The Malik Report

I wanted to let you know that I’ve been battling through a bad “bug” of the non-COVID variety over the last two weeks, something that’s really dragging my energy level down and causing a lot of congestion…

But I’m doing my damnedest to fight through it and provide as much content as I’m physically able to do on a given day.

I can only say that, if the Wings weren’t playing 11 games over the course of 17 nights, I’d be taking more “maintenance days” myself, but sometimes one must battle through feeling like crap.

So the timing isn’t great for this, but I need to attempt to raise funds to pay the bills and save up for that damn cell phone that Sprint is forcing me to buy by the end of December as my S7 will turn into a brick on New Year’s Day. That, and I’m continuing to try and help AA pay off the outstanding tax bill on the condo so that we can stay here.

I know that it’s not exciting to be asked to help defer non-hockey expenses, and if I could get these items paid for on my own dime, I would, but this is how I earn “my dime.”

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.

Thank you for reading and thank you for your time.

Updated with Caps morning skate Tweets at 11:45 AM: After today’s morning skate ahead of tonight’s game vs. Washington (7:30 PM on Bally Sports Detroit/NBC Sports Washington/97.1 FM), Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill informed us that Filip Hronek, Marc Staal and Lucas Raymond would be “game-time decisions.”

Here’s a video of Blashill speaking with the media from the Red Wings’ YouTube channel:

Update: FYI’s from the Capitals’ morning skate:

Zach Fucale will get the start in net tonight in Detroit, per Head Coach Laviolette. pic.twitter.com/Sn49RynB9s— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) November 11, 2021

Capitals are holding an optional skate this morning ahead of their game vs Detroit. Well-attended. All three goalies on the ice. Puck drop at 7:30pm. pic.twitter.com/NS69vFcf9O— Samantha Pell (@SamanthaJPell) November 11, 2021

Fucale is set to be the fifth #ALLCAPS player to make his NHL debut this season (joining Lapierre, Leason, Protas, AJF).— Sammi Silber (@sammi_silber) November 11, 2021

Zach Fucale will start in net for the Capitals, per Laviolette. Ilya Samsonov will backup.

Vitek Vanecek is taking a maintenance day.— Samantha Pell (@SamanthaJPell) November 11, 2021

Not great news from coach Blashill after the Red Wings-Capitals morning skate:

#RedWings Blashill said Troy Stecher will take the next couple of weeks to see how his injury heals. After that surgery is an option. Status of Raymond, Hronek, Staal for tonight vs. Capitals determined game time.— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) November 11, 2021

Coach updated us on Stecher’s upper body injury. Said he has a few different options, but first he’s going to see how his injury heals over the next couple weeks #LGRW @DetroitRedWings— Carley Johnston (@carleykjohnston) November 11, 2021

The Detroit Red Wings held an optional morning skate ahead of tonight’s game vs. the Washington Capitals (7:30 PM on Bally Sports Detroit/NBC Sports Washington/97.1 FM), and Lucas Raymond made an appearance at the Wings’ skate. Thomas Greiss will also start tonight, though it’s unclear against whom he’ll play.

The Caps are also holding an optional skate this morning, and as their lineup is also in flux due to injuries, we may not know what either team looks like lineup-wise until just before game time.

These are the players that both teams brought to LCA…

Tonight’s Rosters vs Washington. pic.twitter.com/Es8SAAm1ex— Ken Kal (@KenKalDRW) November 11, 2021

So we waited for news regarding this guy, and Filip Hronek, and Marc Staal:

Raymond getting some work in this morning at @LCArena_Detroit ?#LGRW pic.twitter.com/HoJREzOhJ3— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) November 11, 2021

Game-time decisions:

Blashill said he’s still unsure about the status of those who missed yesterdays practice, that includes Lucas Raymond. #LGRW https://t.co/UBngW6PtaP— Daniella Bruce (@daniellabruce_) November 11, 2021

Lucas Raymond, Marc Staal and Filip Hronek all skated in morning skate, but Coach Blashill says it’s still up in the air whether or not they’ll play in tonight’s game against Washington #LGRW @DetroitRedWings— Carley Johnston (@carleykjohnston) November 11, 2021

The Detroit Red Wings hope to earn their 4th straight win this evening as they host the Washington Capitals (7:30 PM EST on Bally Sports Detroit/NBC Sports Washington/97.1 FM).

Tonight is Military Appreciation night at LCA:

Military Appreciation Night! ??

? 7:30pm
? @BallySportsDET
? @971theticketxyt
? @kroger pic.twitter.com/avS5Z3HRbL— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) November 11, 2021

The Red Wings “took an optional,” but there was good news from The Athletic’s Max Bultman:

Lucas Raymond on the ice at Red Wings optional morning skate today— Max Bultman (@m_bultman) November 11, 2021

Um…

Just walked by the Capitals locker room this morning and the song blaring through the door was “Hold On” by Wilson Phillips. Interesting choice, but I’m a fan.— Daniella Bruce (@daniellabruce_) November 11, 2021

Lucas Raymond out on the ice for an optional skate this morning. #LGRW @DetroitRedWings— Daniella Bruce (@daniellabruce_) November 11, 2021

Prepping for the Caps.

Puck drops at 7:30pm. #LGRW

?: https://t.co/a1ZFiGyALB pic.twitter.com/qud0mg5MO2— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) November 11, 2021

This is no surprise:

Thomas Greiss off the ice first for the Red Wings #LGRW @DetroitRedWings— Carley Johnston (@carleykjohnston) November 11, 2021

The Capitals’ PR website also sets up tonight’s game with a preview:

Continue reading Red Wings-Capitals morning skate Tweets and articles: We have a Lucas Raymond sighting

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff reports that former Red Wings defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov is signing autographs to help pay for his care:

Former Detroit Red Wings defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov and his family are always seeking out methods of defraying some of the costs they are encountering in dealing with his ongoing medical issues. The ex-NHL All-Star defender suffered a career-ending brain injury in a 1997 limousine accident.

Signing his name is proving to be a wonderful way to make this happen. In partnership with SportsGraphing.com, Konstantinov is putting his signature to autographed items. Firstly, these are then sold to collectors. Secondly, all of the proceeds go to Konstantinov’s Special Needs Fund. Most importantly, this fund helps to cover the cost of therapies that are not included in the standard insurance provisions from the settlement following the accident.

Red Wings and Konstantinov fans all over the world have already helped to raise over $30,000 towards his special needs trust.

The latest round of Konstantinov autograph items are now available for purchase through SportsGraphing.com, with proceeds going to the Special Needs Fund.

Continued

The Free Press’s Helene St. James sets up tonight’s Red Wings-Capitals match-up (7:30 PM on Bally Sports Detroit/NBC Sports Washington/97.1 FM) with some words of wisdom from Alex Nedeljkovic and Jeff Blashill regarding the Red Wings’ “surge“:

“For a team that’s learning how to win, I think we’re doing a good job of staying in games,” Nedeljkovic said. “There are a few games where we’ve come from behind in the third period — we found a way to win in Buffalo. We came up a little short against Florida, but we were right there. (Tuesday) was a huge game to build off for confidence. We have the lead and kind of let them back in and we found a way to win. That’s what good teams do. It’s not always going to be pretty, but they find ways to win and at the end of the day, two points is what matters.”

Beating good teams like the Oilers and Capitals builds confidence. The Wings look like a significantly better team than the previous two seasons — and they should, based on their increase in talent. Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider rank first and second, respectively, in the rookie scoring race. (Raymond did not practice Wednesday because he had a maintenance day, according to coach Jeff Blashill. Filip Hronek and Marc Staal were also off.) All in all, there’s enough depth to roll three lines capable of scoring and three solid defense pairings.

“We’ve infused some talent, so that gives you chances to make plays that can get you back in games,” Blashill said. “That’s not necessarily a learning process as much as our talent has grown and matured, and we’ve infused some. Last time we played Washington, or coming back against Florida — we stayed in the game longer.

“There’s a maturity level, when you get down by a couple goals, to not play loose, to understanding there’s still lots of time and you have to keep playing the right way.. If you get down and you start giving up tons of chances, it’s likely one of those is going in and now you’re down more goals. It doesn’t do any good. You have to make sure your game plan stays the same as when the game started.”

Continued (paywall)

Of Red Wings prospect-related note:

In Europe, in the Swedish Allsvenskan, neither Albin Grewe or Gustav Berglund took part in Mora IK’s 2-1 shootout loss to Vita Hasten;

Jesper Eliasson was the back-up in Almtuna IS’s 5-2 loss to AIK Stockholm;

In North America, in the WHL, Sebastian Cossa made up for a 4-goals-against night on Tuesday by stopping 41 of 43 shots, earning first-start honors in the Edmonton Oil Kings’ 4-2 win over Prince Albert;

And Alex Cotton had a goal and an assist, finishing at +1 with 6 shots in the Vancouver Giants’ 5-3 victory over Prince George.

The Detroit Red Wings face the Washington Capitals for the second time this season tonight (7:30 PM on Bally Sports Detroit/NBC Sports Washington/97.1 FM).

Between the fact that the 7-5-and-2 Red Wings have won 3 straight games, the fact that Alex Ovechkin happens to be tied with Brett Hull in the all-time goals race (with 741), and the fact that the 6-2-and-4 Capitals haven’t played since last Monday, when they snapped a 3-game losing streak by defeating the Buffalo Sabres 5-3…

This really feels like a “trap game” for the Red Wings, the kind of game where the Red Wings go in, looking back at their 3-2 OT win over Washington at the end of last month, and think, “Hmm, this won’t be a difficult win.”

Continue reading Red Wings-Capitals set-up: Another ‘trap game?’

Yahoo Sports’ Justin Cuthbert penned a column in which he discusses several hot topics from around the NHL, and the Red Wings’ 7-5-and-2 start is one of those topics:

The Detroit Red Wings have seven wins from their first 14 games this season, but few if any have been more impressive than their victory Tuesday night over the Edmonton Oilers. No team can have their fastball every night, however McDavid, Draisaitl, and the incredible forward group in Edmonton looked merely average in its stop at Little Caesars Arena.

Which is, to put it mildly, an accomplishment.

What we needed to see from the Wings this season was some progress after five years as the single least-successful team in the league. (Yes, behind Buffalo). And between the performance of the top line, the emergence of Moritz Seider, and other key contributions around the lineup, the Red Wings have shown that so far. 

Tyler Bertuzzi has driven some of the best results league-wide, and with Lucas Raymond and Dylan Larkin the Red Wings finally have a No. 1 that can threaten the opposition with regularity. With more goals and points than any other rookie, Raymond could be considered the Calder Trophy front-runner, but his biggest competition could be Seider, his teammate on the back end. 

Seider, who saw nine-plus minutes versus Draisaitl in the Edmonton win, continues to log major minutes against quality competition and sits just three points off the lead held by defenceman and Norris Trophy pace car, Adam Fox. 

We’re starting to see, now, what Steve Yzerman has envisioned.

Continued