, extending his personal point streak to six games. He has a goal and eight assists in that span. Barzal sees signs that the team is starting to believe in itself again.

“When you lose a couple late like we have recently at home, that confidence, that championship mentality that we had the last couple of years, it seemed like it wasn’t there for a little bit,” he said. “I really thought (Saturday) we got it back.”

Oliver Wahlstrom also had two assists, giving him six points over his last three games.

“He’s playing a straight-line game and he’s using people,” Trotz said of Wahlstrom. “He’s got his head up, his awareness is getting better. Right now, we’ve got some people who are good players, who aren’t playing. This is the back pressure that you have when you have an almost healthy or healthy lineup. Wahlstrom will have to continue producing and playing well, as will some other guys.”

Continued; the Wings beat the Islanders 3-2 in an overtime decision late last month.

I’m back at the fundraising business again, and I’m sorry, because I really hate doing this…

But I can’t work for free, and on a website with no commercial ads and no paywalls, the only way to ensure that I can raise funds is to ask for help.

This blog is definitely a non-profit–all the funds are going to pay off Aunt Annie’s property taxes and save for a cell phone before T-Mobile shuts off my ancient S7 in January–and yes, I know it’s asking for a lot to ask for help with non-hockey-related matters…

But I’m not looking to buy a Maserati here. I just need to pay the bills, and maybe have enough left over to pay for Christmas dinner as AA and I are too worried about the Delta surge (given her immune system or the lack thereof) to allow me to head out to the family Christmas party this Saturday. That will be two years sans a family celebration for me because Aunt Annie and I have to live like people with shitty immune systems (we are still masking)…

Anyway, things are gloomy around here, and I’m still battling my way through this stupid cold on top of everything, but yeah, I need to ask for help here. We’ll be doing a hockey trip or three as soon as I start feeling remotely human again.

So, I’ve tried to give you a two-week break, but it’s time again for the NPR of blogs.

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.

Thanks for your readership and your time.

The Detroit Red Wings practiced with Tyler Bertuzzi and Gustav Lindstrom in the fold on Monday at Little Caesars Arena, but Marc Staal remained sidelined due to COVID protocols.

The Wings open up a stretch of 4 games to be played over the course of 7 nights tomorrow vs. the New York Islanders, and 3 of those 4 games will be played at LCA.

After practice, Tyler Bertuzzi spoke with the media…

Red Wings F Tyler Bertuzzi says he is not changing his mind about getting vaccinated after bout with COVID-19.— Helene St. James (@HeleneStJames) December 13, 2021

I’m tired of this storyline. We know he’s not going to get vaccinated. We know where he stands. This is not shocking news, even after contracting COVID. For whatever reason, he’s arrogant enough to stand behind his “life decision” despite the science showing that COVID vaccination reduces the risks of infection, hospitalization and death by 10-to-15-fold.

So f***ing what. Ask him something else. Yeah, this pisses me off, but the Wings and the NHL can’t make him get the vaccine, so that’s just the way it is. His choice, his potential and very real consequences, for both himself and his teammates.

Anyway, that was the only post-practice Tweet. Here are videos of Bertuzzi and coach Jeff Blashill speaking with the media:

Two good Red Wings-related articles are lurking behind paywalls on GP.se:

First, in the good news category, Niklas Kronwall apparently praises “113-kilogram Elmer Soderblom” for having “taken his chance” to establish himself as a regular player on Frolunda HC’s power play;

And in the “bummer news” category, GP.se is reporting why Liam Dower Nilsson and his brother, Noah, haven’t been playing J20 hockey of late: their mom, Bodil, recently died during her seventh bout with cancer. Here’s hoping that both young men receive the support they need…losing a mom to a catastrophic illness is a rough one.

The Red Wings took to the ice at 11 AM today at Little Caesars Arena, preparing for tomorrow night’s game against the resurgent New York Islanders:

#RedWings practice before facing Islanders tomorrow at ⁦@LCArena_Detroit⁩ Bertuzzi is out of COVID protocol and skating, Staal is not. Lindstrom (lower body injury) is practicing. pic.twitter.com/4QyoDOaRCV— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) December 13, 2021

Tyler Bertuzzi back at practice! pic.twitter.com/SKI6BSx2Z7— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) December 13, 2021

Gustav Lindstrom is also back at practice. pic.twitter.com/Hwiht9NVV1— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) December 13, 2021

#RedWings lines in practice:
Bertuzzi-Larkin-Raymond
Namestnikov-Suter-Fabbri
Erne-Rasmussen-Zadina
Smith/Veleno/Rowney-Gagner
DeKeyser-Seider
Leddy-Hronek
Oesterle-Lindstrom
Renouf pic.twitter.com/0oURS0tVWU— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) December 13, 2021

I might suggest that the Wings are missing Lindstrom and Staal pretty badly on the back end.

#RedWings power play units:
1. Bertuzzi (net front), Fabbri (bumper), Larkin-Raymond (flanks), Seider (point).
2. Suter (net front), Namestnikov (bumper), Hronek-Zadina (flanks), Leddy (point). pic.twitter.com/bYBoW4yvPn— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) December 13, 2021

CSKA Moscow posted a couple of “Happy Birthday” Tweets for their head coach, one Sergei Fedorov, who turns 52 today…

Сегодня, 13 декабря, день рождения главного тренера ЦСКА Сергея Викторовича Фёдорова.

Желаем крепкого здоровья, счастья, успеха, благополучия и новых больших побед с армейским клубом! pic.twitter.com/eXpVk7wKoD— ХК ЦСКА Москва (@hccska) December 13, 2021

Генеральный менеджер и легенда @DetroitRedWings Стив Айзерман поздравляет Сергея Фёдорова с Днём рождения. pic.twitter.com/eH2JuLaKti— ХК ЦСКА Москва (@hccska) December 13, 2021

As did the Red Wings:

HBD, Sergei! ? pic.twitter.com/Pjf0rucAZC— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) December 13, 2021

Fedorov was my first “favorite Wing,” really the player who got me into hockey, and my mom and dad happened to be married on the same day in 1969 that Sergei was born. Both my parents have passed away, but today is still a special day.

The Athletic’s Harman Dayal and Max Bultman filed a rather complicated collaboration this morning, discussing how the Red Wings ought to avoid becoming the next Vancouver Canucks team as the Wings navigate the turbulent waters of a difficult rebuilding effort:

The lesson Detroit can take from the Canucks is mostly about timing. There is a time for teams to dangle first-round picks. There’s even a time to take risks with long-term contracts for older players. But those risks need to be well-calculated, and part of that calculation has to be maximizing the chances of truly taking advantage of the early years of such a contract.

In Vancouver’s case, the [J.T.] Miller deal clearly worked out, and the Canucks deserve credit for it. But giving up the chance to draft a player like [Dylan] Guenther partly in order escape three cap anchors in the final year of their deals this past summer does not, in hindsight, look like a well-timed push — even with [Conor] Garland and [Oliver] Ekman-Larsson playing big roles for the Canucks.

And of course, the pressure on Vancouver’s management team didn’t help matters there — another difference from Detroit’s situation, at least for now. Clearly, Jim Benning and his staff could not afford to wait much longer for success to arrive. Steve Yzerman does not appear to be on any kind of clock. But at some point, he, too, will face some form of pressure.

Maybe that cleaner cap sheet now will allow him a bit more buffer to take swings when that pressure arrives. Maybe the Red Wings’ deep prospect cupboard will produce a hidden gem or two — one of the ways he managed to assemble a powerhouse in Tampa Bay. Maybe Detroit’s players make it crystal clear when it’s time to go all-in.

But most likely, Detroit is going to have to carefully weigh the timing of every big move it considers in the coming two years.

Continued (paywall)

The Associated Press posted an early preview of tomorrow night’s match-up between the Red Wings and the New York Islanders:

BOTTOM LINE: Detroit aims to end its three-game skid when the Red Wings play New York.

The Red Wings are 7-6-2 in conference play. Detroit is the top team in the Eastern Conference with 4.9 assists per game, led by Moritz Seider averaging 0.6.

The Islanders are 3-8-2 in Eastern Conference play. New York serves 11.8 penalty minutes per game, the most in the Eastern Conference. Zdeno Chara leads the team serving 53 total minutes.

In their last meeting on Dec. 4, Detroit won 4-3.

TOP PERFORMERS: Tyler Bertuzzi leads the Red Wings with a plus-nine in 20 games this season. Dylan Larkin has 8 points over the last 10 games for Detroit.

Brock Nelson leads the Islanders with nine goals and has 11 points. Mathew Barzal has one goal and eight assists over the last 10 games for New York.

LAST 10 GAMES: Red Wings: 5-4-1, averaging 2.6 goals, 4.6 assists, three penalties and 7.2 penalty minutes while giving up 3.3 goals per game with an .896 save percentage.

Islanders: 2-5-3, averaging 2.1 goals, 3.8 assists, 4.3 penalties and 11.6 penalty minutes while giving up 2.8 goals per game with a .908 save percentage.

The Free Press’s Helene St. James makes a very difficult determination this morning, suggesting that the Red Wings need the early-season version of Tyler Bertuzzi to return from COVID protocols to turn their struggling team around:

Getting back a top-line forward and power-play stalwart is welcome news to a team trying to overturn a three-game losing skid, but what would really help is if Bertuzzi looks more like his early-season self than the one who was underperforming before a positive test on Dec. 1 landed him in quarantine for 10 days/five games.

When the season began, Bertuzzi hadn’t played since the end of January, when a back injury ended up derailing his 2021 season and requiring surgery in April.

Any concern how that would affect him dissipated when he scored four goals in the opener. He had a point in each of the next two games, and another multipoint performance (goal, two assists) in his fifth game.

Bertuzzi gave an especially impressive performance Nov. 6 at Buffalo, with the Wings on an 0-3-1 skid. With the Sabres leading 3-1 in the third period (Bertuzzi had set up Pius Suter’s goal in the first period), Bertuzzi scored twice 90 seconds apart with less than seven minutes to play — and capped off the evening by setting up Moritz Seider in overtime.

St. James continues (paywall); I’m going to have to suggest, with all due respect to HSJ, that her own assertion later in the article that Bertuzzi’s point-per-game production was probably unsustainable is probably more accurate…

And his presence as a catalyst for offense on the forecheck is more important than Bertuzzi himself somehow regenerating his early-season point-plus-per-game production.

The truth of the matter is that Tyler’s energy and enthusiasm are tremendous, and that the Red Wings miss his spark more than they do his ability to score at a high rate.

The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler discusses Hockey Canada’s World Junior Championship team, whose roster will include Red Wings prospects Donovan Sebrango and Sebastian Cossa:

LHD Donovan Sebrango (Detroit Red Wings): I don’t think Sebrango was at his best throughout camp. His first touch accepting passes into his shooting stance seemed off in drills. He had a couple of chats with coaches during drills where he made a mistake defensively and there was some teaching happening (and while that’s not the kind of thing I’d typically read anything into in this setting, he had to be dialled in on that side because he’s not going to be asked to create offence for this group). Still, his age, experience and style of play make bringing him as a depth guy sensible.

…

G Sebastian Cossa (Detroit Red Wings): Cossa’s first test of the opener was a hard push from his right to his left to make a really tough pad save. That’s the quality, with his size and his power, that really sets him apart. He looked completely unbeatable down low, too. It was controlled pad save after controlled pad save, which actually stands in stark contrast from the summer camp when he got beat five-hole a bunch of times. On the flip side, he then got beat up high dropping into his butterfly early on a couple of shots in the second game. So there might be some give-and-take there. He stopped 47 of 51 shots (.922) in camp on the whole but I don’t think he has solidified his case for the starter’s net just yet.

Continued (paywall); my few viewings of Cossa have included the same concern–that Cossa leaves his feet too early and allows top-shelf goals because he drops that gigantic body into the butterfly almost instinctually, leaving the top half of the net open, especially over his catch glove.