Tag: Detroit Red Wings

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Nicklas Lidstrom throws 1st pitch in Tigers home opener

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As it always has been the first home game of the season for the Detroit Tigers is a giant downtown party, regardless of whether or not you’ll be in attendance at Comerica Park. And for those of you older readers, you’ll certainly look back fondly on the days of the legendary Tiger Stadium, which closed its doors in 1999. 

Traditionally, the host team will have a special guest for the ceremonial first pitch prior to the start of the game. And this afternoon in downtown Detroit, it was not only one Motor City sports legend, but a trio. Former Detroit Red Wings captain and multiple time Norris Trophy winning defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom was joined by NBA Hall of Famer Ben Wallace alongside Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Calvin Johnson for the festivities: 

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Red Wings officially eliminated from postseason contention

Associated Press

Despite two separate two-goal comebacks, the Detroit Red Wings were unable to defeat the Buffalo Sabres for what would have been the first time this season, and in doing so, their already razor-thin postseason hopes were officially dashed. 

Their 7-6 shootout loss to the Sabres tonight at Little Caesars Arena combined with the New York Islanders securing two points officially knocked them on the outside looking in on the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. This means that their postseason drought has reached seven seasons following 25 straight trips to the annual dance.

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Stunning injury revealed for Marco Kasper

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As you may now know, the Detroit Red Wings will be without the services of rookie forward Marco Kasper for the remainder of the regular season; their 1st overall draft selection in 2022 appeared in just one game, skating in just under 15 minutes on Sunday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs. 

It was announced not long afterward that he had sustained a lower body injury, and wasn’t expected to be able to suit up for the remainder of the schedule. And now, that injury has been revealed – a broken kneecap. Not only is his brief time with the Red Wings in 2022-23 over, but he’ll now also be unable to suit up for his native Austria in the upcoming World Championships in May. Talk about rotten luck.

Kasper is the second Red Wings player to go down with a broken kneecap, as Michael Rasmussen suffered the same injury last month, coinciding with Detroit falling out of the postseason race. 

Kasper’s estimated recovery time is set at approximately six weeks.

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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

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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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Negative update released on Marco Kasper

NHL.com

Detroit Red Wings prospect Marco Kasper skated in his first National Hockey League contest on Sunday night as part of his team’s 5-2 victory over the host Toronto Maple Leafs. The 18 year old Austria native drew high praise from his coaching staff and teammates for his performance on the ice while skating in just under 15 minutes of total ice time. 

However, fans will have to wait to see him on the ice again wearing the Winged Wheel. According to the Red Wings, Kasper will not be playing tonight against the Montreal Canadiens due to a lower body injury. 

It’s pretty surreal the amount of injuries that the Red Wings have had to deal with this season.

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Red Wings rookie set to make his NHL debut.

Akash Pamarthy/Detroit Free Press

Detroit Red Wings fans who have been eagerly anticipating their chance to see the team’s most recent first round draft pick hit the ice in the National Hockey League will be in for a treat tonight.

On Sunday, the Red Wings’ own Ken Kal confirmed the big news when he revealed that Red Wings first round pick Marco Kasper had his jersey hanging in a stall. Along with a short video came confirmation that Kasper would in fact be suiting up for the Red Wings this evening when they face off against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Kasper was selected 8th overall by the Red Wings at the 2022 NHL Entry Draft and has thus far spent his time developing over in Sweden. This will give the 18 year old Austrian forward a big step up in competition but, given the relative lack of importance surrounding the remaining games on the Red Wings’ schedule, it seems like a good time to give the youngster a chance against the highest level competition in the world.

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Dylan Larkin hits new career high with hat trick vs. Leafs

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Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin, who was recently re-signed by the team to an eight year contract extension, reached a new career high in points on Sunday night against his team’s Original 6 rival in the Toronto Maple Leafs. 

His three goals on the night were good for his second career hat trick, giving him a total of 31 on the season. He’s equaled his goal total of last season, and needs one more to tie his previous high of 32 set in 2018-19. It’s also the third 30-goal season of his NHL career. 

It certainly was a nice gesture for veteran forward David Perron, who scored a hat trick earlier in the week of his own against the Pittsburgh Penguins, to retrieve the puck for Larkin after he hit the open net late in the 3rd period, sealing Detroit’s win.