from Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News,

Veleno has been skating with Andrew Copp and Christian Fischer the last couple of days, as Lalonde looks to keep that line as productive as it has been in recent weeks.

"You hope Joe can give us very similar type of play as far as some size, skating and getting to those hard areas," Lalonde said.

This is a big opportunity for Veleno, who has seen his ice time dwindle in recent games. Veleno played only 4 minutes, 42 seconds on six shifts against Tampa and has played beyond 10 minutes only once in the last four games.

It's in stark contrast to earlier this season when captain Dylan Larkin was out of the lineup. Veleno stepped in, played well over 20 minutes and looked on his way to a truly big season (Veleno still has career highs with 11 goals and 15 assists).

Lalonde continues to see some flaws in Veleno's game that keeps the former first-round draft pick from reaching full potential. Mainly it's Veleno's consistency, or lack thereof.

This is another chance for Veleno to break through.

"You're seeking consistency from him," Lalonde said. "The first time Dylan was out, there were some games he (Veleno) was at 20-22 minutes, playing No. 1 or 2 center and there was some growth in that. There are 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, (Brayden) Point and (Nikita) Kucherov were coming out and then the special teams started rolling. We kind of got into a little rhythm and we wanted to get through as many minutes as we could.

"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'll be in the top nine against the Rangers. He's showing flashes of some elite hockey and then there are some flashes of his game where it's not where any of us want it to be.

"It's just consistency in his game because it's all there, the tools (and) he can skate. There's a lot there."

a bit more ($) plus Lalonde on the NYR/NJD fight...

https://www.mlive.com/griffins/2024/04/berggrens-four-point-night-powers-griffins-to-overtime-win-over-chicago.html

----You're seeking consistency from him

---I kind of laughed. I guess Lalonde is not seeking consistency from Copp because Copp is actually very consistent:)

Anyone who thinks Husso is our #1 goalie is not fit to be in a leadership position.....