from Ansar Khan of Mlive,

Detroit Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde indicated he will put his defense pairings “in a blender” to get some different looks the remainder of the preseason.

By the regular season opener, Moritz Seider and Ben Chiarot are likely to be reunited....

“I like it. I think they complement each other,” Lalonde said. “If you played that game back, our analytics team would tell us they did well tonight as a pair. We’re going to re-evaluate where that’s at, but I think Ben’s good for Mo. They’ve had some good reps together. We’d like them to establish some chemistry.”

Seider, 21, played with various defense partners during a rookie season that earned him the Calder Trophy, mostly with Danny DeKeyser. When the Red Wings signed Chiarot, 31, to a four-year, $19 million free-agent deal in July, the veteran left-shooter seemed like a logical fit with the young righty Seider.

Lalonde said there’s a “hard and skill aspect” with both.

“We want Mo playing on his toes. It’s instinctive for him,” Lalonde said. “He gaps unbelievable. He’s assertive with the puck. That’s why he’s such a special player. He’s the reigning Calder winner for a reason. But it’s our job to take some risk out of his game.

“When you see some odd-man (rushes) coming back at you – that’s the two-on-0 (in the second period Wednesday) -- I think Mo’s fingerprints will be on that, which is fine. We’d rather have him on his toes than playing on his heels. I think the balance is letting him be who he is, the special on-his-toes instinctive player, at the same time taking some risk out of his game.”

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