Tag: Detroit Red Wings

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Latest Red Wings lottery odds released

Winging It In Motown

So, you’re saying there’s a chance?

The Detroit Red Wings are once again on the outside looking in at the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and once their chances to qualify for the dance began dwindling away following a pair of back to back blowout losses to the Ottawa Senators combined with their selling off assets at the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline, the question on the minds of many a fan of Hockeytown was Detroit’s positioning in the upcoming Draft. 

Of course, the main prize in this year’s festivities is phenom forward Connor Bedard, who is looked at with the same pedigree that stars Auston Matthews, Jack Hughes, Patrick Kane, and other future franchise altering talents were looked at upon their entrance onto hockey’s biggest stage. Having played in 57 games for the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League, Bedard absolutely tore it up, registering 147 points. 

There truly has been no team that has gotten the short end of the stick when it comes to luck in the Draft Lottery than the Red Wings, who had to settle for the 4th overall pick in 2020 despite having been the worst team in the League by a wide margin. They’ve also not had the opportunity to draft any higher than 3rd overall since 1990. Needless to say, it’s about time that they had some luck come their way.

As it currently stands, Detroit has the ninth best odds of landing the top overall selection. They’re in 24th place out of the 32 NHL clubs, meaning that they have a 5% chance of landing the top pick, followed by a 5.4% chance at landing the 2nd overall selection. 

However, if the Red Wings lose tonight to Tampa Bay in their regular season finale combined with the Washington Capitals potentially defeating the New Jersey Devils, their chances of the first overall pick increase to 6%. 54.4% shot at drafting eighth. Meanwhile, if they were to advance up to 23rd overall, their chances at the top pick drop to 3.5%. 

Simply put, Detroit’s chances of being able to select Bedard are extremely slim. But there’s nothing wrong with dreaming a little bit, right? 

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Red Wings voice frustration over missing postseason

Yahoo Sports

The 2022-23 season for the Detroit Red Wings officially came to a close last night in frustrating fashion, as they were unable to score a single goal in what was a 5-0 setback against the Tampa Bay Lightning. And what was looming after two straight blowout losses to the Atlantic Division rival Ottawa Senators last month became official last week – the Red Wings aren’t a playoff team yet. 

This now makes seven straight seasons on the outside looking in at the postseason after a record breaking 25 year streak. For captain Dylan Larkin, who has only played in five career postseason games that took place in his rookie season, the frustration of facing another early summer was especially palpable.

“It’s very disappointing,” Larkin said following Detroit’s 5-0 loss to the Lightning in their regular season finale. “It’s been very difficult since the trade deadline, emotionally, physically. We traded away a lot of guys, guys played through injuries. We wanted to get back to .500 and finish on a good note and it didn’t happen. The message was there, it’s been there — there’s a lot of work that needs to be done in this locker room, and I think hopefully — I say it every year, but hopefully we’re not in this position much longer.”

Detroit briefly occupied the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference after a thrilling Western road swing that saw them win four of five, followed by another victory at home over the New York Rangers. But things really began to fall apart after Detroit dominated the Lightning at home on February 25 but lost, firing 45 shots on goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy but failing to light the lamp. Detroit then was physically dominated by the Senators, dropping two in a row by a combined score of 12-3.

It was then that general manager Steve Yzerman decided to do what he had planned on doing all along and sell off assets at the Trade Deadline. You may remember that it was Larkin who fought back tears while speaking publicly immediately after the Red Wings traded his longtime teammate and friend Tyler Bertuzzi to the Boston Bruins. The Red Wings also traded forward Oskar Sundqvist to the Minnesota Wild, dealt defenseman Filip Hronek to the Vancouver Canucks, and Jakub Vrana to the St. Louis Blues. 

“It’s really hard if you’re missing key players, motors I want to even say, in the lineup,” sophomore defenseman Moritz Seider said. “It’s very disappointing. I think we all had higher expectations for that game, we wanted to be a .500 team, and we didn’t achieve that. I think frustration, a little bit of sadness, will be on the way back on the plane for sure. But other than that I think we can be very proud of ourselves, took big strides this year in almost every category. There’s a lot of positives to think back on.”

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Red Wings announce another emergency roster move

Grand Rapids Griffins

The Detroit Red Wings were forced to call up forward Taro Hirose from the American Hockey League affiliate Grand Rapids Griffins prior to yesterday’s home finale against the Dallas Stars. Tonight, prior to their second to last game of the 2022-23 NHL season, they’ve announced another emergency roster move. 

Forward Danny O’Regan has been brought up from the Griffins, while defenseman Simon Edvinsson has been returned to the club (as originally planned in order to avoid a year coming off his three year entry level contract). 

Oringally drafted 138th overall by the San Jose Sharks in the 2012 NHL Draft, O’Regan would eventually be dealt to the Buffalo Sabres in the trade that saw controversial forward Evander Kane head to San Jose. He’d later play within the New York Rangers and Vegas Golden Knights organizations before signing with the Anaheim Ducks in 2021. 

 Ducks traded O’Regan to the Red Wings in exchange for Michael Del Zotto in December of 2022. In 37 games with the Griffins this season, O’Regan has scored 14 goals along with 17 assists. 

In 30 career NHL games, he’s scored one goal with five assists. The Red Wings take on the Carolina Hurricanes tonight from PNC Arena starting at 7:00 PM EST. 

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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 lose captain Dylan Larkin to injury

Draft Kings Nation

The Detroit Red Wings are on the road for their final two games of the 2022-23 NHL regular season, and minutes before tonight’s game against the postseason-bound Carolina Hurricanes, the team announced that their most important player won’t be hitting the ice.

Minutes ago, the Red Wings official Twitter feed announced that captain Dylan Larkin will not be playing tonight due to a lower body injury.

Earlier this afternoon, the Red Wings recalled forward Danny O’Regan from the American Hockey League Grand Rapids Griffins. Due to Larkin’s absence from the lineup, don’t be surprised to see him slotted in. With 32 goals and 47 assists this year, the Red Wings captain established a new career high in points. 

The Red Wings and Hurricanes will get underway from PNC Arena tonight starting at 7:00 PM EST. 

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Red Wings nominate Robby Fabbri for major award

Ilitch News Hub

The Detroit Red Wings lost forward Robby Fabbri last month during a game against the Chicago Blackhawks to what was clearly a lower body injury; that was especially concerning given the fact that Fabbri has suffered a torn ACL at multiple points during his career. In fact, he missed the first half of this season while recovering from offseason surgery to correct the torn ACL he suffered nearly a year ago. 

It wouldn’t be long afterward that the team would announce that Fabbri would be finished for the remainder of the regular season, which comes to an end this Thursday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The organization and fan base are certainly hoping that Fabbri will be healthy enough to start next season. 

But before that starts in the fall, the Red Wings have given a nod to Fabbri’s perseverance through injury by nominating him for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, which is awarded annually to the player “who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey.”

In the 28 games that Fabbri played in this season, he lit the lamp seven times along with adding nine assists and 22 PIM. In 330 career NHL games split between the St. Louis Blues and Red Wings, he’s racked up a total of 80 goals with 88 assists. 

He’s in the first season of a three year, $12 million extension he inked with Detroit.

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Red Wings announce emergency roster move

Detroit Jock City

The Detroit Red Wings will be suiting up for the final time this season tonight at Little Caesars Arena, taking on the visiting and playoff bound Dallas Stars in what will be fan appreciation night at the venue. But ahead of the matchup, they’ve announced a roster move. 

The Red Wings have brought up forward Taro Hirose from the American Hockey League affiliate Grand Rapids Griffins in an “emergency” roster move: 

According to Detroit Free Press beat writer Helene St. James, gritty forward Adam Erne is absent from practice this morning, necessitating the call up of Hirose. 

Hirose has appeared in 69 games with the Griffins this season, scoring 15 goals with 41 assists for a total of 56 points to lead all skaters. He’s also skated in a total of 58 NHL games, all with Detroit and scoring four goals with 16 assists. 

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Red Wings confirm plans for Simon Edvinsson

The Detroit News

With the Detroit Red Wings wrapping up the home portion of their 2022-23 regular season that will once again see them finish on the outside looking in of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, fans in attendance tonight at Little Caesars Arena will get one more glimpse of rookie defenseman Simon Edvinsson.

Head coach Derek Lalonde confirmed following this morning’s skate that the Swedish blue liner will be skating in his final game of the year tonight against the Dallas Stars. In doing so, he’ll have appeared in nine games as so to avoid shaving a year off his three year entry level contract. 

Edvinsson has shown flashes in the eight games that he’s appeared in since being called up to the big club of having all of the tools the team envisioned when they drafted him with the 6th overall selection in 2021; he’s averaged 16:49 of ice time while having tallied two goals. 

“I think huge, vastly beneficial learning experience,” Lalonde said. “Even a game like (Saturday) — even off those first couple games when he had some urgency to his game and he played really well — sometimes it’s easier to teach off some mistakes, situational stuff that found him the other day against a really good team and him playing in a top-four role (in a 5-1 loss to Pittsburgh). I think the whole experience, one more game to go, very valuable for him.”

Per Lalonde, Edvinsson will likely return to the American Hockey League affiliate Grand Rapids Griffins following tonight’s game. 

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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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Boston Bruins can claim a piece of NHL history on Saturday.

Keystone

The Boston Bruins have a chance to share in a piece of National Hockey League history on Saturday when they will face off against the New Jersey Devils, and given the way that things have been trending for the Bruins this season they could even make that piece of NHL history their very own.

The Bruins are coming into Saturday’s game against the Devils with 61 wins in their back pocket already, but a win over the Devils on Saturday would tie the NHL record for most wins in a single season by any team in the league’s history. Only two other teams in the NHL’s history have managed to accomplish this feat before, with the Detroit Red Wings picking up 62 wins during the 1995-1996 regular season, and the Tampa Bay Lightning matching that accomplishment over 2 decades later during the 2018-2019 regular season.

Perhaps what will make the game on Saturday must see TV however is the fact that the Bruins have a very real chance of overtaking both of those historically great teams further down the line. Although the Bruins can tie to the record with a win on Saturday, they have 3 additional games remaining on the schedule with a matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday as well as a pair of matchups against the Washington Capitals and Montreal Canadiens next week.

The Bruins will first have to overcome a playoff bound New Jersey Devils squad today to even tie the record, so I doubt very much that they are looking ahead at the possibility of potentially breaking the record just yet.