The Malik Report

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen offers first-month-of-the-season grades for the Red Wings’ forwards in a subscriber-only missive:

Robby Fabbri  B-

He’s second on the team with 36 shots on goal and always seems engaged. The Red Wings need more production out of this line, but they aren’t playing poorly. They are getting chances to score. It feels like they could start cashing in on their chances.

Pius Suter      C+

The Swiss forward gets a lower grade because my expectation for him is higher. In fairness, he has played at a higher level in the last three games. He has a pair of two-point games in that span. That gives him six points on the season. He is a very smart player who can create chances when the play doesn’t look dangerous. But he needs better results on the score sheet. His 46% faceoff percentage is hurting Detroit. He needs to improve.

Filip Zadina   B-

He has the highest Corsi on his line at 48.1%. Zadina is making more plays, but the production still isn’t there. He’s good with the puck in traffic. This is a crossroad season for Zadina. The Red Wings are hoping he starts to show that he can be a consistent scorer. Thus far, all we’ve seen is the potential.

Continued (paywall)

Red Wings forward Vladislav Namestnikov had an underwhelming 2020-2021 season for the Wings, but this season, the 28-year-old has been excellent, scoring 6 goals over the course of 14 games played. MLive’s Ansar Khan profiled Namestnikov in his afternoon notebook:

Namestnikov is off to a much better start this season, providing the kind of secondary scoring the team hoped for when signing him to a two-year, $4 million contract 13 months ago.

“Last year was a weird year for me, the pandemic, a lot of posts, sometimes that happens,” Namestnikov said. “This year I had a good summer, I worked hard, it’s paying off right now. I hope I can keep producing like this and help the team win.”

Namestnikov scored twice in Tuesday’s 4-2 victory over Edmonton, giving him seven goals in 14 games. That is just one short of his total in 53 games last season. He already has scored twice as many non-empty netters (six).

“I don’t know that he’s played a whole lot different,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “Sometimes the puck goes in. His shooting percentages have been below the norm I’d make the argument for the last 2-3 years; statistically he should have more goals. He’s worked hard this summer trying to get that to at least where it’s at the NHL norm. I know he’s done a good job of that.”

Continued

Okay, the Red Wings practiced without Filip Hronek, Lucas Raymond or Marc Staal on Wednesday afternoon, and coach Jeff Blashill was uncertain of the players’ respective statuses when he spoke with the media after practice.

The Red Wings’ website posted clips of goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic and coach Blashill speaking with the media:

The Detroit Red Wings practiced on Wednesday in anticipation of Thursday’s game against the Washington Capitals, and Filip Hronek, Lucas Raymond and Marc Staal all missed Detroit’s practice.

After said skate at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center, we waited for confirmation of maintenance days taken and/or injuries.

Alex Nedeljkovic spoke with the media first…

Alex Nedeljkovic on his comfort level: “Every game you just get more and more comfortable. There’s always a little adjustment period… The less I think, the better I play.” #LGRW @DetroitRedWings— Carley Johnston (@carleykjohnston) November 10, 2021

When I asked Ned how he keeps his calm during a game if pucks start to get behind him, “Gotta be like a goldfish, have a short memory.” Sounds like Ned is a @TedLasso fan! #LGRW @DetroitRedWings— Carley Johnston (@carleykjohnston) November 10, 2021

Ned says on winning a game that almost got away from them— it’s what good teams do. They find a way to win. He said it may not be pretty, but it’s two points. #LGRW @DetroitRedWings— Carley Johnston (@carleykjohnston) November 10, 2021

Finally…

Jeff Blashill said there were a few guys out for maintenance days today and is unsure right now regarding their availability for tomorrow’s game vs. Washington. #LGRW @DetroitRedWings— Daniella Bruce (@daniellabruce_) November 10, 2021

Jeff Blashill said Troy Stecher is going to get a second opinion on an undisclosed injury. Getting looked at again today. #LGRW @DetroitRedWings— Daniella Bruce (@daniellabruce_) November 10, 2021

Per Coach Blashill: Stecher is getting a second opinion on his upper body injury #LGRW @DetroitRedWings— Carley Johnston (@carleykjohnston) November 10, 2021

Blashill said maintenance day for a few players (Raymond, Hronek, Staal). Not sure of their availability for tomorrow vs. Capitals. Stecher getting second opinion today for options on dealing with his injury. #RedWings— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) November 10, 2021

The Detroit Red Wings took to the ice at Little Caesars Arena after defeating the Edmonton Oilers 4-2 on Tuesday night.

The Wings remain in the middle of a nasty stretch of 11 games to be played over the course of 17 nights, and the 6-2-and-4 Capitals will serve as a stiff test for the 7-5-and-2 Red Wings.

Detroit will be looking to win its 4th straight game on Thursday; Washington will be well-rested, having not played since Saturday’s 5-3 win over Buffalo, but Washington has dropped 3 of their past 4 games.

Detroit defeated Washington 3-2 in overtime back on October 27th, and the Wings will also host Washington on New Year’s Eve.

Anyway, the Wings hit the ice around 12 PM EST, and MLive’s Ansar Khan reported several absences:

#RedWings on ice for practice. Raymond, Hronek and Staal not skating. pic.twitter.com/cR0nRnl8w9— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) November 10, 2021

Stecher also not skating. Was scheduled to see a specialist yesterday for an injury.— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) November 10, 2021

So:

#RedWings practice lines/D pairs:
Bertuzzi-Larkin-Rowney (for Raymond)
Fabbri-Suter-Zadina
Namestnikov-Rasmussen-Erne
Smith-Stephens-Gagner
DeKeyser-Seider
Leddy-Lindstrom/Oesterle pic.twitter.com/YnMYL0bMrE— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) November 10, 2021

Of Twitter-related note this afternoon:

The @JDanielsFund Celebrity Roast of Brett Hull virtual silent auction is LIVE. ?

These are just a few of the items available to bid on. Check it out!

Bid now: https://t.co/sQ3WKLoi7Q pic.twitter.com/QhvRaVSugC— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) November 10, 2021

With all due respect to the Free Press’s Carlos Monarrez, who penned a fine subscriber-only article on Freep.com this morning, I think that this narrative needs to be slowed down a bit:

What if I told you the Detroit Red Wings look like a playoff team?

You might have laughed at me before the season started.

You probably wouldn’t have believed me after the season opener, when they blew three-goal leads twice and lost in overtime to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

But now?

After Tuesday night’s impressive 4-2 win at Little Caesars Arena over the Edmonton Oilers, one of the NHL’s best teams, no one’s laughing.

And as far as what everyone is seeing with their own eyes? Now that the Wings have played nearly 20% of their schedule, well what does that song tell us about south Detroit? “Don’t Stop Believin.'”

“We believe in each other and we have a good team,” said Vladislav Namestnikov, a fourth-line winger who scored twice. “When we roll four lines it’s hard to play against us. We want to be that team that teams come in here and say, ‘Wow, it’s hard to play against these guys.’ ”

Monarrez continues (paywall);

I’m all for optimism regarding the 7-5-and-2 Red Wings, including going into Thursday’s game vs. the Washington Capitals, but we’re 14 games into an 82-game schedule.

I think it’s time to let the team get through the rest of this 11-games-in-17-nights schedule before assessing where the Wings are at progress-wise. Let’s enjoy where the Wings are now before worrying too much about where they’re going to be at the end of the Olympic-break-included NHL schedule in May.

HockeyNews.se’s Alexander Nilsson posted a list of the 21 most impressive SHL players under the age of 21–i.e. those who are eligible for the Swedish World Junior Championship team, which is skating in Angelholm ahead of the Four Nations Cup–and three of Nilsson’s picks are Red Wings prospects.

Here’s a rough translation of his assessments, which are in Swedish:

Simon Edvinsson, born 2003, defenseman, Frolunda

16 games, 1 goal, 8 assists, +6, 19:42 time on ice per game

Comment: Perhaps the biggest exclamation point in the SHL during the autumn. The defenseman has taken real steps toward and established himself as a regular on Frolunda, and has been hailed by everyone everywhere. A given name on the World Junior Championship team this winter, and Detroit looks to have scored correctly with its choice in the first round last summer.

William Wallinder, defenseman, born 2002, Rogle BK

16 games, 3 goals, 5 assists, +5, 11:24 time on ice per game

Comment: Wallinder didn’t set things on fire when he played in the Allsvenskan [for MoDo] last season, and was sometimes outside the team in MoDo, but he’s made clear improvement over his first autumn in the SHL. He’s not been overwhelmed with playing time, but he’s been given protected minutes to slowly blend into the SHL team.

Theodor Niederbach, forward, born 2002, Frolunda

19 games, 2 goals, 2 assists, +2, 10:00 time on ice per game

Comment: Technically skilled and game-smart center, who had probably hoped to earn playing time on the power play, but hasn’t played a second on the man advantage thus far. Has gained more and more confidence during the season, but was now forced into concussion protocol after a blow from Skelleftea, and was thus forced to skip the tournament in Angelholm.

The Athletic’s Max Bultman offers 5 trends which he believes are contributing to the Red Wings’ success over their first 14 games’ worth of play:

More contributions from down the lineup: As you read the last section and the comparison to the Bertuzzi-Larkin-Mantha line, you may have recalled that those 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons didn’t actually work out so hot for the Red Wings in the aggregate. So what’s the difference between the occasionally miserable team results of those seasons and the quick start now? One is the broader range of contributions Detroit is getting.

The big name here is Vladislav Namestnikov, whose two goals Tuesday gave the Red Wings a crucial early lead and a buffer against the dangerous Oilers. He’s already up to seven goals on the season, just one fewer than he had a year ago. That, certainly, is a difference.

There’s also the likes of Sam Gagner, a bottom-six veteran with six points in 14 games while playing as one of Detroit’s most-used penalty killers. There’s the second line of Robby Fabbri, Pius Suter and Filip Zadina, which has played some of its best hockey in these past few games and was Detroit’s best line in the team’s win over Vegas. That depth is something Detroit simply hasn’t had in recent years, and it’s not limited to the forwards.

Moritz Seider’s empty-net goal Tuesday gave him 11 points for the season. Marc Staal, a veteran third-pair defenseman, had a huge penalty-kill shift Tuesday against the vaunted Oilers power play (which went 0-for-2) and a strong game overall. Gustav Lindstrom — a young blueliner who is still trying to establish himself as a regular — has had some of the best shot-quality numbers on the team thus far.

Take it all together, and the Red Wings are getting boosts from more spots in the lineup than they have in the recent past. That adds up.

Continued (paywall)

Alex Wood, a.k.a. AWood40 on YouTube, posted 16 minutes’ worth of Red Wings-Oilers highlights from last night’s 4-2 Red Wings win:

Update: While we’re at it, here are Vladislav Namestnikov and coach Jeff Blashill’s full post-game pressers, via WXYZ’s Brad Galli:

Continue reading AWood40 posts 16 minutes’ worth of Wings-Oilers highlights