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Evening Snapshots: Red Wings, Mantha, Slumping Blackhawks

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Heading home for a stretch where they play 13 of 15 at Little Caesars Arena, Detroit Red Wings bench boss Jeff Blashill says there is “zero excuse” for not winning tonight writes MLive’s Ansar Khan. After getting pushed around by Calgary Thursday night, Detroit looks to get back on track against a Columbus team mired in a four game winless streak. The goal for the Red Wings are to return to the playoffs after a one-year hiatus, and this stretch of hockey with games predominantly at home serves as the best chance to get a good jump on it. Currently sitting 8-8-1, impressive forward Anthony Mantha added that the team needs have at least a .750 or .800 mark during the stretch at home.

  • Speaking of Mantha, Khan reports that the goal-scoring forward is developing into a more complete player in his second NHL season. Dogged early in his career for lack of effort, Mantha has risen to the occasion, leading the Red Wings in goals and points through Friday. Blashill says that the 22-year-old is very motivated and is skating harder now than he had previously with the team.
  • The Chicago Tribune’s Chris Hine writes that the Blackhawk faithful are keeping their hopes up that Chicago will turn things around soon. Hine likens the current slump to a “crisis of faith” as they’ve struggled to score goals, registering just 12 goals in the last seven games. The culprit, Hine writes, are the “big money” players not getting on the score sheet regularly. He singles out captain Jonathan Toews (4-6-10), Brandon Saad (6-3-9), Patrick Kane (5-9-14), Duncan Keith (0-8-8), Brent Seabrook (1-4), and Patrick Sharp (2-2) as those players. Kane hasn’t scored in seven games while Saad is goal-less in his last ten games. Head coach Joel Quenneville has been toying with lines, trying to find the right combination to break the scoring drought.

5 Key Stories: 10/16/17 – 10/22/17

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It wasn’t as busy during the beginning of the week, but the end certainly had its fair share of big news. Injuries to key players dominated the week’s notes.

  1. Red Wings finally come to terms with Andreas Athanasiou, trade Riley Sheahan and Ryan Sproul –  The Andreas Athanasiou-Red Wings stalemate came to an end after a phone conference with Wings brass thawed the tension. In order to make room, general manager Ken Holland dealt Riley Sheahan to Pittsburgh and flipped defenseman Ryan Sproul to the Rangers.

2.  Bobby Ryan shelved for one month with a broken finger – As one commenter wrote, the snake bitten Ryan broke his right index finger during the Senators’ 6-3 win over rival Toronto.  This yet another finger injury for the forward, who fought through a number of injuries last season.

3. Brian Boyle is cleared for full practice: Expected to be a critical piece for the Devils this season, Boyle was out due to a form of bone cancer, Chronic Myeloid Leukemia.  Though there is no timetable for his return, this is another large step for Boyle in his battle back to the ice.

4. A number of goalies suffer injuries: Tuukka Rask, Roberto Luongo, and Malcolm Subban were some of the netminders hit by injury this week. Both Subban and Marc-Andre Fleury sit on Vegas’ LTIR after it was reported that Subban would miss four weeks. Rask was diagnosed with a concussion and because of the nature of concussions, it’s unclear just how long Rask will be out. Luongo injured his right hand during the Panthers’ 4-3 loss last night.

5. Jeff Carter Out Indefinitely: The Kings lost one of their best players to a cut on his left leg, speculated to be a six-to-eight week recovery time.

Sabres Place Gorges On IR, Recall Redmond

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The struggling Sabres continue to take hits. At 1-5-2, Buffalo is no longer win-less like the Arizona Coyotes, neither are they the worst team even in the Atlantic, having passed up the Montreal Canadiens. However, four points in eight games is nothing to write home about and now the injuries are starting to pile up. Zach Bogosian doesn’t appear to be close to a comeback, and the team recently recalled Taylor Fedun with Jacob Josefson also sidelined. The latest addition: veteran defenseman Josh Gorges, who the team placed on injured reserve this morning.

While the team did not specifically address what is ailing Gorges in the press release, a recent article by Buffalo News’ John Vogl updated the injury statuses of several players, including Bogosian, Josefson, another downed defender Justin Falk, and yet another concern, banged up forward Zemgus Girgensons. In the piece, Vogl asks coach Phil Housley about Gorges’ condition, which the bench boss describes as a “lower-body injury”. While this is not much to go off of, more details can be expected the longer that Gorges’ absence lasts.

In the meantime, Buffalo has recalled defenseman Zach Redmond from Rochester of the AHL. Redmond was acquired from the Montreal Canadiens earlier this month for Nicolas Deslauriers and will make his Sabres debut should he get into one of their upcoming games, perhaps even tonight against the Boston Bruins. While by any metric Redmond is a replacement-level player, his 16 games with the Canadiens last season was a bit of an outlier compared to his recent experience. Redmond played a semi-regular role for the Colorado Avalanche in 2014-15 and 2015-16, skating in 59 and 37 games respectively and posting a total of 26 points and a 115 blocked shots. Redmond is capable of stepping up and being a reliable man on the back end for Buffalo – and they need it. The Sabres currently rank 29th in points percentage and goal differential and are on a course for another disappointing season. Gorges has undeniably lost a step in recent years; perhaps Redmond can be the surprise catalyst in his place that gets the Buffalo blue line back in shape.

Kucherov Notches Goal In Seventh Consecutive Game

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Nikita Kucherov has joined some elite company. Becoming only the fourth player in the last 30+ years to do so, Kucherov notched a goal in his seventh straight game. He joins powerhouse names like Mario Lemieux, Mike Bossy and Wayne Gretzky as one of only six players during the modern era to score in each of his team’s first seven contests.  When asked about his scoring prowess yesterday, Kucherov shrugged it off, stating how the “W” was far more important than individual accolades. He now has eight goals on the season.

The Lightning, a preseason favorite by some to win the Stanley Cup, have been on a tear to start out the season. Buoyed by Kucherov’s hot start, the Bolts are off to a 5-1-0 start. While it is early, it’s certainly of note to see what a healthy Tampa Bay squad is capable of doing.

Only in his fifth season, Kucherov was a second round pick (58th overall) in the 2011 draft. Since the 2014-15 season, Kucherov has posted 60 or more points, culminating with 85 (40-45) last season. With 10 points in just six games (7-3), Kucherov seems to be on his way to another dominant year.

Injury Notes: Lightning, Sabres, Jets

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Despite finishing the 2016-17 season with 94 points and missing the playoffs, the Tampa Bay Lightning are the favorite of many to win the Atlantic Division and possibly even the Eastern Conference. Why? It’s not because they added Dan Girardi, Chris Kunitz, and Michael Leighton this off-season. No, the real reason for the resurgence of hope in Tampa is of course the return of captain Steven Stamkos. The Bolts’ superstar is set to return to the team after missing nearly all of last season, and the first step is his preseason debut tonight at home against the Predators. Stamkos told the Tampa Bay Times’ Joe Smith that, more than anything, he’s feeling curious about his first game action since November 15, 2016, eager to see how he feels and how he plays. Lightning fans are eager as well; their season rides on the health and performance of Stamkos. When Stamkos returned from a broke leg in 2014, he tells Smith that he felt he was playing “the best hockey of my career”. However, the serious knee injury that sidelined him for much of 2017 could take a bit longer to work back from. Only time will tell how one of the best players in the game returns from his latest injury, but there is no doubt that the spotlight will be on him, starting tonight.

  • Smith also issued an update today on Anton Stralman, the Lightning defenseman whose undisclosed injury had kept him from even practicing this week and had some worried about the start of the season. That is, until today. Previously, Stralman had only been seen skating at practice in a red, non-contact jersey and was not taking part in drills, but Smith reports that he was back it today, cleared for contact and participating fully. Stralman told Smith that he expects to be back t full strength for the season opener, easing the fears of the fan base.
  • Another team with a pair of potential difference-makers currently sidelined are the Buffalo Sabres. The Buffalo News’ John Vogl reports that big off-season trade acquisition Marco Scandella was back at practice today after sitting out the last few days. Still recovering from hip surgery, Scandella said that he is preparing for the season mentally, even if he’s taking it easy physically. The Sabres plan to use Scandella on the top pair this season, and while they would love for him to be at 100% come October 5th, his long-term health and durability is of greater concern.
  • Unfortunately, Vogl’s article didn’t have as much optimism about young scorer Alexander Nylander. The team’s 2016 first-round pick has yet to take the ice in training camp after suffering a lower body injury in the Sabres’ prospect camp. Nylander’s status is up in the air, but it seems highly unlikely that he will be ready for the season if he is still watching practices from the stands. New head coach Phil Housley acknowledged that the team is letting Nylander move slowly with his recovering, but admitted that there is no definite time table for his return.
  • The NHL is trying to cut down on injuries this season and to achieve that goal they are ramping up the enforcement of penalties. That presents a substantial problem for the Winnipeg Jets, who have taken more penalties than any team in the league over the past four seasons and haven’t been very good on the penalty kill either. In a stroke of genius, the team hosted former NHL referee Paul Devorski in camp today, who provided some in-depth instruction on how to void penalties, especially those like slashing that have been given special emphasis by the league this season.

Red Wings Notes: Rebuilding, LCA, Parenteau, Athanasiou

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After 25 years of sustained success where the team didn’t miss the playoffs, the Detroit Red Wings are entering a new phase of reality—and it will be painful writes the Athletic’s Corey Pronman. There is an entire generation of Detroit fans who didn’t know the playoffs without the Red Wings in them, but that will become a harsh truth as Detroit attempts to restock a steady–but hardly elite cupboard of talent. Pronman identifies Dylan Larkin, Anthony Mantha, and Andreas Athanasiou as the pillars of hope for Detroit, but they are hardly the likes of Steve Yzerman, Sergei Fedorov or Nicklas Lidstrom, players the Red Wings rode into Stanley Cup glory two decades ago. Pronman continues, writing that it’s not a knock on the players but instead, shows just how hard it is to win consistently in the NHL. Additionally, he reminds Wings fans looking for a full teardown that there is only a 25% chance that tanking will garner a #1 pick–which may not even pan out. Regardless of the path they take, Detroit is surely in for bumpy times ahead.

  • The Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James quotes Wings coach Jeff Blashill calling the new Little Caesars Arena the “Ritz Carlton” of hockey arenas. After years of playing at the hastily constructed and outdated Joe Louis Arena, the Red Wings step into a state of the art facility that houses a practice rink and mammoth 25,000 square foot locker room.
  • St. James also writes that P.A. Parenteau, who signed a PTO with the Red Wings has the best chance of getting a permanent spot by boosting the Red Wings powerplay. Last season, Detroit was dreadful with the man advantage and Parenteau has made a career of potting powerplay goals and it may be a perfect match for both the Wings and the nine-year veteran.
  • The Red Wings are “standing firm” on their contract offer to forward Andreas Athanasiou, putting a two-year, $3.8M deal on the table. TSN’s Bob McKenzie cited progress between the camps and TSN reported that general manager Ken Holland expects to make a move in order to get cap compliant.

Evening Snapshots: Hischier, Hitchcock, Leafs’ Captaincy

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The New Jersey Devils’ top pick in the 2017 Entry Draft told NHL.com’s Mike Morreale that it would be a “disappointment” if he didn’t make the Devils’ roster following training camp. General manager Ray Shero called him a “special talent,” and that if there’s a spot, it’s his to win. Teammate Taylor Hall reminisced about his first season with the Oilers, when the 2010 #1 overall pick learned a lot from then captain Shawn Horcoff. He added how important it was for younger players to have a veteran presence to “bounce things off of,” when beginning a career after being a first overall pick. Hischier is certainly saying all the right things–it’s just a matter of time if the youngster get a shot as a regular.

  • It’s the return of Ken Hitchcock in Dallas, and it’ll be the “new adventures of old Ken Hitchcock,” writes the Dallas Morning-News’ Mike Heika. The veteran coach and Dallas’ all-time winningest coach has promised a camp that “no one has ever seen before.” Heika adds that Hitchcock has to rein in an offensively “supercharged” team that failed to defend in its own zone. Unlike his 90’s teams or even more recently in St. Louis, “Hitch” plans to attack in the offensive zone while being responsible with the puck in their own zone. Center Tyler Seguin believes the team has more than enough offense to score goals and that it’s just a matter of being better defensively. Should the Stars stay healthy, they could certainly be a favorite in the West.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs will once again go without a captain, and opt for three alternates reports the Toronto Star’s Kevin McGran. General manager Lou Lamoriello sees no reason to name a captain, citing a number of leaders in the room with no rush to name one player as the captain. McGran speculates that the C will eventually be sewn onto Auston Matthews’ jersey, but believes that keeping any additional pressure off of the second year forward may be the team’s motive for not bestowing that honor yet.

Atlantic Notes: Eichel, Lightning, Panthers’ Playoff Hopes

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NHL.com’s Joe Yerdon writes that Buffalo star center Jack Eichel says that he “hasn’t proven anything”  despite a couple great seasons scoring over 20 goals and being nearly a point-per-game player last season. But the thirst for regular and postseason success drives Eichel, and calling his past work “mediocre,” it’s clear that the 2015 second overall pick is ready for his Sabres to turn the corner:

“It’s the third year, so if there’s ever a time to start winning and being a good team in this league, it’s right now. I think all the guys are pretty sick of losing and not playing in the playoffs. I don’t think I’m the only guy; I think I can speak for a lot of guys in the room, that we’ve got to be there at the end of the year.”

Set with a new general manager and head coach, a fresh approach may just be what the Sabres need to finally break through.

  • The Tampa Bay Times Tom Jones wonders if the Bolts have another deep playoff run in the horizon. Or, as Jones asks, could last year’s playoff miss be the start of Tampa’s descent in the Atlantic, and Eastern Conference? He quotes head coach Jon Cooper, who says that after two deep playoff runs, anyone asks “what happens,” when a team completely misses the playoffs. The Lightning held a 2-1 advantage during the 2015 Stanley Cup Final before Chicago roared back to take three in a row. Two seasons ago, they came within a game of returning to the Final. General manager Steve Yzerman called it “humbling” while players say there’s a certain “hunger” to the playoffs this season. Though Yzerman says the expectations remain high, certainly no one thought that was a cause for decline. It was the injury bug that bit hard in Tampa and crippled any chances at postseason glory. Should they stay healthy, the Lightning a formidable opponent not only in the conference, but also the league.
  • The other Floridian team also has a shot at making a playoff run opines the Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn. The Panthers, despite an off year in 2016-17 after such a strong 2015-16, are projected by Luszczyzyn to see a marked improvement based on his metrics. Anyone familiar with his work knows that Luszczyzyn uses advanced stats more than most writers. Similar to the Lightning, the Panthers suffered from injuries and just having Jonathan Huberdeau back a full season will do wonders for a team that was starved for goals in his absence. Ludzczyzyn admits that there isn’t much further to go down from here, but he advises that no one should sleep on the Panthers, either.

Prospects Tournament Update: DeBrincat, Hronek, Kostin

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The Athletic’s Scott Powers reports that Chicago Blackhawks prospect Alex DeBrincat believes he can “play better” despite potting two goals in as many games during the tournament so far. All eyes are on the scoring dynamo, who was a major contributor for the Erie Otters last year in the OHL. Some have projected the 19-year-old to make the Hawks roster while others believe it may take some seasoning in Rockford before the youngster is ready. The Chicago Sun-Times Mark Lazerus wrote yesterday that it will ultimately boil down to how the shorter teenage phenom will compete when he’s fighting bigger, stronger, NHL players for not only space on the ice, but also puck battles. There’s no doubt that the talent is there: it’s more about how the rookie responds when he’s put on the ice against elite talent.

  • Powers’ colleague Craig Custance weighs in on the Red Wings’ young talent and who tops the list in terms of having the best chance of playing in Detroit. Defenseman Filip Hronek leads the pack, and though he’s shown growing pains, appears to be on the same course as forward Evgeny Svechnikov, who didn’t make his first appearance in Detroit until April. More than anything, it was to ensure the young forward wasn’t rushed and the Red Wings look to take the same approach with Hronek.
  • The championship game seems all but set as the Blackhawks pasted Carolina 9-2 this evening. The Red Wings beat the Rangers 4-1,  creating a championship contest between Chicago and Columbus. St. Louis’ Tage Thompson leads all players with six points in the tournament (2-4) while DeBrincat leads all scorers with three goals.
  • Thompson’s teammate, Klim Kostin, has turned a lot of heads during the camp, and has shown that the shoulder injury that caused him to drop a bit in the draft has done nothing to limit his dangerous scoring ability. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Jim Thomas writes that Blues GM Doug Armstrong cautions patience, but even he seems ready to see what Kostin can do during training camp with the big club.

The Latest On Andreas Athanasiou

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It’s not a lot, but there were some mild updates on the Andreas Athanasiou situation in Detroit.

Detroit News beat writer Ted Kulfan reports that while there is little more to report about Athanasiou’s status with the Red Wings, time is running out for both sides to figure out how to get something done.

Kulfan writes today that though he has overtures to play in the KHL, Athanasiou’s reluctance to sign indicates a glimmer of hope that he re-ups with Detroit. Kulfan indicates that not only are they still apart in negotiations, but the Wings are tight to the Cap, even before even re-signing Athanasiou. From Kulfan’s standpoint, the Wings are setting the bar for the slew of young free agents expected to see raises next season, namely Dylan Larkin, and Anthony Mantha.

Winging it in Motown ’s John Curran takes another look, indicating that the recent silence from both sides could be a good sign for the Red Wings when it comes to the speedster returning. Curran, like Kulfan, shows both sides of the argument–writing that Athanasiou could easily be a 20-goal scorer for a Red Wings squad starving for consistent scorers. Conversely, he could be another in a long line of Red Wings players inked to lucrative deals who fail to live up to their new pay.

The Athletic’s Craig Custance notes that there is an “undercurrent of belief” in some NHL circles that Athanasiou is seeking a trade out of Detroit. What the Red Wings could fetch remains to be seen, but unless it netted something significant, it wouldn’t go over well with a fanbase that appears ready to storm Holland’s office with pitchforks and torches.

Regardless, Holland hasn’t helped his standing with his decision making lately, and many wonder if this will be his final year in Hockeytown. The Athanasiou saga hasn’t helped matters, either. On one hand, he believes the playoffs are the end goal for a team who wasn’t close last season. On the other, the roster has seen little change while Holland is struggling to sign one of the team’s better goal scorers. It certainly doesn’t help the perception that Holland’s over-spending for players during the 2016 offseason (and before that) has cost the Wings now and into the future.

As the season nears, it remains to be seen whether either side budges, or if Athanasiou calls Detroit’s bluff and heads over to Russia.

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