There was no news from the Red Wings’ morning skate as to whether the lines have changed or the lineup is different, though coach Blashill and Sam Gagner did speak with the media.

The Panthers, who are in flux due to Joel Quenneville’s resignation, skated at LCA as well:

Andrew Brunette’s first practice as @FlaPanthers Head Coach here in Detroit pic.twitter.com/hLYB9ZPb4f— Bucci Mane (@Buccigross) October 29, 2021

Cats on the ice for morning skate!

? @LCArena_Detroit pic.twitter.com/CGmzHSacng— Jameson Olive (@JamesonCoop) October 29, 2021

Don’t see Lundell on the ice.

Still working his way back from an upper-body injury.— Jameson Olive (@JamesonCoop) October 29, 2021

#FlaPanthers forward lines this AM:

Verhaeghe – Barkov – Duclair
Huberdeau – Bennett – Tippett
Marchment- Luostarinen – Reinhart
Vatrano – Thornton – Hornqvist— Jameson Olive (@JamesonCoop) October 29, 2021

D-Pairs:

Weegar – Ekblad
Forsling – Gudas
Connauton – Montour— Jameson Olive (@JamesonCoop) October 29, 2021

A quick huddle up around Brunette to end practice ends with a loud “Let’s go!” from all the guys. pic.twitter.com/r7sGRyhwOX— Jameson Olive (@JamesonCoop) October 29, 2021

Update:

Continue reading Red Wings-Panthers morning skate Tweets III: Bucci in town; Panthers’ lines →

The Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe discusses the Toledo Walleye’s season-opening 5-game road trip this morning:

The Toledo Walleye are once again opening a season with a schedule full of road games but coach Dan Watson believes playing in hostile environments early on can pay dividends through team bonding.

The Walleye travel to Coralville, Iowa this week to take on one of the ECHL’s two new expansion teams, the Iowa Heartlanders. Toledo plays its new Central Division opponent on Friday and Saturday nights.

The Walleye opened the season with a 5-2 loss at Kalamazoo last Saturday. It was the sixth consecutive season that the Walleye have opened on the road. This is the third season in a row that the team will open with five straight road contests.

“It’s been the norm,” Watson said. “I like to actually go on the road and get a trip out of the way early on.”

Following the trip to Iowa, Toledo will play two more road games next week. The Walleye play at Indy next Wednesday before playing at Kalamazoo next Friday.

The home opener is set for Saturday, Nov. 6 against Kalamazoo. The latest a Toledo team has started its home schedule was Nov. 7, 2015, against Adirondack. Toledo played the first eight games on the road that season.

“I think getting away from home is helpful early in the season,” Watson said. “The guys are confined together. They’re in the hotel together. They go to the movies together. They go to dinner together.”

Continued

The 4-2-and-1 Detroit Red Wings held a brief morning skate ahead of tonight’s game vs. the 7-and-0 Florida Panthers (7 PM EDT on ESPN+/hulu/97.1 FM), and after the skate, the Red Wings held media availabilities with Sam Gagner and coach Jeff Blashill:

Sam Gagner said Wednesday’s come back win in D.C. was a big step. Wins like that help the mentality moving forward. #LGRW @DetroitRedWings— Daniella Bruce (@daniellabruce_) October 29, 2021

Jeff Blashill also adds that his heart goes out to Kyle Beech. His team has great sympathy for what they have to go through. From a hockey perspective, Blashill said they won’t do anything much different tonight. #LGRW @DetroitRedWings— Daniella Bruce (@daniellabruce_) October 29, 2021

Blashill adds, “We have to make sure our players understand that there is support here for them.” #LGRW @DetroitRedWings— Daniella Bruce (@daniellabruce_) October 29, 2021

Coach Blashill sending his thoughts and support to Kyle Beach— saying he can’t fathom what he had to deal with.— Carley Johnston (@carleykjohnston) October 29, 2021

Here’s coach Blashill on video…

And here’s Gagner:

Of Red Wings-related note from my illness-induced day off:

1. The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan penned an article discussing the Wings’ win over Washington from a larger perspective…

This easily could have been a loss the last several years — in fact, it was Wings’ first victory against Washington since Feb. 11, 2018 — and it felt early as if it would be. But this just might be a growing, developing team taking shape.

“We’ve been in situations where we’ve found our way to wins and that breeds confidence, so that’s part of it,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “We have some guys that have matured over the years in terms of living through some of that. As hard as some of those moments are to live, you hope you grow and a number of our guys have grown even through some of the difficulties we faced. And we have some new faces that have a calm demeanor to them and just kind of keep playing.”

The Capitals noticed a different type of Wings team.

“They are a good team,” Capitals forward Lars Eller said. “They’re probably better than people give them credit for.”

Kulfan continues;

2. Sportsnet’s Ryan Dixon posted a set of Halloween-themed power rankings…

15. Detroit Red Wings (4-2-1)
Can’t you just picture GM Steve Yzerman in a lab coat, a mad scientist cackling to himself, an evil genius who knows he’s a few tweaks and turns from unleashing another perennial contender on the world?

3. WXYZ’s Brad Galli explained how Lucas Raymond’s first rookie card will be available via Upper Deck’s ePack feature:

Continue reading Off-day round-up: Kulfan on the Wings’ win over Washington; ‘Mad Scientist’ Yzerman; Lucas Raymond’s rookie card; Edvinsson, Olympian? →

A good reminder:

These 5 Roasters hold nothing back on Brett Hull. Tune in to hear the embarrassing stories on Monday, November 22 at 8pm, & laugh along for an important cause. You can catch the Celebrity Roast on @BallySportsDET or livestream on our website.

Details: https://t.co/wsvqGk4IwW pic.twitter.com/D2GHMrEGNw— Jamie Daniels Foundation (@JDanielsFund) October 29, 2021

The Detroit Red Wings take on the 7-and-0 Florida Panthers this evening (7 PM EDT on ESPN+/hulu/97.1 FM), and prior to both teams’ morning skates, the Florida Panthers made the following announcement:

Statement from Florida Panthers General Manager Bill Zito on Interim Head Coach Andrew Brunette. pic.twitter.com/6rHZBYuL19— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) October 29, 2021

And if you aren’t already aware, tonight’s game is on ESPN+ only:

Friday’s game vs. Florida is the first of eight games to air exclusively on @ESPNPlus during 2021-22 season!

Details: https://t.co/ZN4gx7BTd6
Subscribe: https://t.co/8X8u2yZWxj pic.twitter.com/rIEEjPWskM— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 28, 2021

The beat writers didn’t Tweet out lines this morning, so the Red Wings were the first to let us know that the Wings were actually holding a morning skate…

Morning work. #LGRW

?: https://t.co/a1ZFiGyALB pic.twitter.com/wJbhbSkgDs— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 29, 2021

Ken Kal also said, “Hello”…

Tonight’s “Spooktacular” Line Ups on Halloween ? night ⁦@LCArena_Detroit⁩
Muhuhaaaaa! pic.twitter.com/JuzMIXEmv6— Ken Kal (@KenKalDRW) October 29, 2021

As far as game previews are concerned, MLive’s Tyler Kuehl set up tonight’s affair…

Continue reading Red Wings-Panthers morning skate Tweets and articles: No line rushes + game previews galore →

My apologies for the radio silence on Thursday afternoon and evening. A long stretch of not taking the best care of myself caught up with me, and I just crashed around noon, and couldn’t get up.

I’ll get back to work on Friday morning and catch up with the prospect stuff that happened on Thursday. I’m still feeling wrecked, so a good night’s sleep is in order before getting back to work.

97.1 the Ticket’s Will Burchfield notes that the Red Wings received praise from a surprising source after last night’s 3-2 overtime win–their opponents:

They are a good team,” [Lars] Eller said. “They’re probably better than people give them credit for. Could we have played better? Yeah. Did we play poorly? No. Even when we were up 2-0 it was a game. They kept playing and we weren’t good enough to close it off today.”

Seven games into the season, the Wings are 4-2-1 — tied for second place in the division with the Sabres. Which is an apt reminder that the season is young. That a lot will change. But things are changing for the better in Detroit. This is the team’s best seven-game start since 2016-17, when everything crumbled. Those Wings were growing old. These Wings are growing up.

“We’ve been in situations where we’ve found our way to wins, and I think that breeds confidence,” Blashill said. “That’s part of it. I also think we have some guys that have matured over the years in terms of living through some of that. As hard as those moments are to live, I think a number of our guys have grown through some of the difficulties we’ve faced. And then I think we have some new faces that have a calm demeanor to them and just keep playing.”

The newest faces picked up the assists on Larkin’s game-winner. Raymond leads all rookies this season with four goals and eight points. The three players picked ahead of him in last year’s draft, in the lottery the Wings may have won by losing, have one goal and five points combined — not that we’re keeping track (yet). Seider leads all rookies with six assists and, not for nothing, 21:50 of ice time per game.

“We had them out there (in OT) because we think that they’d give us a chance to make a real good hockey play, and they did,” Blashill said. “Both guys have played good hockey for us and deserved the opportunity to go out there.”

Continued; this year’s Wings are plucky, that’s for sure.

In the Red Wings’ latest episode of “The Crew,” LCA facilities supervisor Dave Jones talks about the means by which the Wings’ rink crew changes over Little Caesars Arena’s floor from ice hockey to basketball and/or concerts (and back):

AWood40 on YouTube posted yet another set of highlights, this time recapping last night’s 3-2 overtime win over the Washington Capitals. Enjoy:

Detroit’s home tomorrow vs. the unbeaten Florida Panthers (7 PM EDT start on ESPN+/97.1 FM) and then the Wings head to Toronto for a Hockey Night in Canada game vs. the Maple Leafs (7 PM EDT on Bally Sports Detroit/97.1 FM), so the next two games will be rough sledding. Enjoy the Wings’ successes while we can!