from Ansar Khan of Mlive,
Before the Detroit Red Wings hit the road, Dylan Larkin remarked that points were available during a four-game trip. The Red Wings then gained five of a possible eight points, finishing strong by beating San Jose 7-4 and Columbus 6-1.
Now the Red Wings (9-5-4) have a good opportunity to accumulate more points with a five-game homestand, their longest of the season, which begins Wednesday against Nashville (7 p.m., Bally Sports Detroit).
They host Arizona Friday, Toronto on Nov. 28, Buffalo on Nov. 30 and Vegas on Dec. 3.
The Red Wings, with 22 points, are ahead of last season’s pace after 18 games (8-8-2, 18 points).
Here is a look some trends:
- Filip Hronek is their hottest player, picking up four goals and six points on the trip to give him 10 points for the season. His four goals are one short of his total in 78 games last season. His plus-8 rating is a sharp improvement from his minus-29 in 2021-22. He was a career minus-95 heading into the season.
from Bob Duff of Detroit Hockey Now,
from Max Bultman of The Athletic,
All Carter Mazur has done since the Red Wings picked him in the third round of the 2021 NHL Draft is impress.
He was a freshman surprise at the University of Denver, where he put up 38 points in 41 games to help the Pioneers to the 2022 NCAA title. Then he delivered an encore at the summer world juniors this past summer, where he led Team USA with five goals in five games.
And now, he seems to have found a new level through 12 games of his sophomore season, Mazur is leading the country with 12 goals in 12 games. Four of those have been game winners also tops in the nation for a Pioneers team that was ranked No. 1 in the country entering a weekend off, and has a real chance to defend its title.
Mazur chalked up a big part of his hot start to confidence, stemming from that performance at the summer world juniors. Usually, that tournament takes place in the winter, but after the pandemic caused it to be rescheduled, it was moved to mid-August and ended up being the perfect runway for Mazur. He played a significant role for Team USA, going beyond the physical, high-energy game that is his calling card. And thats kept up into the early season, now playing on the top line for the Pioneers.
Mazur is converting at a 31 percent clip right now, a number thats beyond reasonable expectation to continue. But even then, he still leads the Pioneers in shots on goal with 39 in 12 games.
I think (that shooting percentage is) confidence as well, just believing he can score on any shot that he takes right now, Denver coach David Carle said by phone recently. And hes scoring in different ways which is great for his development.
And that may be the most exciting part for the Red Wings.
When Detroit drafted Mazur as a re-entry prospect, a big part of Mazurs profile was his hard-nosed competitiveness. Hes not a massive forward, listed at 6-foot and 173 pounds, but hes been able to play a power game anyway and has had a nose for scoring around the net as part of that.
continued
Mazur was impressive in the NCAA playoffs last year. Maybe a good addition in the next couple of years, hes still pretty young and can fill out, but still is a burr in the saddle against college opponents.
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