The Malik Report

The Associated Press has already posted a preview of Thursday’s Red Wings-Capitals affair. Washington sits at 6-2-and-4 heading into Thursday’s game, while Detroit’s 7-5-and-2:

BOTTOM LINE: The Washington Capitals visit Detroit after Vladislav Namestnikov scored two goals in the Red Wings’ 4-2 win against the Oilers.

The Red Wings are 3-4-2 against Eastern Conference opponents. Detroit is seventh in the Eastern Conference averaging 3.1 goals per game, led by Tyler Bertuzzi with nine.

The Capitals are 2-1-0 against opponents from the Metropolitan. Washington leads the Eastern Conference with two shorthanded goals, led by Alex Ovechkin with one.

Detroit knocked off Washington 3-2 in the last meeting between these teams on Oct. 27.

TOP PERFORMERS: Bertuzzi has 15 total points for the Red Wings, nine goals and six assists. Lucas Raymond has 11 points over the last 10 games for Detroit.

Ovechkin leads the Capitals with 21 points, scoring 11 goals and adding 10 assists. Evgeny Kuznetsov has eight assists over the last 10 games for Washington.

LAST 10 GAMES: Red Wings: 5-4-1, averaging three goals, 5.3 assists, 3.3 penalties and 6.6 penalty minutes while giving up 3.2 goals per game with a .906 save percentage.

Capitals: 5-2-3, averaging 3.6 goals, 5.5 assists, 3.1 penalties and seven penalty minutes while allowing 2.9 goals per game with an .895 save percentage.

ESPN’s Kristen Shilton posted a set of power rankings which include “the most underrated player” for each and every one of the NHL’s 32 teams, and her pick for the Red Wings is the team’s best third-line player:

25. Detroit Red Wings

Previous ranking: 23
Points percentage: 0.571
Upcoming schedule: vs. WSH (Nov. 11), vs. MTL (Nov. 13), @ CBJ (Nov. 15), @ DAL (Nov. 16)

Vladislav Namestnikov. The Red Wings’ rookies — and red-hot Tyler Bertuzzi — have pulled headlines, but Namestnikov is having a sneaky-good start of his own. His seven goals and nine points are both top five for the Wings. For a team that’s been seriously lacking in secondary scoring, Namestnikov has been the one to consistently answer that call.

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MLive’s Ansar Khan posted a recap of the Red Wings’ 4-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. This morning, Khan notes that the Red Wings seem a world away from the team that went 0-3-and-1 recently after winning 3 straight games:

“The mood is good,” [Vladislav] Namestnikov said. “Even when we were losing everyone was in good spirits. Everyone believes in each other; we have a good team. When we roll four lines it’s hard to play against us. We want to be that team that when teams come in here, they say, ‘Wow, it’s hard to play against these guys.’ Hopefully we can keep rolling and keep winning.”

The Red Wings host Washington (6-2-4) Thursday, looking to win four in a row for the first time since they reeled off six consecutive victories from March 23-April 2, 2019.

“It’s important for us to win games where you just have a one-goal lead for a long period of time, because that’s the learning process,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “We got to be able to win 2-1 and we got to be able to win 6-1. We’re going to continue to get better as a group defensively, we’re going continue to make sure our puck management’s good, and I thought it was a good step in the right direction.”

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According to WXYZ’s Brett Kast, the Red Wings and Little Caesars Arena are offering a discounted PCR COVID-19 test (at $85 instead of $200) to Canadian fans, who need to present a negative PCR test at the border to get back into Canada:

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

In the WHL, Sebastian Cossa proved that he is only human, surrendering 4 goals on 24 shots as the Edmonton Oil Kings lost 4-3 in overtime to Saskatoon. Cossa is 7-2-and-3 with a 2.03 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage;

And Alex Cotton finished even with 2 shots in his Vancouver Giants’ debut, with Vancouver losing 1-0 to Prince George.

The Detroit Red Wings emerged 4-2 victors in a mightily entertaining battle with the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night, and things will get no easier as the Washington Capitals will come to town on Thursday…

But this 7-5-and-2 Red Wings team is at literal .500 after 14 games, and this brutal stretch of 11 games to be played over the course of 17 nights won’t even be half over until after Thursday night…

But the Red Wings have won 3 straight games for the first time in two seasons, and there’s little doubt that they’re not going to be shivering in their skate boots when Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals come to town on Thursday.

It’s still bloody early in the season, but this year’s Red Wings team has a different definition of “competitive,” and we’re still at the point where it seems to shock the contenders that the Red Wings have given competitive efforts.

For our friends from Edmonton, however, this game turned upon a self-inflicted wound by Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner, who fumbled the puck in his second NHL start, affording Dylan Larkin what appeared to be a 3-0, insurance goal at 14:29 of the 2nd period. The Edmonton Journal’s Jim Matheson offered this take on Skinner, who stopped 35 of the 38 shots he faced:

Continue reading Red Wings-Oilers wrap-up: Detroit’s ‘intimidation factor’ near zero as they win 3rd straight game

Red Wings forward Sam Gagner hit the 900-game milestone tonight, and he posted the primary assist on Vladislav Namestnikov’s first goal in Detroit’s 4-2 win over Edmonton.

Sam Gagner recorded an assist while playing in his 900th career regular-season game. He and his father, Dave (946), are one of six father-son duos in NHL history to each hit the benchmark.#NHLStats: https://t.co/Gp5cahrPgA pic.twitter.com/UWn8AQY7Nu— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) November 10, 2021

Gagner spoke with the Edmonton Sun’s Robert Tychkowski about his milestone, and his time spent with the Edmonton Oilers, the team that drafted him:

“Edmonton holds a special place in my heart,” said the 32-year-old Detroit Red Wing, who hit the 900 milestone Tuesday against his old team. “I met my wife there. My daughter was born there. My wife’s family still lives there. I owe a lot to the Oilers organization for giving me a chance and developing me. It’s always special playing against these guys.”

With 542 of his 900 games coming in Edmonton, Gagner is 20th on the Oilers all time games played list. He says his time here taught him valuable lessons that he uses today on a Detroit team in a rebuilding mode of its own.

“It allowed me to gain some perspective and it’s helping me now in the situation I’m in here,” said Gagner, whose eight-point night against Chicago in 2012 still stands as the team’s all-time single-game record.

“It’s helping me to be a leader for some of the guys who are going through some of the same things early in their career. I’m thankful for my time in Edmonton. Early on in my career it was a great opportunity for me. I enjoyed everything about being an Oiler and playing there and living in the city. I have a lot of great memories from my time there. The second stint was a different stage of my life with a family and the Oilers were starting to turn the corner so it was fun to be a part of that, as well. Nothing but fond memories.”

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The Detroit Red Wings, standing at 6-5-and-2 heading into tonight’s game, faced the 9-and-1 Edmonton Oilers in what was going to be a “learning experience” game no matter what against McDavid, Draisaitl and the Oilers’ elite scorers.

In what was a gigantic learning experience, no doubt, the Red Wings raced out to a 3-0 lead and held on for dear life, ultimately defeating the Edmonton Oilers 4-2.

Vladislav Namestnikov (2) and Dylan Larkin scored the Red Wings’ first three goals, and Jesse Puljujarvi and Connor McDavid made it incredibly close late in the 2nd and then in the early 3rd period, but Alex Nedeljkovic was tremendous, stopping 31 shots, and Moritz Seider’s empty-netter salted away a huge victory.

Continue reading Red Wings-Oilers quick take: Learn, grow, win.

On Bally Sports Detroit’s intermission show:

Ken Holland, current @EdmontonOilers GM and former @DetroitRedWings GM, joins John Keating and Chris Osgood. Holland reflects on taking Osgood in the draft, among other memories, and about his upcoming induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/RuELe77QAl— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) November 10, 2021

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan spoke with long-time Red Wings GM Ken Holland regarding his imminent induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame:

It’s been two years now, and his Edmonton Oilers are among the elite teams in the NHL. The connection to the Red Wings’ organization is growing more detached with each passing day.

But Ken Holland always will have a significant attachment to the Wings’ organization, for all he did constructing a roster that made the playoffs 25 consecutive years and won four Stanley Cups.

Returning to Detroit always was going to be special, and Tuesday was no different, on a road trip that’ll include a trip to Toronto this weekend where Holland will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

“I was with the Red Wings for 36 years and I lived in Detroit for 25 years,” said Holland, the president and general manager of the Oilers, who spent 22 of those years as general manager. “Obviously Little Caesars Arena is a little bit different than the Joe (Louis Arena). I never stayed at the Western Book Cadillac before (before this week). But, certainly, I have a lot of great memories from my time in Detroit.”

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