The Captain Returns - NHL19 - Detroit Red Wings

[SeattleBattleCat]

***Added a pre-season story (see page 14), plus a couple of headlines in front of the previously posted pre-season report.

[SeattleBattleCat]

Season 2021/22

Pre-Season Report

Pre-Season Schedule:


Overall Record: 5-2-0

Home Record: 3-1-0
Away Record: 2-1-0


Atlantic Division Pre-Season Standings:


The Players:

Leading Points: Anthony Mantha 10
Leading Goals: Dylan Larkin 4
Leading Assists: Anthony Mantha 7

GM's Most Impressed Award: Dylan Larkin

Player Stats:



Game Results, News & Team Updates::

19th September, Florida @ Detroit

Hockey is finally back & tonight the Red Wings take a 5-3 victory over the Florida Panthers.
Tonight also gave the Red Wings a chance to put some great new talent on the ice, including this year’s number 1 pick, Fredrik Larsson.
It only took until Larsson’s 2nd shot on net before he scored his 1st NHL Pre-season goal, thanks to a perfect pass from Kirby Dach. Larsson would go quiet for much of the rest of the game however he had made his statement early.
Rookie goalie Viktor Chistov had a decent night in net for his 1st ever NHL game, finishing the night with 23 saves.
Other rookies to hit the ice tonight were defensemen Gustav Lindstrom who scored in the 1st, Brandon Mestre, Jaylon Legace & Amrit Shaw. Plus rookie Forward’s to suit up were Stelio Mattheos, who scored his 1st career Goal, Givani Smith, Joe Veleno & Logan Stafford.
Also in fine form was the Red Wing’s big Free Agent Signing, Defenseman Jacob Trouba, who was credited a goal when Florida managed to put the puck in their own net. Trouba also tallied an assist.
Filip Zadina came off the ice injured in the 3rd period after sustaining a heavy check from Aaron Ekblad. Zadina did not return to the ice for the rest of the game.
The Red Wings will head to Boston for their next pre-season game against the Bruins.

3 Stars of the Game:


Game Pics:

Spoiler

21st September, Detroit @ Boston

The Wings travel to Boston for a preseason meeting & walk out with a 4-1 victory.
It was a case of a near full-strength Red Wings list against a low strength Bruins list & it showed with the final result.
Kirby Dach & Fredrik Larsson both tallied a goal, plus an assist, however the pleasant surprise goals came from rookie Defensemen, Jaylon Legace & Amrit Shaw, who both scored from slap shots near the blue line.
Ville Husso played his 1st for the pre-season & was not put to any extreme testing by the Bruins, having only faced 16 shots on net. However he did have an average start, when Dmytro Timashov scored on the very 1st shot of the game.

3 Stars of the Game:


Sent Down / Trial Complete:
C Logan Stafford
C Stelio Mattheos

Game Pics:

Spoiler

24th September, Toronto @ Detroit

When John Tavares scored the game’s 1st goal early in the 1st period, you could have been forgiven to think that the Leafs were in an exceptional position to win. That was until the Red Wings piled on 9 goals unanswered to leave the final result at 9-1.
Mantha, Larkin & Skinner each scored twice with the other 3 goals going to Lindstrom, Dach & Svechnikov.
Svechnikov (1g,4a) & Mantha (2g,3a) both finished tonight’s whitewash with 5 points each, with Skinner (2g,2a) following close behind with 4 points.
Viktor Chistov was again impressive in his 2nd start this pre-season, making 29 saves, finishing with a .967 save percentage.
It was a hard night for both Toronto goalies, with Andree letting in 2 goals of 5 shots faced before being pulled for Piispanen who played out the rest of the game, though allowing 7 goals in a painful game for Leafs fans to watch.

3 Stars of the Game:


Sent Down / Trial Complete:
D Amrit Shaw
D Brandon Mestre


26th September, Detroit @ Tampa Bay

Night 1 of a road double header & after their last huge win, the Red Wings are knocked back to earth with a thud, being easily countered 5-0 by Tampa Bay.
Rookie goalie Viktor Chistov had it tough, allowing 5 goals from 28 shots, whilst at the other end, New Lightning goalie, Kari Lehtonen was relentless in his efforts, shutting down all attempts on goal to earn the shutout.
Eric Roche scored twice, along with single goals from Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov & Steven Stamkos

3 Stars of the Game:


Sent Down / Trial Complete:
G Viktor Chistov


27th September, Detroit @ Buffalo

Night 2 of the road double header & the Red Wings regain their composure from the Bolts game to beat Buffalo 4-1.
Larkin, Skinner & Muzzin all scored a goal plus an assist each, with rookie d-man Jared McIsaac also finding the back of the net, to join a long list of Detroit rookies recording their 1st.

3 Stars of the Game:


Sent Down / Trial Complete:
C Emanuel Comrie
D Jaylon Legace
D Gustav Lindstrom

Game Pics:

Spoiler

30th September, Montreal @ Detroit

Shea Weber scores a hat-track against his old team in front of a big home crowd during the Red Wings 7-2 thumping of the Montreal Canadiens.
The Habs did score 1st early in the 1st period, with a goal from Nikita Scherbak, however 2 late goals in the same period from Detroit set the rest of the result in motion, with the Red Wings then dominating in most key stats.
In his 1st game back from injury, Filip Zadina tallied 3 assists, with Svechnikov also featuring with a goal, plus 2 assists.
Johnathan Bernier played in his 1st & likely only pre-season game tonight, pulling off 23 saves.

3 Stars of the Game:


2nd October, Ottawa @ Detroit

The Red Wings will want to put the last game of the Pre-Season behind them, after an average 5-1 defeat at home to the Ottawa Senators.
With the visitors sporting their new Stanley Cup winning goalie, Braden Holtby, the Senators found the back of the net 5 times, whilst Holtby held the Red Wings all night to only the one major.
Detroit’s lone goal came in the 2nd period, when Fredrik Larsson deflected a Dennis Cholowski slap shot into the net.
The Red Wings Just did not bring their A game, as they bumbled defense & allowed emotion to get the better of them, which all culminated in Kirby Dach being called for a game misconduct & ejected from the game after a major boarding penalty.
Holtby is tonight’s 1st star, with Thomas Chabot tallying 3 assists coming in as the 2nd, & another newcomer to the Sen’s this year, Vladislav Namestikov earning the 3rd star with a goal and an assist.

3 Stars of the Game:


Game Pics:

Spoiler

Wrap up:
The Red Wings finish the pre-season with a 5-2-0 record, which is not bad at all.
We played less prospects during pre-season than in previous seasons, however the quality of those that played were exceptional. Possibly none more so than our new no.1 pick, Fredrick Larsson who finished with 3 goals & 3 assists (6pts) in 7 games.
We had some big scoring games, however the 2 games that we did lose, we just didn’t impact the game at all.
Our goalie prospect, Viktor Chistov promises to be a big deal for this team when he is eventually ready. Chistov will play at least this season in the AHL to get used to the fast pace of senior hockey.
Also, the future looks very bright in our defensive stocks, with Brandon Mestre, Jaylon Legace & Amrit Shaw all playing really well during their trials.
Our 1st game of the season is at home on the 6th October against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Larsson will play on the 1st line with Mantha & Dach, however not entirely set on that trio being the permanent top line, we’ll see where the season takes us.

Season Objective- Improve Top4 defense pairing:

Although we made a massive gain in signing Jacob Trouba to our defense. Christopher Ilitch has set my primary objective this season to improve our top 4 defense pairings yet again before trade deadline.
More than likely we will make a trade early in the piece to allow any new comers to gel with the rest of the team.

Injuries:
19th September - Filip Zadina, lower body injury - Missed 3 games

Contract Extensions:
4th October:
D Michael Paliotta 71ovr Signed 1yr 2way Contract @ $0.750M
G Jeff Zatkoff 72ovr Signed 1yr 2way Contract @ $0.750M

Signed the above minor contracts to help cover for call ups. We now have 47 players contracted.

Projected Lines - 6th October 2021, Toronto @ Detroit

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[SeattleBattleCat]

Season 2021/22

October Report

October’s Schedule:


Overall Record: 6-5-0
Month Record: 6-5-0

Home Record: 3-3-0
Away Record: 3-2-0
Last 10 Games: 5-5-0
Current Streak: 1L


League Standings:

Spoiler

The Players:

Leading Points: Jeff Skinner 12
Leading Goals: Fredrik Larsson 7
Leading Assists: Jeff Skinner 10

GM's Most Impressed Award: Fredrik Larsson

Player Stats:

Spoiler

Goalie Stats:

Spoiler

Rookie Watch:

Spoiler

League Leaders:

Spoiler

Points:

Goals:

Assists:

Goalies:

Rookie Scoring:

Plus / Minus (+/-)

PIM

Game Results, News & Team Updates::

6th October, Toronto @ Detroit

Opening Night in Detroit & the Red Wings get off to the right start to the season with a comfortable 4-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Leafs Forward Morgan Reilly scored the season’s first goal at Little Caesars Arena, however that did not affect the Wings as they then went on to score the next 4 straight.
Andreas Athanasiou scored twice, with Shea Weber & Jacob Trouba scoring one each.
Jeff Skinner’s assignment to the 3rd line paid off in spades with the winger earning 3 assists in tonight’s great effort.
Tonight saw both Fredrik Larsson & Joe Veleno play their 1st career NHL game’s for the Red Wings. both players put in solid efforts in what should be lengthy careers in the NHL.

3 Stars of the Game:


Game Pics:

Spoiler

9th October, Boston @ Detroit

The Bruins dominate the Red Wings in play tonight & walk away as easy 5-1 victors.
Detroit’s 1st line of Dach, Larsson & Mantha fail to get any momentum again as the Bruins walk all over the top of the rest of the team.
Boston’s Frank Vatrano scored twice in the big display put on by the visitors.
Dylan Larkin scored his 1st goal in the loss. It was a tough night for Ville Husso who faced only 26 shots, yet allowed 5 goals.

3 Stars of the Game:


10th October, Detroit @ Minnesota

The Red Wings fail to make any statement tonight, easily stamped out by the Minnesota Wild 3-1 on the road.
Husso played his 2nd straight loss in the split home / road double header making 24 saves & Dylan Larkin was again the Wings solitary scorer, getting one in the 3rd period over the Wild’s new star recruit goalie, Frederik Andersen.

3 Stars of the Game:


12th October, Detroit @ St Louis

The Red Wings slump to their 3rd straight loss with a 5-4 defeat to the St Louis Blues.
Red Wings rookie Fredrik Larsson scored twice followed with goals from Frk & Mantha, however it was not enough to beat the Blues who pick up their 1st victory for the season.
It was another tough night for Ville Husso, letting through 5 goals once more & making 28 saves.

3 Stars of the Game:


14th October, Detroit @ Ottawa

Tight, tight, tight game in Ottawa, however the Red Wings snap the losing streak with a 3-0 shut out victory over the Senators.
Johnathan Bernier made his 1st start in net & the veteran net minder earned his 1st shutout in a relatively quiet night at his end, stopping all 22 shots on net.
Rookie winger Fredrik Larsson scored his 3rd goal for the season, along with Dach & Rasmussen tallying an empty netter.
All 3 goals came in the 3rd period over the Senators new star recruit, Braden Holtby.

3 Stars of the Game:


16th October, Detroit @ New Jersey

The Red Wings scrape through in overtime with a 3-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils thanks to a goal from Jake Muzzin.
Muzzin’s game winning goal came with 1:51 remaining in extra time to put the Wings back to .500 at 3–3-0.
Jeff Skinner & Anthony Mantha were the Red Wings contributors to the scoreboard during regulation in the 1st period, however the game was forced into Overtime after a late 3rd period goal from Devil’s Severson.
Kirby Dach was brilliant on the ice tonight, taking part in all 3 Wings goals, tallying 3 assists.
The Red Wings finish this 4 game away stand at 2-2-0 & will take on the Anaheim Ducks next at home.
3 Stars of the Game:


18th October, Anaheim @ Detroit

Detroit are shown up at home once again with a 6-3 loss to the Anaheim Ducks.
Duck’s Rickard Rakell led the way for the Vistors, scoring twice in a dominant display.
Johnathan Bernier weathered the storm however looked second rate as the Ducks managed to score all too easily on the veteran who had a poor night.

3 Stars of the Game:


21st October, Columbus @ Detroit

The Red Wings rebound with a close 2-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets at home.
Anthony Mantha & Andreas Athanasiou scored in the victory which sees the Wings move to 4-4-0.
Tonight was Husso’s 2nd victory after taking back the starting spot.

3 Stars of the Game:
1st Star - Ville Husso - 33 saves
2nd star - Anthony Mantha 1 goal
3rd star - Andreas Athanasiou 1 goal

*major blunder, accidentally simmed past this game whilst in the AHL screen. Wasn’t happy...

23rd October, Colorado @ Detroit

The Red Wings take away a 2-1 victory over the Avalanche at home thanks to 2 goals from rookie wingman Fredrik Larsson.
Larsson nailed his 4th & 5th goals for the season during the 1st period, both on the power play.
JT Compher scored in the 2nd period to bring the visitors within 1, however Ville Husso was able to shut all shots down after to get the Wings their 5th win of the season.
In poor news for the Red Wings, Jacob Trouba was helped off the ice during the 2nd period after making head contact with the ice, he did not return for the rest of the game.

3 Stars of the Game:


Breaking News...

Quote:

Trouba to miss up to 4 weeks with Concussion Key defenseman sidelined after head made contact with ice during Av's game 24th October 2021

27th October, Detroit @ Dallas

Fredrik Larsson nets another 2 in the Red Wings 3-1 come from behind victory over the Dallas Stars on the road.
Ville Husso has found form after the last few games & tonight is no exception, with 33 saves in a solid effort.
Stars forward Tyler Pitlick scored in the 1st period, which gave the Stars an early lead, although it did not last. Stars Ben Bishop made 22 saves in tonight’s loss.

3 Stars of the Game:


30th October, Dallas @ Detroit

The Dallas Stars seek retribution in tonight’s game in Detroit & get it done, defeating the Red Wings 5-3.
After a number of good games strung together, the problems faced at the beginning of October revisited Detroit as they let slip too many chances to the Stars who gain their 7th victory for the season.
Joe Veleno scored his 1st career NHL goal in tonight’s loss, along with Larkin & Svechnikov.
For the Stars, Jason Dickinson led the way, scoring twice.

3 Stars of the Game:


Breaking News:....

Quote:

Red Wings acquire Colton Parayko from Blues Wings trade top center prospect, Darren Henrich & a 3rd Round Draft Pick for Parayko & a 4th Round Pick. 31st October 2021, Red Wings General Manager Steve Yzerman has executed another big move, further bolstering the Red Wings defense through the acquisition of top Defenseman 28 year old, Colton Parayko from the St Louis Blues, who appear to be cleaning house for a rebuild. In the deal, the Red Wings received Parayko along with a 4th Round pick in the 2022 rookie draft & the St Louis Blues received 18 year old German Center prospect Darren Henrich & a 3rd round pick in the 2022 draft. When asked for comment over the phone this afternoon, Parayko said, “I’m excited to be joining a young emerging team, they have some great talent amongst some big experienced Defensemen & I hope to do my part.” Steve Yzerman was also quite upbeat about the acquisition. “we’ve done our homework on Parayko & he will be the perfect fit right into our top defense pairing with either Shea or Muz.” Parayko’s 1st game for the Red Wings will be tomorrow against the LA Kings at Little Caesars Arena.

Wrap up:
After a slow start, the Red Wings recovered to eventually close out the month just above .500.
The wins were great, however nearly all losses this month were blow outs leaving the Wings with a lot of room for improvement. It’s a slow start but we’ll pick it up.

Rookie Fredrik Larsson is off to a great start to his career with 7 goals in the 1st 11, hopefully that trend continues, however we need some more goal scorers out there & we really need some defense.
That last point brings me to the acquisition of defenseman, Colton Parayko.
Parayko will go straight into the 1st defense pairing with Weber or Muzzin.
Of all defenseman on offer early in the season, Parayko was by far the best asset on the block, given how poor the team had performed at the blue line, an improvement is required. On top of this point, this also hopefully fulfills my primary task set to me by Christopher Ilitch this season. It is hoped with Parayko’s addition, the Red Wings might plug the hole in the laggy defense to date.
Parayko will get his 1st start against the Kings on the 1st November.

Ville Husso - Jump to Elite Goalie:
You have to be happy with that. Ville Husso has climbed From a Medium Starter potential to Medium Elite this season & has also increased in rating from 81 to 89.


The challenge grows – updated owner expectations
After the acquisition of Parayko, it appears the league has rated us as potential champions, up from the contender rating at the very beginning of the pre-season.
Chris Ilitch’s expectations have grown. The primary goal remains the same (& I believe I have achieved it already), however now he would like the Wings to finish at the top of the Eastern Conference. A big ask, we’ll do what we can!


Injuries:
23rd October - Jacob Trouba - Concussion - Missed 2 games, Will miss 3-4 weeks

Contract Extensions:
Nil

Call Ups/ Assignments:
Nil

Projected Lines – 1st November, Los Angeles @ Detroit

[m1a2lt]

Quote: Originally Posted by SeattleBattleCat

[b]Season 2021/22 Pre-Season Report

Really like the ingame screenshots and the "vs" from the arena roof. Do you do screen shots or use a camera?

[SeattleBattleCat]

Quote: Originally Posted by m1a2lt

Really like the ingame screenshots and the "vs" from the arena roof. Do you do screen shots or use a camera?

Thanks, I use my iPhone camera for my shots. I found it was much more convenient to take, edit & upload especially with the amount of pics I seem to take nowadays.

[SeattleBattleCat]

Season 2021/22

November Report

November’s Schedule:


Overall Record: 15-10-0 (4th Atlantic Division)
Month Record: 10–5-0

Home Record: 8-5-0
Away Record: 7-5-0
Last 10 Games: 7-3-0
Current Streak: 1W


League Standings:

Spoiler

The Players:

Leading Points: Jeff Skinner 25
Leading Goals: Fredrik Larsson 12
Leading Assists: Jeff Skinner 18

GM's Most Impressed Award: Colton Parayko.

Player Stats:

Spoiler

Goalie Stats:

Spoiler

Rookie Watch:

Spoiler

League Leaders:

Spoiler

Points:

Goals:

Assists:

Goalies:

Rookie Scoring:

Plus / Minus (+/-)

PIM

Game Results, News & Team Updates::

1st November, Los Angeles @ Detroit
The Red Wings win convincingly 3-0 over the LA Kings at home.
Defenseman Colton Parayko played his 1st game as a Red Wing and did not disappoint, putting in the most time on the ice (27:17) out of all skaters & made his presence known, dispatching several big hits on unsuspecting Kings players.
Dylan Larkin netted the game’s 1st goal during the 1st period. The lead was then extended when Martin Frk fired a medium range slap shot into the net, followed later by Kirby Dach who tapped in a loose puck that rebounded from a Fredrik Larsson wrap around.
Ville Husso was again relatively quiet, however picks up his 1st shutout for the season.

3 Stars of the Game:


Game Pics:

Spoiler

4th November, St Louis @ Detroit

It was a tough night if you were a goaltender & the Red Wings have beaten the St Louis Blues 6-4 at Little Caesars Arena.
Tonight was Parayko’s 1st game against his former team, with the defenseman not disappointing, putting in some great play throughout.
10 goals were scored in the 1st 2 periods of play, followed by a scoreless 3rd period.
Jeff Skinner led the scorecard for the Red Wings with 2 goals & Center Dylan Larkin tallied a goal & 3 assists in a 4 point game from him. Rookie Defenseman Jared McIsaac scored his 1st career goal.
For the Blues, centerman Ryan OReilly scored twice, all but carrying the Blues in a solid game from the gritty forward.

3 Stars of the Game:


6th November, Detroit @ Columbus

Despite mounting a comeback deep in the 3rd period, the Red Wings lose tonight’s road game 4-2 to the Blue Jackets.
After 2 goals from Tyson Jost, during the 3rd period, the Red Wings went on to score 2 goals from Larkin & Mantha to tie it up, however with only 1:59 remaining in the 3rd, Cam Atkinson scored to put the Jackets back in front, followed by an empty net goal from Aanti Nutivaara.

3 Stars of the Game:


9th November, Vancouver @ Detroit

Detroit lose their 2nd game in a row with a 4-3 defeat at home to the Vancouver Canucks.
Despite outshooting their opponents 36 to 26, the Wings have let another chance slip.
Parayko scored his 1st goal as a Red Wing in the loss.
It was another poor night for Ville Husso who made 22saves

3 Stars of the Game:


12th November, Philadelphia @ Detroit

Detroit score 4 goals in the final period to pull off a 6-5 victory over the Flyers in Philadelphia.
Through the 2nd period, the Wings trailed the Flyers 4-1, however they would own the final period in the miraculous turnaround.
Johnathan Bernier made 30 saves in a busy night for the red lamp at both ends.
Martin Frk scored twice to lead the Wings, with other goals coming from Mantha, Skinner, Larsson, &,Weber.

3 Stars of the Game:


13th November, Detroit @ Florida

Detroit’s season continues to go awry with a 4-2 loss to the Panthers at the BB&T Center.
It was the 1st meeting between Fredrik Larsson (Pick 1) & George Matheson (Pick 2), with Matheson easily being the better of the 2 out there, scoring a goal & tallying an assist. Larsson played plenty of minutes however failed to make an impact.
Filip Zadina was the Red Wings one bright light, scoring both goals for the visitors, in what has been a tough season to date.
With tonight’s loss, the Wings are 9-8-0 & sit 4th in the Atlantic Division standings.

3 Stars of the Game:


Game Pics:

Spoiler

16th November, Detroit @ Anaheim

Dylan Larkin stands up for his team & scores twice to help elevate the Red Wings to a 3-2 road victory over the Ducks.
Larkin’s goals came in the 1st & 2nd periods & Michael Rasmussen scored with 3:22 to put the result beyond doubt. However the Ducks would add to the score once more with 1:30 remaining when Sam Steel netted the puck on a breakaway.
Husso records the victory with 28 saves, in what will hopefully begin to build some confidence for the recently out of form goalie.

3 Stars of the Game:


Breaking News...

Quote:

Hicketts Traded to Vancouver Red Wings receive 3rd Round Pick in exchange for Hicketts & a 4th Round Pick 16th November 2021

18th November, Detroit @ Arizona

The Red Wings pick up their 2nd road win in a row with a close shave 2-1 victory over the Arizona Coyotes.
The game remained scoreless right up until the 3rd period, when finally Andreas Athanasiou found the net, then in the very next play Jeff Skinner put the puck away to give the Wings a 2-0 lead.
On the very next play again, Coyotes forward Richard Panik scored to bring the difference back to 1, though from there Johnathan Bernier was able to hold the Coyotes at Bay.
The Red Wings now head for Edmonton where they will play the Oilers tomorrow night.

3 Stars of the Game:


19th November, Detroit @ Edmonton

The Red Wings pick up road win number 3 in a row with a 5-1 smashing of the Oilers.
Fredrik Larsson set the tone of the game in motion when he scored twice in the 1st period. Larkin, Dach & Parayko scored in the 2nd period to give the Wings an unassailable 5-0 lead.
Husso almost recorded a shutout, making 39 saves, he was eventually beaten late in the 3rd period by Ostap Safin with 6:12 remaining.

3 Stars of the Game:


22nd November, NY Rangers @ Detroit

The Red Wings have found some momentum as they pick up their 4th win in a row with a 4-1 victory at home against the New York Rangers.
Filip Zadina picked up 2 goals, with Larsson & Dach scoring the other 2.
Mats Zuccarello was the lone Rangers goal scorer, his goal was the 1st of the game in the 2nd period.
Extremely quiet night for Husso, only facing 18 shots on net, stopping 17. Husso left the game late clutching the back of his leg in what appears to be a possible hamstring strain.

3 Stars of the Game:


Breaking News...

Quote:

Husso to miss a week with minor hamstring strain Injury occurred during dying minutes of 4-1 victory over the Rangers. Chistov Called up from Grand Rapids 23rd November 2021,

24th November, Detroit @ NY Islanders

The Red Wings keep finding a way to win with a close 3-2 victory over the otherwise red hot Islanders, marking their 5th win in a row.
Joe Veleno netted his 2nd for the season to give the Wings an early lead, however the Islanders scored the next 2 from Taylor Hall in the 1st & Luke Belpedio in the 2nd.
With only 4 seconds remaining in the 2nd period, Andreas Athanasiou scored to tie the game.
With 9:41 remaining in the 3rd, Colton Parayko scored to give back the Wings the lead & they were able to hold out the home team from there.
Bernier carried the torch with Husso sidelined & played admirably, making 31 saves.

3 Stars of the Game:


26th November, Detroit @ NY Rangers

Red Wings travel to the Big Apple & the win streak stalls at 5 with a 3-1 defeat to the Rangers.
Mika Zibanejad scored twice & Goalie Andrej Vasilevskiy put in another menacing effort to elevate Rangers to tonight’s win.
Filip Zadina scored the game’s 1st goal however the Wings could not build on that start.

3 Stars of the Game:


27th November, Carolina @ Detroit

The Red Wings are shutout 3-0 at home by what has been a struggling Carolina Hurricanes.
The Red Wings could not get an offense banded together well enough to threaten the scoreboard.
Sebastian Aho, Mattias Janmark & Martin Necas were the goal scorers for the Canes

3 Stars of the Game:


29th November, 29th November, Florida @ Detroit

The crowd at Little Caesars Arena were treated to a show, with Red Wings scoring 5 goals in the final period to defeat the Florida Panthers 5-3.
Trailing 2-0 at the start of the 3rd period, Jacob Trouba broke through to get the home team on the board. This was followed by a flood from the Red Wings with Skinner scoring, then Parayko scoring twice to put the Wings in front 4-2.
Panthers top gun rookie, George Matheson found the back of the net with 9:28 remaining in the 3rd period which made the game even more entertaining, however finally with 0:52 remaining Fredrik Larsson locked the win away with the Wings 5th goal for the period.

3 Stars of the Game:


Wrap up:
It was again a slow start, however the Red Wings strung a series of wins together & overall December was a good month with a record of 10-5-0.
Up forward, Fredrik Larsson is still the team’s most consistent goal scorer, with many of the remainder of the roster still largely struggling. Coaching have juggled the lines frequently, however that becomes an issue in itself in terms of chemistry.
The addition of Parayko certainly helps the team on the blue line, especially in the 1st few games this month when Trouba was out of action. I’m glad Chris Ilitch challenged us to make the addition to the team. We did give away center prospect, Darren Henrich who is likely to become an Elite player, however thankfully we have an abundance of talent in Center.
The team goaltending has definitely been an issue, although we can see Ville Husso has improved greatly in skill, it seems he is having some 2nd year blues which we need to help him steer out of. We’ll keep backing him & hopefully he can turn the rest if this season around.
We seem to building quite the rivalry with fellow Atlantic team, Florida. The Panthers selected RW George Matheson at number 2 behind Larsson & the 2 seem to be locked in a race for Rookie Of the Year rights. Matheson appears to have the upper hand at the moment however it is a long season, & if Larsson’s linemates begin to produce he’ll catch up sure enough.

Injuries:
23rd October, D Jacob Trouba - Concussion - Missed 13 games - returned 26th November
6th November, D Dennis Cholowski - Groin Injury - Missed 3 games
22nd November, G Ville Husso – Hamstring – Missed 3 games
29th November, D Dennis Cholowski - Groin Injury - Returning in 1 week.

Contract Extensions:
7th November - RW Martin Frk Signed 3yr Contract Extension @ $1.225m Per year

Call Ups/ Assignments:
23rd November – G Viktor Chistov – Called up to Detroit Red Wings
30th November – G Viktor Chistov – Re-called to Grand Rapids

Projected Lines - 1st December, Arizona @ Detroit

[SeattleBattleCat]

Season 2021/22

December Report

December’s Schedule:


Overall Record: 23-14-1 (3rd Atlantic Div)
Month Record: 8-4-1

Home Record: 12-6-0
Away Record: 11-8-1
Last 10 Games: 6-3-1
Current Streak: 1L


League Standings:

Spoiler

The Players:

Leading Points: Jeff Skinner 37
Leading Goals: Fredrik Larsson 16
Leading Assists: Jeff Skinner 26

GM's Most Impressed Award: Jeff Skinner (Most consistent out there)

Player Stats:

Spoiler

Goalie Stats:

Spoiler

Rookie Watch:

Spoiler

League Leaders:

Spoiler

Points:

Goals:

Assists:

Goalies:

Rookie Scoring:

Plus / Minus (+/-)

PIM

Game Results, News & Team Updates::

1st December, Arizona @ Detroit

Despite owning the puck for two-thirds of the game, plus outshooting their opponent 39 to 18, the Red Wings are defeated 3-1 by the Arizona Coyotes.
Martin Frk scored the game’s 1st goal with only 1:29 spent in the 1st period. However no matter the pressure applied by the Red Wings, Coyotes goalie, Tukka Rask nailed the posts shut making 38 saves. At the other end, Ville Husso probably had a game he would like to put behind him, only making 15 saves from a quiet 18 shots.
Goligoski, Ekman-Larsson & Eakin scored the goals for the Coyotes to earn their 12th win of the season.


3 Stars of the Game:


4th December, Detroit @ Winnipeg

The Red Wings have defeated the Winnipeg Jets 3-1 on the road.
Detroit’s Filip Zadina scored the game’s 1st goal during the 1st period, which was then countered by Jet’s star forward Patrick Laine, who scored late during the 2nd period.
It took until the 3rd period until there would be another score, which was managed by Dylan Larkin, giving the visitors the upper hand.
With the Wings carrying a 2-1 lead late into the 3rd period, the Jets pulled Calle Hellebuyck to roll the dice, however that backfired when d-man Shea Weber stole the puck and was able to score on the empty net from distance.
After a forgettable game against the Coyotes, Ville Husso rebounded to be awarded tonight’s 1st star, making 29 saves.

3 Stars of the Game:


7th December, Detroit @ Montreal

The Red Wings achieve another 3-1 victory on the road, this time over the Montreal Canadiens.
Habs hard man, Andrew Shaw scored during the 1st period to put the home team up by 1. However Anthony Mantha then scored the equaliser in the 2nd period, with Shea Weber scoring the game winner midway through the 3rd.
Andreas Athanasiou later scored an empty net goal with 43 seconds remaining to put the result beyond doubt.

3 Stars of the Game:


Breaking News...

Quote:

Parayko out with Back Spasms. Star defenseman projected out for a week 8th December.

9th December, Ottawa @ Detroit

The Red Wings have played a much better brand of hockey tonight, pulling off a 5-0 whitewash of the visiting Ottawa Senators.
Evgeny Svechnikov led the way for the Wings with 2 goals. Michael Rasmussen also found something extra, notching a goal plus an assist. Martin Frk & Anthony Mantha were the other goal scorers.
Ville Husso earned his 2nd shutout for the season, the Finnish goalie making 24 saves.
For Braden Holtby it was a very busy night, facing 44 shots & stopping 39.

3 Stars of the Game:


11th December, Detroit @ Florida

The Red Wings are on a roll, having defeated Division rival the Panthers 4-1 on the road.
Tonight is The Wings 4th win in succession & thy draw level with the Panthers on the ladder out of tonight’s victory.
In another match up between last season’s number 1 & 2 picks, this time it was Fredrik Larsson with the upper hand, tallying a goal & an assist in the 1st period.
Anthony Mantha earned tonight’s 1st star with the star forward finding the net twice in a season which has challenge him to date.

3 Stars of the Game:

Quote:

Shaw out for up to 2 weeks with shoulder injury Star Defenseman injured during 5-3 victory over Monsters 11th December 2021,

14th December, Detroit @ NY Islanders

The Red Wings push the Islanders through regulation & overtime however are defeated in the shootout to lose 3-2.
Skinner & Larsson scored for the Wings & were in front 2-1 until midway through the 3rd period when Zac Senyshen pushed the puck past Bernier’s glove to tie the game.
Taylor Hall was the only player to score during the shootout, handing the Isles the win.

3 Stars of the Game:


16th December, Detroit @ Buffalo

The Red Wings have beaten division rival & current league leader, Buffalo 3-0 at Keybank Arena.
The Red Wings goals came from Trouba, Skinner & Mantha.
Mantha’s goal late in the 2nd period was a highlight of the luck that the Red Wings had in this game. Mantha appeared to have attempted a pass to Filip Zadina, however the puck deflected off a Sabres Defenseman’s skate, passing between Saros’s legs & in the net.
Tonight’s win goes a long way to solidifying the Red Wings 3rd place in the Atlantic.

3 Stars of the Game:


Game Pics – See Inside Spoiler

Spoiler

18th December, Detroit @ Tampa Bay

After one of their best games for the season against the Sabres, the Red Wings roll out possibly their worse performance for the season, getting towelled by Tampa Bay 6-0.
The Bolts pick up only their 10th win for the season however it is clear there is a mental edge they continue to carry over the Red Wings, who had absolutely no answer for the siege they were under tonight.
Lightning Goalie, Kari Lehtonen earned a big shutout with 30 saves.

3 Stars of the Game:


21st December, Detroit @ Philadelphia

The Red Wings are blown out of the water for a 2nd straight game on the road, this time going down 7-3 to the Flyers.
Carrying a 4-3 lead going into the final period, the Flyers then piled on 3 goals in quick succession, finally forcing Wings coach Jeff Blashill to replace Bernier with Husso for the final 10 minutes of the game.

3 Stars of the Game:


23rd December, Tampa Bay @ Detroit

The Red Wings recover from the previous two losses, including the thumping from tonight’s opponents, defeating the Lightning 4-2.
The Bolts held a 2-1 lead going into the final period, however goals from Frk & Skinner put the Wings in front midway through the final term. Kirby Dach was then credited with an empty net goal with 0:35 remaining in the clock.
Husso was much better in tonights effort, making 30 saves.

3 Stars of the Game:


25th December, Washington @ Detroit

Christmas in Detroit feels all that little better with the Red Wings winning a close one, 2-1 over the Washington Capitals.
After 1st period goals from Capital’s Alex Ovechkin & Wing’s, Andreas Athanasiou, the rest of the game would go scoreless until Fredrik Larsson nailed the game winner early in the 3rd period.
Ville Husso was great again, making 23 saves. Caps goalie, Robin Lehrer was a little busier, facing 32 shots on net & saving 30.

3 Stars of the Game:


26th December, Ottawa @ Detroit

Joe Veleno scores twice to lift the Red Wings to a 3-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators.
It was another close game, with both teams only managing a limited number of shots on goal each (Ottawa 24 to Detroit 23).
Sen’s forward Chris Tierney opened the scoring with a goal in the 1st period. Rookie Defenseman Jared McIsaac notched his 1st career goal to tie the game in the 2nd period.
Veleno would then go on to score late in the 2nd & followed it up with another in the 3rd period.
Filip Zadina played well tallying assists in both of Veleno’s goals.
Bernier got the start in net tonight for the Wings, making 23 saves.

3 Stars of the Game:


31st December, Detroit @ NY Rangers

2021 is closed out with a 3-1 loss to the Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
Tony Deangelo scored twice during the 1st period, followed by Chris Kreider in the 2nd period. The only look-in the Wings got at the Ranger’s net was a late 2nd period goal to Fredrik Larsson. Ranger’s goalie Andrej Vasilevskiy was once again too good.
Ville Husso still put in a good night making 27 saves.
The Red Wings now head home for a New Years Day game against the Penguins.

3 Stars of the Game:


Wrap up:
Reasonably solid month with a record of 8-4-1 from 13 games. Not 100% content with the 1st & 2nd lines as consistency to find an open net & score is still a bit of an issue but we will keep pushing.
Fredrik Larsson continues to have a great rookie season, leading the team in goals scored.
The Red Wings play their next 4 games at home, beginning the 1st January when they host the Penguins. They will not have to travel until their road game against the Flyers on the 13th January, so let’s hope they make the most of it.

Injuries:
7th December – D Colton Parayko – Back Spasms – missed 3 games

Contract Extensions:
Nil

Call Ups/ Assignments:
Nil

Trade News:
Ottawa have acquired Defenseman Nate Schmidt from Anaheim


Projected Lines – 1st January 2022, Pittsburgh Penguins @ Detroit Red Wings

[SeattleBattleCat]

Season 2021/22

Grand Rapids Griffins
Mid Season Report



Feature Game:
2nd January 2022,
Iowa @ Grand Rapids
With the AHL season nearly half-way through, we take a look at the Griffins at home against the Iowa Wild.
The Griffins are the current league leaders in the regular-season standings to date, with an impressive 24-5-3 season record.
The Iowa Wild come into tonight’s matchup in a slump, having lost their last 7 games in a row.


Projected Lines:


GAME RESULT & RECAP- See Pictures Inside

Spoiler

2nd January 2022,Iowa @ Grand Rapids

The Grand Rapids Griffins have seen in the New Year with a 7-1 demolition of the Iowa Wild in front of their home crowd at Van Andel Arena.
The Griffins piled on 5 goals unanswered during the 1st period, building what would be an unassailable lead. Tanner Fritz was leading the way at this point with 2 goals.
After a scoreless 2nd period, the Griffins put on 2 more goals from Axel Holmstrom & Matt Puempel. Holmstrom by this point, also had his 2nd goal & Fritz added an assist to his tally to give him 3 points.
Griffins Goalie, Viktor Chistov very nearly secured a shut out until with 2 minutes remaining the Wild finally bested the rookie goalie on what would almost be their only decent play of the game.
From tonight’s game, the Griffins increase their league points lead, with their 7th straight win & which they would hope the trend continues.
For the Wild, it is now their 8th consecutive loss in what has been a frustrating period for the hockey club.

3 Stars of the Game:


Game Pics:

GRIFFINS SEASON STATS:

Overall Record: 25-5-3

Home Record: 12-4-2
Away Record: 14-1-1
Last 10 Games: 8-1-1
Current Streak: 7W

League Standings:

Spoiler

The Players:

Leading Points: Axel Holmstrom 29
Leading Goals: Axel Holmstrom 15 (tied 2nd AHL)
Leading Assists: Tanner Fritz & Alex Chiasson 18

Player Stats:

Spoiler

Goalie Stats:

Spoiler

League Leaders:

Spoiler

Points:

Goals:

Assists:

Goalies:

Plus / Minus (+/-)

PIM

Wrap up:
To date the Griffins are having a spectacular season with only 5 regulation time losses from 33 starts.
What has made them a polished unit this season it seems is the ability to score on all lines. Up forward, Axel Holmstrom, who leads the team in Goals & points has done it nearly all season sitting on the 3rd & 4th lines. Garnet Hathaway features heavily in many of the teams games & as a result, he leads the league in plus/minus.
Defensively the Griffins have been doing it well also. This season has seen a formidable display from the top pairing of veteran Jonathan Ericsson & young soon-to-be star Amrit Shaw, however their depth runs deeper than that with Gustav Lindstrom & Dylan McIrath on the 2nd pairing who are also putting in plenty of minutes on the ice.
Rookie goalie, Viktor Chistov has been quite the revelation this season, quickly becoming the team’s regular starting goalie & has plenty to prove. It will not take long for this young gun to prove his worth for the NHL.
Let’s hope the Griffin’s great season continues, there is a long road ahead & the cup is not won halfway through the regular season.