Abel to Yzerman

from Bob Duff of Detroit Hockey Now,

A little over a week ago, they were eight points clear of any team in the chase for an Eastern Conference wild card playoff spot. Today, thanks to the New York Islanders beating the Anaheim Ducks 6-1 on Sunday, they are now deadlocked, each with 72 points. And the Isles are holding a game in hand.

The Islanders have won six in a row. Heading to Buffalo for a Tuesday showdown with the Sabres that will complete a four-game road trip, the Red Wings are losers of five in succession. They fell 5-3 on Saturday to the Vegas Golden Knights.

The Wings need wins. And they need them right now.

“We’re not in the taking the positives mood,” Copp said. “We need points.

This week is launching a five-game run for Detroit against clubs that are currently not part of the playoff picture. After Buffalo, the Red Wings come home to face the Arizona Coyotes and then a rematch with the Sabres. Next, they go to Pittsburgh, before returning for a home date against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

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from Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press,

"This one stings a lot," coach Derek Lalonde said. "To come into this building on a back-to-back, outshoot a team like that, 13-5 (in the third period), with the lineup they have, and come up empty-handed feels a little disappointing."

Losers of five straight, the Wings (33-25-6) have dropped to the second wild-card position in the Eastern Conference with just a two-point lead on the New York Islanders.

Goalie James Reimer withstood a barrage from the Knights and Moritz Seider's shot led to deflected goals by Michael Rasmussen late in the first period and J.T. Compher early in the third period.

"You try to not give them much," Patrick Kane said. "I think after the first 10 minutes, we played pretty well, had a lot of puck possession."///

"Such a great effort by everyone," Seider said. "We came out with a really good game plan against a really good team that loaded up at the deadline even more, and we showed character. That was the best game on the losing streak so far. That’s just a bummer, coming out of here with nothing."

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from Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News,

The Wings came out ready to play for the first seven minutes or so, then Veegas scored twice to make it 2-0. It looked like the period would end that way but a very late goal by the Wings made it 2-1 after twenty minutes

No scoring in the second period.

Early in the third and on the power play the Wings tied it 2-2 but Vegas made it 3-2 midway in the period.

The Wings answer 49 seconds later to make it 3-3.

With just under three minutes left, Vegas scores to take a one goal lead.

Vegas scores into the empty net, 5-3 and the game ends.

Team Stats

Detroit goals are below

Good evening and welcome to all. Last night’s game was an utter disgrace. It used to be all about working hard towards becoming successful, then, and only then, the payoff. Now it seem it’s only about the payoff. This Red Wings team absolutely does not try their hardest every game. Only real winners do. You cannot buy heart, or, pride, and the fans deserve some semblance of a consistent effort every single game for crying out loud. I may as well add, they play as soft as marshmallows. Someone had to say it.

The bottom line, every player on this team leaves the ice with millions, win, lose, or draw. I do not begrudge them one cent, as long as they work for it. Respect your fans. Earn your pay.

Reimer has the net tonight, Berggren is in.

It’s the Red Wings vs the Knights. The puck is set to drop around 10:00 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, SCRIPPS, and SPORTSNET+.

It’s a Live Blog!

It's been a long day for me and it looks like it could be an even longer night.

Arizona up 3-0 after the first period. Detroit's speed has been nonexistent and the Wings chased the Coyotes all period long.

Detroit dominated the second period but it was Arizona with the only goal, 4-0 after forty minutes.

No scoring in the third, Arizona wins 4-0.

Team Stats

Below, a BSD interview with Yzerman (Berggren will be recalled and play in Vegas tomorrow).

Good evening and welcome to all. I would like to say thank you to everyone who stayed until the bitter end last game. I hope the Red Wings have learned that there is no such thing as an easy win. Two points the hard way. Time to hang tight, 19.

It’s the Red Wings vs the Coyotes. The puck is set to drop around 9:00 PM and will be broadcast on Bally Sports Detroit, and on the Red Wings Radio Network 97.1 (The Ticket in Detroit). Also available on ESPN+/NHLPP, SCRIPPS, and SPORTSNET+.

It’s a Live Blog!

from Ansar Khan of Mlive,

Yzerman’s lone move just before Friday’s 3 p.m. deadline was to free up $2 million in cap space for next season by unloading seldom-used forward Klim Kostin to San Jose for AHL defenseman Radim Simek, who was assigned to Grand Rapids, and a seventh-round pick.

“What’s the cost of acquiring the player and what role are they going to play for you?” Yzerman said. “Ultimately, I like to think part of why we weren’t very active this year at the deadline is we like the depth we have within the organization. We have some good players in Grand Rapids. Some of our young prospects provide us good depth. So, sitting at the deadline, looking at areas that could help us and ultimately giving up a first- or second- or third-round pick for depth, we’re better off bringing up our guys from Grand Rapids.”

Their top prospects, right wing Jonathan Berggren and defenseman Simon Edvinsson, are NHL-ready. Berggren might be recalled on Saturday and could remain with the team for the rest of the season and through the playoffs if they qualify....

“I think the atmosphere within the team … is we have very good team spirit,” Yzerman said. “There’s a lot of enthusiasm. You hear the players talk about how much they’re enjoying playing together. That’s encouraging and they have gotten us into a good spot.”

Scoring is not as big a concern for a team that ranks sixth in goals per game (3.48), though the Red Wings will miss Dylan Larkin, who’s been idled for one game and is expected to miss approximately two weeks with a lower-body injury.

Yzerman said the team must improve defensively (ranked 22nd at 3.26 goals per game).

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Scheduled for 4pm, Yzerman will meet with the media.

Watch below.

Below, watch Fisher and Lalonde after the skate.

Your thoughts on what the Wings will do today? How about the rest of the season?

Whatever is on your mind, let it out here.

from Bob Duff of Detroit Hockey Now,

Everywhere he’s been since coming to North America in 2021, he’s put the puck in the net. He counted 21 goals for the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins in 2021-22 and his 64 points were a club rookie record. Splitting last season between GR and Detroit, Berggren was good for 19 goals. This season, a campaign again split between the Red Wings and Griffins, Berggren’s stats sheet is showing 21 goals and 52 points through 51 games.

“He’s got some takeaway speed at this level.” Grand Rapids coach Dan Watson said of Berggren. “He sees the ice extremely well, he can make plays under pressure. He can make plays in tight areas. And he loves to have the puck on his stick.”

In 76 NHL games, Berggren is showing 17-16-33 totals. And that’s without getting significant time on top-six forward units or with the power play. What could Berggren produce in a more pronounced NHL role? Not finding out that answer before dealing Berggren could come back to haunt the Red Wings.

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from Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press,

Losing 7-2 at the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday, three days after losing 4-0 at home to the Florida Panthers, does add pressure to coming away with a victory when this four-game road trip continues Friday agaisnt the Arizona Coyotes in Tempe. But to put things in perspective, the Panthers have the best record in the league and the Avs have the best home record.

If anything, it's their Feb. 29 loss the Wings (33-23-6) should rue the most, because they spotted the New York Islanders the first period and wound up losing, 5-3.

None of the losses have been as ugly as the 6-2 and 6-1 routs delivered at the end of February last year by the Ottawa Senators, which helped convince general manager Steve Yzerman to make significant changes to the team. Those changes have put the Wings on pace to finish with 95 points, which should earn them a trip to the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

The biggest focus for the Wings is to get back to playing better defensively, especially with leading scorer Dylan Larkin sidelined by a lower-body injury at least until mid-March. They have to help their goaltenders more; Alex Lyon was the busiest worker on the ice over the first 10-12 minutes of the Colorado game. The Wings ended up calling off Thursday's scheduled practice about an hour after the loss in Denver but could decide on some new looks in preparation for the Arizona game, especially up front.

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from Sportsnet,

Our updated list of the top 20 impactful trade candidates includes players of all sorts and, notably, more than a few who have contracts into next season.

Nick Jensen, D, Washington Capitals
Contract: $4.05M through 2025-26

Leaned on heavily by head coach Spencer Carbery in defensive situations, Jensen logs more shorthanded time than any Caps defender and blocks more shots than any besides John Carlson, but you wouldn't call him a bruiser. The six-foot-one, 196-pound blueliner has only eight assists on the season, but is a rather impressive minus-1 given he rarely starts any shift in the offensive zone and the Caps are a woeful minus-33 as a team. Contract term may be tough for some teams so Washington may have to consider retaining salary for another couple years to maximize a return. But right shot defencemen like Jensen hold loads of value.

19 more names

from Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News,

"We just gave them too many easy chances, we weren't connected enough in our neutral zone," defenseman Moritz Seider said. "They just skated up the ice and overwhelmed us with a lot of speed. Too many penalties, including myself (two delay of game penalties) and that's going to hurt you.

"We just didn't stay in the fight."

Robby Fabbri (power play, 16th goal) and David Perron (13th goal) had first-period goals, but the Wings weren't able to generate much else in their first game without captain Dylan Larkin (lower body)....

"Certainly a tough one," coach Derek Lalonde said. "We had a chance to come out of the second period with a little better outcome. We hit a crossbar that could have made it 3-3 and the game would have looked a lot different.

"I just didn't like how we gave their top guys two easy ones (goals) in the second period because they were obviously buzzing tonight. That second period got out of hand.

"We got overmatched and overwhelmed a little bit. We let their big guns have too easy of a night."...

Suddenly, Friday's game at lowly Arizona appears to be a must-win for the Wings, who need to stem this losing streak while teams around them steadily earn points.

"We have to win," Lalonde said. "There's no shame losing to Florida (4-0 Saturday) and this team but back-to-back and now you're looking at three straight losses. Bottom line, if we want to stay in the battle we have to stop the bleeding."

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Below find the post game interviews and highlights.

Good evening and welcome to everyone. The Red Wings are coming into tonight’s game having been taught a huge lesson in real time, courtesy of the Panthers. How quick to turn this around? However long it takes to learn from one’s mistakes. The pressure is on, so let’s just say, we all hope lesson learned.

Lyon is in net tonight, Kostin is slotted in, Larkin is out.

It’s the Red Wings vs the Avalanche. The puck is set to drop around 9:30 ET and will be broadcast on TNT, and on the Red Wings Radio Network 97.1(The Ticket in Detroit) for your listening pleasure. Also available on MAX, ALT, and SPORTSNET+.

It’s a Live Blog!

Almost 12 minutes of talk from the trio.

from Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press,

The challenge may be more mental than physical for the Detroit Red Wings: Missing their captain and leading scorer, playing a top-tier team, on the road, trying to nip a losing streak.

Such is the scenario in which the Wings find themselves as they embark on a four-game trip that begins Wednesday against the Colorado Avalanche in Denver. Dylan Larkin will miss the stretch because of a lower-body injury that is expected to sideline him approximately two weeks, and the Wings will miss him.

But that can't distract from the overall need to do what the Wings did when the Avs were in Detroit two weeks ago: Bank two points — especially since the Wings (33-22-6) haven't picked up any points their past two outings.

continued

from Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News,

Interestingly, Lalonde went with Joe Veleno to skate on a line with Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane. It's definitely a sign of confidence in Veleno, 24, who continues to progress in his young career.

"Definitely it's nice," Veleno said of the opportunity to play with the two offensive stars. "It comes down to their (coaching staff) decision and which line combinations they feel will be best. Very fortunate for this opportunity, and I'm just going to keep building the right way and try to earn as much trust as I can get."

Veleno doesn't have the pure offensive ability that DeBrincat and Kane have, but he has other qualities that can complement their skills.

Veleno's ability to get in on the forecheck, play with pace, and get pucks to DeBrincat and Kane are some of the things Lalonde felt would blend well.

Veleno doesn't intend to change the way he normally plays....

"Just confidence in his game," Lalonde said of where Veleno has grown from a year ago. "He's always had the pop in his skating. He needs to be a little more assertive with the puck. What's really impressive this year is that last year he started to tail off toward the second half of the season.

"That has not been the case (this season). That's a credit to him and his growth."

more ($)

from Bob Duff of Detroit Hockey Now,

They launch another four-game trek on Wednesday and it starts out with a significant level of difficulty. The Wings are playing at Colorado. In their last six road games facing the Avalanche, Detroit is 0-6 and has been outscored 31-14.

“Yeah, they’re good,” Walman said. “Obviously you’re facing a really deep team. They’ve won a Cup and that group of guys is still hungry as ever.

“I think it’s a good test for us. It’ll be another big game.”

It will also be a game the Red Wings will be going into minus captain and leading scorer Dylan Larkin. He’s out at least two weeks due to a lower-body injury.

These are the bumps,” Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said. “The margin for error obviously is much thinner playing these type of teams. Maybe even more so with our leading scorer out.

“If you want to stay in that battle, get over the line, you got to fight through some of these things, and this is our opportunity on this road trip.”

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Ansar Khan reports practice has started, Larkin not skating.

added 11:14am,

The Detroit Red Wings made their annual visit to the Detroit Economic Club last week. Ken Daniels and Mickey Redmond talk with Steve Yzerman and Derek Lalonde. Then DeBrincat, Larkin and Seider join Ken and Mickey.