The Athletic’s Joe Smith offers the Tampa Bay Lightning’s take on the incident between Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin and Tampa Bay Lightning forward Mathieu Joseph:

For Larkin to punch Joseph like that was a dirty play.

“Absolutely,” Stamkos said. “Sucker punching a guy while the play is going on? Obviously, he’s mad about the borderline hit. But there’s different ways you can go about it. You can grab a guy and then punch him in the face. But it’s just an unsuspecting guy. It’s a sucker punch, whether it’s hard or not. That’s what it was.”

Larkin will likely hear from the NHL Department of Player Safety.

“I mean, a punch with a glove on — I don’t know, maybe I’m old school — I don’t think I am,” Blashill said. “There’s a lot of punches without gloves on, I think it’s way different if a guy hits a guy with his gloves off than with his glove on.”

Joseph played just two shifts after serving his penalty. I asked Cooper if Joseph was OK, and he said, “We hope so.” Joseph seemed fine walking out of the building, but we’ll find out more Saturday.

Continued (paywall);

The Free Press’s Gene Myers and Helene St. James remember Sergei Fedorov’s 5-goal game against the Washington Capitals on December 26, 1996 this morning, comparing and contrasting it with Tyler Bertuzzi’s 4-goal game last night, as part of a promotion for the Free Press’s Stanleytown 25 book:

At the beginning of the hockey season, Fedorov rarely put the puck in the net. He had one goal in the first 11 games, when he played on a line with Steve Yzerman and Brendan Shanahan. But he had been on a tear since the Russian Five of forwards Fedorov, Igor Larionov and Slava Kozlov and defensemen Vladimir Konstantinov and Slava Fetisov, once beset by injuries, had regained their health and were reunited by coach Scotty Bowman.

“He had a lot of quality chances,” Konstantinov said, “but he didn’t score. He didn’t believe in himself. … I told him if he can believe in himself, he can score goals.”

On the five-goal night, Konstantinov assisted on four of Fedorov’s goals, Larionov on three and Fetisov on one.

“I’m glad for Sergei because he needed confidence,” Larionov said. “I don’t think it’s right for someone of his skills to be somewhere in the shadows. He’s a superstar, and he has to be the center of attention. It’s a shame for him to be somewhere in the middle. It’s easiest for Sergei when we play together. It’s easier for him to fulfill all his qualities. He’s a goal-scorer, he’s a playmaker, he’s a defensive forward. It’s easier when you’ve got somebody right beside him who knows what he’s doing.”

Continued

The Athletic’s Max Bultman posted a superb article about Detroit native Jalen Smereck this morning, discussing the racial incident that the former Donbass Donetsk forward faced last month, Smereck’s decision to move on to the German league, and noting Smereck’s Detroit-area ties:

Thursday, the DEL — Germany’s top league — announced Smereck has signed with the Bietigheim Steelers, the first of many next steps to come.

It can be easy to forget, though, that while so many were introduced to Smereck in the last few weeks, his story did not start in Ukraine. It began in Detroit, where Smereck grew up, honed his game and has already become a young leader in his community.

And everything in his journey so far suggests that story is still only beginning.

“As the world gets to know him, they’ll really see how great of a gift this kid is,” said Jason McCrimmon, the founder of the Detroit Ice Dreams hockey program, who has known Smereck since he was young.

“Not only to the game of hockey, but to the city of Detroit and to the people that surround him. He’s going to do very, very big things. … I think he’s going to be one of those monumental kids.”

Continued (paywall)

NHL.com’s Dave Stubbs commemorates the 75th anniversary of Gordie Howe’s NHL debut with a column discussing Mr. Hockey’s lengthy career:

A native of Floral, Saskatchewan, Howe had arrived in Detroit with one year of professional hockey to his name, having scored 48 points (22 goals, 26 assists) in 51 games with Omaha in 1945-46. His United States Hockey League contract of $2,700 had been bumped by Adams to $5,000 for 1946-47, $3,500 if he was returned to the minors.

“That may seem like a ridiculous sum by today’s standards,” Howe said in 1999. “But it was about standard for a rookie at the time, and certainly far more than I, or my father, had ever earned.”

A signing bonus — a Red Wings jacket that Howe had coveted — was late in coming. Only after timidly reminding Adams about it was he given the go-ahead to pick one out, escorted on a shopping trip by teammates Ted Lindsay and Marty Pavelich.

“The material was smooth on the outside, like satin, and it had leather sleeves with ‘Red Wings’ written on it,” he remembered. “Every time I put on that sharp-looking jacket, I felt a bit more like I belonged.”

Over the next quarter-century with the Red Wings, Howe would become known as Mr. Hockey, his remarkable feats still the thing of legend more than five years after his death June 10, 2016 at the age of 88. 

His career spanned 32 seasons — 26 in the NHL, six in the WHA — with a one-game contract signed Oct. 3, 1997 with Detroit of the International Hockey League seeing him become the first player to skate in six decades.

Continued

The Free Press’s Helene St. James posted a recap of last night’s 7-6 OT loss to Tampa Bay this morning, focusing on the team’s take as to whether Dylan Larkin might be suspended for his match penalty:

“Dylan was playing good,” Blashill said. “You certainly wish he would stay in the game. Dylan is coming off what he’s coming off with the injury, and he gets hit from behind into the boards so he’s going to be upset. At best, I thought they were probably both two-minute penalties. But that’s the way they called it.”

The NHL automatically reviews match penalties to determine if further disciplinary action is warranted. Joseph went to the dressing room, but returned to the ice.

Blashill shared his opinion on that: “A punch with a glove on? Maybe I’m old-school. I don’t think I am. There’s lots of punches without gloves on. I think it’s way different if a guy hits a guy with his glove off than with his glove on. I’d be surprised, but I’m not the NHL.”

Bertuzzi called it a “tough play.”

“The league will look at it,” Bertuzzi said. “He’s a big part of this team, and we missed him. It was good to see that all lines were going, all were contributing. We were very close. It’s good to come away with a point.”

Continued (paywall); if you missed the fracas, here it is:

Update: For what it’s worth, TSN’s Craig Button is calling for a 2-game suspension…

Among The Athletic’s Max Bultman’s “Ten Thoughts” regarding the Red Wings’ 7-6 OT loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night:

5. But hockey games are not 53 minutes long, and as the game got into its crucial final moments, the Red Wings couldn’t close it out.

Not having Larkin — a crucial matchup player for them — didn’t help, but the unwinding started on Filip Hronek’s failed chip up the boards, which Erik Cernak fielded then found Ross Colton on the back door to make it 6-4. From there, Detroit took a penalty, Nikita Kucherov scored on the ensuing power play (a six-on-four power play after the Lightning pulled the goalie), and then Alex Killorn tied the score 76 seconds later, with Nedeljkovic still getting back into his net after he had come out to play the puck.

Of the final goal, Blashill said, “Ultimately, to be honest with you, our ‘D’ is supposed to report to a spot and he’s supposed to be able to play the puck there.”

6. Regardless, even against the two-time defending champs, even without Larkin, this is a game the Red Wings have to win when leading by three that late.

The Red Wings never touched the puck in overtime, but they shouldn’t have had to. It never should have gotten there, with that kind of lead, that late.

Detroit’s not built to score six goals regularly, so to lose despite scoring that many goals is a huge missed opportunity — for an extra point in the standings, and also for a huge early-season confidence booster in front of that crowd.

Continued (paywall)

Of prospect-related note in North America on Thursday:

In NCAA Hockey, Sam Stange scored a goal in the University of Wisconsin Badgers’ 4-1 victory over Army. Stange finished at +2 with 4 shots:

?️: Stange breaks the ice!

?: Ahcan pic.twitter.com/WgxZGpkW5P

— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) October 15, 2021

The Detroit News’s John Niyo penned a late-night-posted column discussing the Red Wings’ 7-6 OT loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning as something of a “welcome back” for fans attending the game at Little Caesars Arena, via a thrill ride of an affair, regardless of the result:

Dylan Larkin was looking to make up for lost time, and no sooner than he had, the Red Wings’ captain found himself missing even more. And just as the Red Wings were reminded how much fun it can be to play a hockey game in an arena full of fans, they were reminded how it felt on far too many nights last season.

There’s no point in belaboring that last part after a wild 7-6 overtime loss to the two-time defending Stanley Cup champs Thursday night in the season opener at Little Caesars Arena.

The Wings couldn’t finish what they started against the Tampa Bay Lightning, but the point their fans should take away from this — along with the one Jeff Blashill’s team earned in the NHL standings — is that things should be a bit more entertaining around here this winter.

This game had just about everything, didn’t it? A hat trick and some heated arguments. A cheap shot and a sucker punch in retaliation. Thirteen goals. Eighteen penalties. Seventy-four shots. And all of it in front of a roaring crowd at an arena that was 20 times more than anything the players experienced last season when the pandemic turned these games into glorified scrimmages, in many respects.

“That’s what we were talking about in between periods, how loud it was,” said Tyler Bertuzzi, who gave the fans plenty to cheer with a natural hat trick and a four-goal night in his return to the lineup after missing most of last season with a back injury. “The atmosphere, it almost felt like a playoff game. It’s good to have them back.”

Continued

The Detroit Red Wings were delivered a gut punch and a half by the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night, ultimately dropping a 7-6 OT decision to the Bolts on a night where Tyler Bertuzzi scored 4 goals, Dylan larkin was kicked out of the game for accosting Mathieu Joseph, who cross-checked Larkin into the boards from behind, and Detroit blew three 3-goal leads.

It was a wild, woolly, and raucous affair, and a game where the Red Wings were unable to win the special teams battle, the battle for faceoffs, or, ultimately, defend well enough against one of the NHL’s most explosive teams.

There were positives for the Red Wings to take out of the game, to be sure–scoring seven goals in a game is not something that last year’s Red Wings could do, the Wings did generate scoring from 11 different skaters, and while Alex Nedeljkovic gave up 7 goals on 48 shots, there’s no doubt that the Wings would not have earned a point without their newly-minted goaltender.

It just stunk that Detroit was unable to hold the lead on such an exciting night for Larkin and his compatriots, and it stunk that the Wings found themselves on the losing end of yet another loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning in front of their first sellout crowd in ages.

As you might imagine, the Lightning were borderline satisfied with their collective and individual games, as they told the Tampa Bay Times’ Eduardo A. Encina:

I hate to agree with the devil’s advocate here, but Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff is probably right in his assessment of what will happen to Dylan Larkin after this play:

Quoting Duff:

Certainly, Larkin and the Red Wings will be seeking to defend his actions by pointing out what he went through last season. Cross-checked in the neck by Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn in an April game, Larkin missed the remainder of the season and spent much of his sumer rehabbing a serious neck injury.

Still, the league frowns on frontier justice. Larkin can expect a suspension will be coming his way. However, the mitigating circumstances and his clean sheet in terms of previous disciplinary incidents should conspire in keeping his punishment to a light sentence.

A one-game suspension seems about right.

If there is one suspension, there should be two in my opinion, but Larkin is likely to get tagged here.