Tag: Derek Lalonde

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Tampa Bay’s Jon Cooper takes shot at Detroit’s Derek Lalonde

AP News

The Tampa Bay Lightning are on the ropes in their Round 1 Stanley Cup Playoffs series against the Toronto Maple Leafs, having lost two straight games on home ice in overtime, in which both of them they held the lead. Former Conn Smythe Trophy winning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy has been extremely human in the postseason, sporting a completely uncharacteristic 4.33 goals against average and .856 save percentage.

One particular figure who is no longer with the organization but knows Vasilevskiy well is current Detroit Red Wings bench boss Derek Lalonde, who served as an assistant with the Lightning for four years and helped them to consecutive Stanley Cup titles. Lalonde is currently serving as an analyst on Sportsnet for the 2023 postseason, and had this to say about the Russian goaltender’s struggles: 

“We had done a study back in the day,” Lalonde explained, that revealed he is “one of the lower percentage goalies in finding pucks from the point. So we actually changed our entire D-zone and improved our pass rush.”

The Leafs have taken advantage of beating Vasilevskiy from the point in this series, including Morgan Rielly’s overtime winner in Game 3 that was fired from barely inside the blue line. But Cooper apparently wasn’t pleased with his former assistant’s assertion, and pushed back on it with the implication that it’s just something he made up.

“I heard about it. Listen, Sportsnet is paying him well to go give an opinion, so he has to make something up about that kind of stuff,” Cooper said. 

“We are playing, so we can’t watch what is going on. He is there because he was an assistant coach on this team. He is trying to offer insight and give the fans something. He should be doing that. It’s just making sure it’s accurate in what he is saying.”

It sounds like Cooper wasn’t very receptive to Lalonde’s view! We’ll see if Cooper, Vasilevskiy and the rest of the Lightning can stave off elimination when they take on the Leafs tomorrow night from Scotiabank Arena. 

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Derek Lalonde states the obvious after embarrassing loss

The Detroit Free Press

While it was billed as “Fan Appreciation Night” at Little Caesars Arena for last night’s Detroit Red Wings home finale, they didn’t exactly reciprocate the favor with their play on the ice. 

Goaltender Ville Husso was pulled midway through the first period after allowing three goals on six shots from the visiting Dallas Stars, and by the time that it was all said and done, six pucks found their way past the duo of Husso and Magnus Hellberg en route to a 6-1 setback. For Husso, it was another subpar performance between the pipes. 

“It’s hard to build momentum when we just can’t keep it out of our net,” head coach Derek Lalonde said. “And that’s on everyone, not just the goalies. We just had some timely bad breakdowns.”

Detroit generated very little offensive pressure against goaltender Jake Oettinger, who was given the rest of the night off at the start of the third period by head coach Pete DeBoer. Meanwhile, Husso found himself surrendering goals in bunches barely a week after posting a shutout against the Montreal Canadiens in his return to the lineup from a lower body injury that had kept him out of action for the previous seven games. 

“We were advised to get him back in there and see how he handled that situation he was dealing with in his lower body,” Lalonde said. “Unfortunately, it’s been a really tough stretch for him. It’s going to be hard, because these last three games are just going to crush his overall numbers. There was some hockey this year where he was excellent, won us a lot of hockey games.”

“We want him to be a potential No. 1 for us and he’s had flashes of showing us he can do that,” Lalonde said. “Maybe a lesson for him in how he approaches his offseason and hopefully being ready when camp starts next year.”

Husso has appeared in a career high 55 games this season, his first in Detroit after being acquired from the St. Louis Blues and subsequently signed to a three year contract.

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Red Wings discuss 7-year postseason drought

Sports Illustrated

The good news for the Detroit Red Wings is that they’ve accumulated the most points in a season since 2015-16, ironically the last year that they qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The bad news is that drought has now officially carried over into a 7th straight year. 

Last night’s loss to the Buffalo Sabres combined with the New York Islanders picking up two points against the Tampa Bay Lightning officially sealed Detroit’s fate as being on the outside looking in on the postseason. Inconsistent play against non-playoff teams combined with two devastating player personnel losses just two games into the campaign did Detroit no favors. 

However, despite having to once again watch the annual tournament on television instead of participating in it, the Red Wings aim to keep a positive attitude on the good things they accomplished in the latest year of general manager Steve Yzerman’s rebuilding process.

Tomorrow afternoon, they’ll have a chance to play spoiler against the rival Pittsburgh Penguins, who are fighting tooth and nail to extend their own playoff streak to a 17th straight year.

“What is good is we know we’re getting these teams’ best,” coach Derek Lalonde said. “Of late we’ve been playing some teams that are fighting for their playoff lives and it’s made us join the fight or it’s not going to go well. For the most part we’ve done a pretty good job.”

“We’re playing a really good Pittsburgh team fighting for their playoff lives, the superstar power they have, the difference-makers they have,” Lalonde said. “I think there will be more at stake with the fact we beat them last week. I think we’ll get their best and it’ll force us to go to another level with our game.”

Detroit’s four victories in the past six games have given some in their fan base a bit of discouragement due to the fact that it hinders the chances of their getting higher odds at a top draft position. But don’t tell that to the team, who plans on continuing to try and close out the remainder of the season on a high note. 

“I think our identity is when we’re hard to play against, don’t give up easy offense, we defend first, we take care of the puck, we worry about keeping it out of our net more than putting it in the net and we’ve shown some flashes of that, so I think some positives going forward,” Lalonde said.

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Red Wings respond to fans wanting them to tank

MLive

It goes without saying that the Detroit Red Wings have had obscenely abysmal luck in the NHL Draft Lottery of late, especially a few years back when they were by far the worst team in the League. Their reward for having been eliminated from playoff contention over a month before any other squad was the 4th overall selection. Meanwhile, they’ve missed out on the chance for any players truly considered to be “generational” talents in the same vein as Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews, Alex Ovechkin, and others. 

The consensus first overall selection later this year will be phenom forward Connor Bedard, and while there are those in the Red Wings fan base who wanted them to lose as many games as possible in order to boost their odds of getting the 1st overall pick, that’s something that just isn’t going to happen – especially with Detroit having won four of their past five.

“Winning is important; some of these habits from a good team game which have led to our winning of late are important,” head coach Derek Lalonde said. “I know some fans out there are probably frustrated. We’ve literally jumped up six spots on the draft board in the last week.”

“We’re going to play to win because I think it’s important,” Lalonde said. “We went through that really tough 5-6 game stretch (0-5-1 from Feb. 25-March 5), it felt like it was three months long. You talk sometimes about how seasons can drag along. We go on this streak of late — winning, rolling, playing the right way, everyone’s getting good reps — all the sudden we only have five games left, it slowed down, which is part of the experience.”

The Red Wings made the difficult call after a pair of blowout losses to their Atlantic Division rival Ottawa Senators to part ways with several assets on the roster, including the likes of Tyler Bertuzzi, FIlip Hronek, Jakub Vrana and Oskar Sundqvist, moves that Lalonde called “the right thing” to do.  

“We were in a unique situation after the deadline,” Lalonde said. “We did the right thing, and no one is going to apologize for it. That’s us taking care of the long-term picture and we had to figure out how to handle the last part of the season. I’m very proud of the way the guys have handled that. They’ve played the right way, they’ve competed hard.”

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Red Wings announce Marco Kasper likely won’t return

ESPN

In a cruel twist of irony, you can go ahead and add the 1st round selection of the Detroit Red Wings in last year’s 2022 NHL Draft to their extensive list of the walking wounded this season. 

Forward Marco Kasper, who made his NHL debut with the Red Wings on Sunday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs, won’t play again in the final remaining games on Detroit’s regular season schedule thanks to a lower body injury that he suffered at some point over the course of the game. He didn’t play in last night’s victory over the Montreal Canadiens, and it was announced by head coach Derek Lalonde earlier today that he likely won’t be able to suit up again this year. 

The 18 year old Austria native drew high praise from his coaching staff and teammates for his performance on the ice against the Leafs in which he racked up a total of just under 15 minutes total ice time. If his time with the Red Wings in 2022-23 is indeed finished, he’ll have a chance to earn a more permanent place on the roster when the team gathers for training camp later this fall. 

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Red Wings sound off on Marco Kasper’s NHL debut

Twitter

The Detroit Red Wings took forward Marco Kasper with the 8th overall selection in the 2022 Draft, and he stepped onto the ice last night at Scotiabank Arena for his first National Hockey League game at just 18 years old. The Austrian native registered a single shot on goal while playing just under 15 minutes, and according to the review from the coaching staff, he looked every bit like he belonged. 

“I thought Marco was great,” head coach Derek Lalonde explained in his postgame remarks. “Simple game, safe game, good team game. Never got himself in trouble, was around the net. I think the underlying numbers for him are going to be very good.”

“I think for a first game, under these type of circumstances, he passed with flying colors.”

And you can bet that Kasper himself was excited for his debut as well.

“It felt great, getting the win, it’s awesome,” Kasper said. “It’s a real special night for me. Playing with Copper and (Lucas Raymond) made it easy for me. They helped me a lot out there and it’s really fun.”

One particular stat that didn’t exactly look pleasing to the eye was the fact that Kasper won only one out of eight face-off attempts. However, his play away from the puck was strong enough to warrant additional praise from Lalonde.

“I think it’s important to play responsible both sides of the puck and really not let anything happen on the defensive side,” Kasper said. “So just trying to play responsible out there and do my best.”

Lalonde continued: “I think that’s his DNA, which is good, and why we’re all so excited about him.” 

The Red Wings are back in action against another Original 6 and Atlantic Division rival in the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night from Bell Centre in downtown Montreal. 

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Red Wings announce status of Ville Husso

The Detroit News

The Detroit Red Wings have been without the services of starting goaltender Ville Husso for the past several games, as he’s been dealing with a nagging injury of late after having easily eclipsed his previous career high in games played.

The good news for Detroit is that backup Alex Nedeljkovic, who struggled mightily in the first part of this season and was relegated to the American Hockey League affiliate Grand Rapids Griffins, has performed well since being brought back up to the big club. And the even better news now is that it looks like Husso is ready to get back into action.

According to comments made by head coach Derek Lalonde, it will be Husso back between the pipes for Detroit’s next game tomorrow night against the Original 6 and Atlantic Division rival Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre.

Husso, who is in his first year with the Red Wings after being acquired from the St. Louis Blues in a trade last summer, has amassed a record of 25-19-6 with a 3.02 goals against average, .899 save percentage and three shutouts.

Detroit will take on the Canadiens tomorrow night starting at 7:00 PM EST. 

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Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde ejected from game

Twitter

Frsutrations boiled over for Detroit Red Wings bench boss Derek Lalonde on Tuesday night against the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins, and thanks to whatever it was that he said against the on-ice referee, he was removed from the game and assessed his first career ejection.

The game misconduct game not long after Penguins forward Jeff Carter was ruled to have legally scored a goal, and it withstood a challenge from Detroit for goaltender interference: 

Red Wings assistant coach Bob Boughner would take over as acting head coach for the remainder of the game, an eventual 7-4 Red Wings victory. 

Lalonde becomes the 2nd NHL bench boss to get the gate during a game this season, following San Jose Sharks head coach David Quinn earlier in the year. 

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Derek Lalonde sounds off on his ejection

Twitter

It was a first last night for Detroit Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde, who was given a game misconduct and tossed from their game at Little Caesars Arena against the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins. 

Lalonde was irate after it was ruled by the on-ice officials that Jeff Carter legally scored a goal, despite forward Jason Zucker pushing goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic’s pad across the red goal line along with the puck. After an expletive-filled outburst, cameras caught Lalonde calmly walking back to the dressing room; it was soon announced that he’d been assessed a misconduct, the first of his coaching career. Assistant coach Bob Boughner would take over for the remainder of the night. 

Following practice this morning, Lalonde explained his side of things while keeping it classy. 

“It was the accumulation of my reaction on the initial calls, which was a little much, and then our conversation at the timeout, which was three minutes later. It was very calm but I just think he (the official) had enough of a combination of both,” Lalonde said. “I was a little shocked. I don’t know if it was warranted but he has every right to do that. He’s trying to manage a game.” 

“It was very calm. I asked him one question and said I felt it was under the pad. He said it wasn’t. I had my comment and he probably didn’t like it and didn’t say a word and calmly skated out and gave the sign. I assumed it was an ejection. It was not a heated exchange. As far as the call, I would make that challenge 100 out of 100 times. I’m very comfortable with it.”

While drawing a comparison to baseball managers getting ejected, Lalonde said that he doesn’t want to be known for losing his temper. 

“It’s a little unfortunate,” Lalonde said. “It’s just not the culture of our sport. Other leagues, getting ejected, being demonstrative on the sidelines or on the bench, it’s applauded sometimes. Our culture is calm demeanor. Obviously, I don’t want to put myself in those situations.”

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Derek Lalonde has words for Sebastian Cossa

Toledo Walleye

With the 15th pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, the Detroit Red Wings went with Western Hockey League goaltender Sebastian Cossa of the Edmonton Oil Kings, a towering figure who many analysts believe could fit the profile of a franchise goalie of the future.

And while it wasn’t exactly smooth sailing for Cossa earlier this season with the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye, he’s suddenly caught fire, having not suffered a loss since early February while sporting a save percentage above that of .960 and an equally stellar goals against average. He was also named the ECHL goaltender of the week earlier in the month. 

And while it’s still going to be a bit before we see him in the red and white of the Red Wings, head coach Derek Lalonde can’t help but notice his success .

“It’s excellent,” Lalonde said of Cossa’s hot streak. “It’s not an accident that a ton, most percentage of goalies in the NHL have spent time, even some significant time in the ECHL.”

“Sometimes that game is a little more chaotic,” Lalonde continued. “You’re dealing with rotating rosters. Sometimes you’re stuck on an overnight and you’re playing with a depleted lineup. Sometimes it’s a less organized game and the goalies down there actually are looking at tougher chances, percentages than they do at every level.

“If he’s doing it over that period of time, no matter what the circumstance is, I think that speaks pretty well of how he’s playing. This is the vision the management team had for him and it’s going exactly to the script.”

Red Wings fans are certainly right to be optimistic about one day seeing the 6’6 goaltender between the pipes for their team.