I haven't seen anything today regarding tonight's game, it's almost like the Wings are playing on a different continent instead of on the west coast.

Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News is not on the trip but has a few items...

Montreal rookie forward Juraj Slafkovsky reached out to Wings forward Matt Luff regarding Slafkovsky's boarding penalty last week that put Luff in a dangerous position.

Luff suffered a fractured wrist, needed surgery, is out for two-to-three months.

Slafkovsky, last summer's No. 1 overall draft pick, was given a two-game suspension by the NHL.

"I reached out to him," Slafkovsky told Montreal reporters. "It sucks what happened with him and (the) injury. He texted back and said thanks for reaching out. That’s all I can do after that incident. I cannot change what happened."...

Thursday's game in San Jose was the first for assistant coach Bob Boughner, since Boughner was let go as head coach of the Sharks.

Coach Derek Lalonde quickly added Boughner to the Wings' staff, noting Boughner's coaching experience and playing career.

Boughner was a 1989 second-round draft pick of the Red Wings.

"Just as someone who has been around the league so much as a player and as a coach, he's that guy who can be that voice where it's done this way or that way," Lalonde told reporters in San Jose. "I've had this experience a couple times with a couple other coaches my time in the NHL.

"He's just a huge resource not only for myself, but the rest of the staff."...

Evgeny Svechnikov, the Wings' 2015 first-round pick, could be finding a home in San Jose. Svechnikov has three goals and three assists in 14 games, with an impressive plus-five plus-minus rating.

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