Abel to Yzerman

14 minutes of talk.

from John Niyo of the Detroit News,

And so is this, perhaps. After enduring a winless March, Lyon seemed to find his groove again over the past week, allowing two goals or fewer in three of four starts while posting a .934 save percentage in that stretch.

“He looks a lot more comfortable in his game,” Lalonde said, pointing to Lyon’s puckhandling and rebound control, among other encouraging signs. “And you can see he just exudes some confidence. You can tell when a goalie is on his ‘A’ game, and he's been there.”

He certainly was in the 4-2 win over the Lightning, stopping 34 shots, including a handful of high-danger chances in a frantic third period. Lyon called it a “grind” afterward.

“But those are games that you’re proud of,” he added. “The ones that are hard but you find a way. And I felt like that was the name of our game. It wasn't easy, but we stuck to it.”...

“Right now, we're just desperate,” said Lyon, who signed a two-year, $1.8 million deal with Detroit in July and then didn't get into a game until mid-November, when starter Ville Husso went down with an injury. “And that's what it feels like for me. And it's a good feeling. It's fun. It's intoxicating. There's a level of stress to it that isn't there at all points of the year. But you have to enjoy it and be excited for it. Because if you're scared of it, it's a problem.”

The Wings have their share of problems, no doubt. And you can add another injury to the list, as winger Michael Rasmussen likely will miss the next two games, according to Lalonde. But at the start of the season, nobody expected this team to be a shoo-in for the playoffs. And now that the calendar has flipped to April, here they are, with a chance to show everyone what they’re about.

“It's gonna be hard,” Lyon said. “And it's going to be nerve-racking. And it's gonna be ugly sometimes. But as long as you just keep trying, good things are gonna happen. That's the mindset that we have.”

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from Ansar Khan of Mlive,

Veleno played only 4:42 against the Lightning, getting just two shifts in the first period and one in the second before returning after Rasmussen got hurt. He has logged less than 10 minutes in three of the past four games.

“You’re seeking consistency from him,” Lalonde said. “The first time Dylan (Larkin) was out, there were some games he was at 20-22 minutes, playing one or two center.

“There’s just some inconsistencies in his game. Last game it got away from us a little bit in that he only had a handful of minutes, but Tampa is a different animal on the road. Every time I was ready to have him up, (Braydon) Point and (Nikita) Kucherov were coming out and then the special teams started rolling. We kind of got into a little rhythm. But early in the game, he turns the puck over and it ends up in our zone for 90 seconds against their top guys.

“He’s showing flashes of some elite hockey and then there’s some flashes of his game where it’s not where any of us want it to be. It’s just consistency, because it’s all there -- the tools, he can skate.”

more on the Wings

Includes the Flyers in the third spot in the Metropolitan.

from Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press,

Someday, the Detroit Red Wings will make the playoffs again. And someday, when the Wings do get there, they will make some noise and win a series.

But if we learned anything from their tough five-game trip that bordered on disastrous, it’s that the Wings still lack enough of the elite skill and toughness to sneak into the playoffs for the first time since 2016 — and then beat a top seed once they get there.

At the very least, they’re getting closer to being a legitimate playoff team. They’re playing consistent, disciplined hockey under Derek Lalonde. They’re careful with the puck at both ends, calculated on offense and boast a top-10 power play.

But a measly four points out of a possible 10, with two losses coming via shutout, isn’t the kind of inspiring late-season charge anyone wants to see from a team on the playoff bubble....

I’ve applauded general manager Steve Yzerman for keeping the team intact at the trade deadline this season. Because that’s the first step in him considering the Wings a playoff team instead of an annual yard sale for the NHL’s power brokers to pick through like rich neighbors offering you pennies for those pricey P90X videos you never opened.

Yzerman’s inaction is a start, but it still falls short of the next and most important step: Adding key pieces that help a team not only reach the playoffs but also win series.

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The Wings have an off day today and do not play until Friday.

Feel free to discuss what's on your mind and below find the remaining schedule for Detroit, Philadelphia and Washington.

Also below is the wild card race in the East.

from Bob Duff of Detroit Hockey Now,

David Perron’s goal with 2:40 left in regulation time would snap a 2-2 tie, propelling the Red Wings to a 4-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. The outcome brought a halt to Detroit’s 0-2-2 losing skid during this five-game road trip.

“None bigger goal than DP’s goal at the end and he’s been in the battle the whole season, he always is,” Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin told Bally Sports Detroit. “For him to score the big one, it was just a veteran player that knows how to play in these big games.”...

More significantly, the outcome is leaving Detroit and Washington in a deadlock for the final Eastern Conference wild card playoff spot. Each team has 82 points. However, the Capitals (73 games) hold two games in hand on the Red Wings and the first tiebreaker. Washington has 28 regulation wins, compared to 26 for Detroit....

“We’ve been playing really good team hockey recently,” Perron said. “Obviously, we know how many points we need to keep advancing, being in the fight. I’ve liked our recent play. We just gotta keep pushing, keep getting points.”

Elsewhere Monday, the Philadelphia Flyers were losing 4-3 in overtime to the New York Islanders. The OT point was enough to move Philly (83 points) back into third spot in the Metropolitan Division, ahead of the Capitals. But the Flyers have played 76 games....

At the other end of the spectrum, fourth-line center Joe Veleno played just 4:42.

“Veleno, just kind of ran into some matchup issues, some special teams, we used him late a couple times,” Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said....

“Ras left with an upper body,” Lalonde said. “Don’t know much more about it.”

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The Wings scored in the first minute in the second to take a 1-0 lead, but the Lightning scored eight minutes later to make it 1-1.

Score was 2-2 with under 3 minutes to play and Perron scores and Raymond adds an eng.

Wings win 4-2.

Team Stats

Detroit goals are below.

Good evening and welcome to everyone. We’re all trying to stay positive here, but, the Red Wings do not make it easy. Losing their last four games in a row doesn’t exactly instill confidence. Counting on other teams to lose is certainly not an option. Winning is the only way.

Lyon is in the net tonight. Walman is back as well. Maatta is out. No other changes to the lineup have been announced.

It’s the Red Wings vs the Lightning. The puck is set to drop around 7:00 PM and will be broadcast on Bally Sports Detroit Extra, and on the Red Wings Radio Network WWJ (950 AM in Detroit) for your listening pleasure. Also available on ESPN+/NHLPP, BSSUN, and SPORTSNET+.

It’s a Live Blog!

Two Tampa notes below.

from Bob Duff of Detroit Hockey Now,

An NHL source is telling Hockey Now that the possibility of a coaching change is something that is being pondered by Detroit Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman.

According to the source, Yzerman might be considering a change in his coach in the offseason were the Red Wings to continue their free fall out of a Stanley Cup playoff position. And if that is indeed the route he decides to take, the man at the top of the list of desirable candidates on Yzerman’s short list would be former St. Louis Blues coach Craig Berube....

Current head coach Derek Lalonde is in the second year of a three-year pact with the club. Certainly, there is cause of concern within the team’s performance. Slow starts and competent puck management and defensive structure remain frequent issues.

Another NHL source was telling Hockey Now that on Friday, Yzerman read the riot act to his coaching staff and players regarding their lackluster performance of late....

Of course, it’s well known within Detroit hockey circles that Yzerman is tight-lipped about any moves he’d be considering. Only a select few within his inner circle would be privy to such infomation. Generally, nothing of substance leaks out of Detroit. That being the case, it’s always wise to take any rumors relating to Yzerman and the Red Wings with at minimum a grain of salt.

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Michigan State vs. Michigan at 6:30pm on ESPN2 in the West Regional Final in Missouri.

Two Detroit prospects play for the Spartans, goaltender Trey Augustine and forward Red Savage.

Kienan Draper (Wings prospect), son of Kris and Phillippe Lapointe, son of Martin, play for the Wolverines. Both are forwards.

Feel free to discuss the game if watching.

The semifinals are on April 11th in St. Paul, Minnesota. The final will be on April 13th.

from Bob Duff of Detroit Hockey Now,

At some point soon, the Detroit Red Wings are going to run out of moral victories to give. Amazingly, that time still hasn’t arrived. And Detroit has no one to thank for that fact other than just about every other squad involved in this pathetic race for the final Eastern Conference wild card place.

If you ever pondered what the fable of the tortoise and the hare would look like if only tortoises were entered in the race, well, wonder no more. This chase is exactly that.

There is no frontrunner. Just a gathering of stragglers, dawdlers slowly lumbering their way to the finish line....

That’s because the Philadelphia Flyers were 5-7-3 over the past month, while the New Jersey Devils went 6-9. The New York Islanders are 2-7-1 through their past 10 games and the Buffalo Sabres are 2-4 over the past six.

Only the Washington Capitals, 6-2-1 through the past nine games, are making a move. And that move on Saturday was to surpass the Flyers for third spot in the Metropolitan Division. It’s entirely possible that we may have seen the last of the Caps in the wild card race.

Let’s look to the week ahead as the Red Wings continue their chase for a playoff spot.

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from Bob Duff of Detroit Hockey Now,

Officially, the Detroit Red Wings are currently residing in the Sunshine State. In their headspace, though, it’s abundantly clear that they’ve entered into a state of denial.

Squandering a third-period lead, the Red Wings were able to scramble back and gain a point in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Florida Panthers on Saturday afternoon.

“Obviously this one stings,” Detroit defenseman Jeff Petry was admitting to Bally Sports Detroit. “We wanted to get two (points).”

“It kind of feels like (Tuesday’s overtime loss at) Washington,” added Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde. “You feel a little empty, not getting the full two points.”

These offerings were rare honest insights from a team that evidently thinks with eight games to play, there’s plenty of time to right ship and get back on track for a playoff spot.

“I think our team game is growing,” Petry said. “If we bring that effort and compete every night from here on out, we’re gonna put ourselves in a good spot.”

Can’t you just picture Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman, competitor that he is, seething with rage and anger as he’s hearing these comments?

continnued

Wings led 1-0 after the first period. A solid period for the Wings but Larkin took a puck off his knee early, tried to come back but he headed back to the room after falling on a faceoff.

Florida dominated Detroit in the second, but thanks to Lyon, the score stood at 1-0.

Florida scored two goals in less than three minutes to take a 2-1 lead in the third. Larkin then scored the tying goal and we are tied at 2-2.

The game went to OT with Detroit desperately needing the second point. No scoring in the extra five minutes so the shootout will give us a winner.

Florida with the only goal in the shootout, they win.

Team Stats

Detroit goals and other videos are below.

Good day and welcome to all. There are no expectations going into today’s game against the Panthers.

"This isn't throw tables, bang water bottles (time)," Lalonde said.

Seriously? When is the right time?

Lyon has the net today. Any other changes to the lineup are still being decided as of 9:30 AM.

It’s the Red Wings vs the Panthers. The puck is set to drop around 12:30 PM and will be broadcast on Bally Sports Detroit Extra, and on the Red Wings Radio Network, WWJ (950 in Detroit) for your listening pleasure. Also available on NHLN, BSFL, and SPORTSNET+.

It’s a Live Blog!

from Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press,

"This isn't throw tables, bang water bottles (time)," Lalonde said. "It's keep pointing things out. There are positives in our game and we just have to keep finding those positives, build off that, even a little bit more, and try to get some results."

Lalonde called Friday afternoon's roughly half-hour practice at Amerant Bank Arena, "a morning skate plus. A little more intensity. Just some habits that we want to work on with the puck. It's important to get some reps."...

"You have to continue to grow in those areas. It's a good learning lesson for our group that every play is really, really important this time of year, and against these top teams, you need every play. The message postgame was keep building. I liked our third period. I asked our guys to stay with it, try to build something in the third, and we had a very strong third period. And we got some help in the league, which is the reality of where we are at in the moment."

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from Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News,

"The season is on the line right now," defenseman Moritz Seider said in a somber Wings locker room Thursday after a 4-0 loss in Carolina. "We can't find ways to dominate games and be a force but luckily other teams are missing out on the opportunity (to take advantage) and it's still up to us.

"We have to wake up pretty soon and just beat a team that we definitely can beat, that everyone saw in the past in us this year.

"Then, hopefully, we'll be on the right track."...

"A great opportunity," Seider said of Saturday's game. "An early game in Florida, against a team that is always tough to play against. But we've shown we can beat them in their rink (earlier this season). That would be a big step in the right direction if we got two points out of that building."

There was a sense of disappointment after Thursday's loss, a game Carolina dominated for long stretches. But the Wings aren't necessarily concerned, believing there is plenty of time to correct what is ailing them.

"Keep doing what we're doing. We just have to find a way to the back of the net," said defenseman Ben Chiarot, noting the offensive drought. "We're playing well defensively."...

"We have to get more pucks to the net," Lalonde said. "This time of year, with the way teams are defending, you're not going to get much on the rush. You have to create from the offensive zone and gets pucks to the net.

"When they (goalies) are feeling it and seeing it, you have to be harder around them. We've struggled against Bob (Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky) and we'll see him Saturday and it'll be the same thing. We have to get to that (hard) area a little more, a little bit more volume of shots."

more ($)

In an earlier tweet, HSJ noted Lyon will start.

from Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News,

"They're a good team and they capitalized on their chances," defenseman Ben Chiarot said. "They're a team that's contending for a Stanley Cup right now. They know how to play and have been playing that way for a long time. A lot of dangerous players over there, and if you give them a couple of chances to put it in, they'll do it.

"We didn't capitalize on ours."

The Wings (36-30-7) received bad news before the game that forwards Patrick Kane and Austin Czarnik were unavailable because of illness. They went with 11 forwards and seven defensemen instead, bringing in forward Daniel Sprong and defenseman Justin Holl....

"We knew we'd be up against it, only from where the lineup was but to have it happen right before the game," coach Derek Lalonde said. "It's a bit of stinger. That's a tough team to play 11 forwards with because of the pace they play at. We probably could have done more to give ourselves a chance but you look back at this game and there was opportunity in this game."

Lalonde felt the second-period implosion may have began in the first period.

"I'm glad we got out of the first (0-0, though being outshot 15-3)," Lalonde said. "I know the shot volume is extremely lopsided but that's them. If you look at the underlying numbers in the first it wasn't that bad. We'd like to steal the period but we didn't and then a little breakdown on the track in the second, and they score on the power play, and it got away from us."

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It was 0-0 after 20 minutes . Although the Wings were outshot 15-4, they held their own.

After 40 minutes, the Canes led 4-0. Enough said.

No scoring in the third, Canes win 4-0.

Team Stats

Nothing below.

Good evening and welcome to all. The Red Wings managed to blow another yet another two important points, but, are still in contention mathematically. Yes, yes, I know we weren’t told there would be any math, and realistically we all know this will go down to the wire. Maybe when all is said and done, the Wings will squeeze into that last Wild Card spot. To paraphrase George Carlin, “The last winner.”

Reimer has the net tonight. No other changes to the lineup have been announced as of 1:00 PM.

It’s the Red Wings vs the Hurricanes. The puck is set to drop around 7:30 PM and will be broadcast on Bally Sports Detroit, and on the Red Wings Radio Network 97.1 (The Ticket in Detroit) for your listening pleasure. Also available on ESPN+/NHLPP, BSSO, and SPORTSNET+.

It’s a Live Blog!