Entering Tuesday’s home date with the Washington Capitals, the Detroit Red Wings talked confidently of being in control of their own destiny in the race for the final Eastern Conference wild card spot in the NHL playoffs.

Today, that’s no longer the case, and they can thank a pair of veteran players who wear Stanley Cup rings for this dilemma.

A 2-1 loss to the Capitals was the result of ill-advised decisions with the puck made by experienced forwards J.T. Compher and David Perron that both resulted in Washington goals during the final 2:13 of the second period.

“Those were controllable situations,” Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde of the two miscues that led to Capitals tallies. “We gave them some zone time and some looks off of some turnovers.”

Late in the middle frame with the game scoreless, trouble began brewing the Detroit zone. Red Wings defenseman Jeff Petry broke his stick. Forward Alex DeBrincat would then hand his twig off to his teammate.

#ALLCAPS 1-0. DYLAN MF STROME. 300TH CAREER POINT. pic.twitter.com/hTQ2aDcgXt

— Capitals Replays (@capsreplays) April 10, 2024

“Jeff broke his stick in the corner,” explained Perron. “Cat gives him his stick and it’s kind of a mini five-on-four for a little bit and they found a way.”

The path to that way was paved via a terrible decision by Compher. Attempting to clear the puck, he threw it directly up the middle of the ice – the only place along the Detroit blueline where a Washington player was situated.

Capitals defenseman Martin Fehervary blocked the clearing attempt. He fed the puck to Dylan Strome, who’d rifle a shot past Detroit netminder Alex Lyon for the opening goal.

Red Wings Giving Away Goals

For the second time in as many Detroit one-goal losses, veteran forward Perron had his fingerprints all over the deciding goal. Friday, it was his third-period penalty that led to the New York Rangers scoring on the power play in a 4-3 victory over Detroit.

Tuesday, with the clock winding down on the second frame, Perron threw a pass back toward his own end in the direction of defenseman Moritz Seider.

Alex Ovechkin sets the NHL RECORD with his 18th career 30 goal season pic.twitter.com/r7hm5Q14ed

— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) April 10, 2024

Seider was unable to control the puck and it would bounce to the last person any Red Wings player would want to see with the puck on his stick, Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin. He sent a sizzling shot into the net and it was 2-0 Washington with 7.3 seconds left until the second intermission.

“Just not the greatest pass by me,” Perron admitted. “I got to put that on his stick.

“That’s a play we do all the time. Sometimes it goes up, sometimes you hit the weakside D coming up the ice and just unfortunate I didn’t make the right play on his stick.

“Sometimes it happens and he handles it, this time he didn’t handle it and it went back the other way and Ovechkin scored. Not a great play by me.”

Poor Puck Management Punishing Detroit

Poor puck management has victimized the Red Wings all season long. These self-inflicted mistakes were Hockey 101 stuff. You learn early never to throw the puck out of your zone up the middle of the ice. Likewise, the last thing you want to do with the puck as the period is nearing a conclusion is send it back toward your own net.

Tuesday, those bad decisions put the Red Wings behind the eight ball, handing the Caps a playoff position. Detroit is now trailing Washington (85 points). The Red Wings are in a deadlock with Pittsburgh (84 points). They’re heading next to the Steel City for a Thursday showdown with the Penguins.

“This one certainly stings,” Lalonde was admitting. “We still have some games to play. If we take care of business, I still think we’re in this thing.

“It’s just gonna be a little harder now, obviously, going into Pittsburgh, into Toronto. It stinks, it happens.”

The post Veteran Mistakes Derail Red Wings Again appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

Detroit Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider woke up with the flu bug that has been working its way through the Red Wings’ dressing room. However, he is planning to play today against the Washington Capitals a game crucial to both team’s wildcard aspirations

Coach Derek Lalonde delivered the news after the morning skate. Presuming Seider plays, the Red Wings will use the same lineup they showed Sunday in beating Buffalo.

“He didn’t wake up feeling 100 percent,” Lalonde said. “But he has progressed and gotten better.”

Seider has never missed a game in his young NHL career. The durable German player has played 241 consecutive games since coming to Detroit in 2021-22.

This will be one of the most important games on the NHL’s docket. If you are looking for the latest in information on sports wagering, mightytips.com has it for you. The website will tell you the rising betting sites that pay in dollars with lots of features.

Seider is probably the most important player for a Detroit team trying to cut down on their goals-against. He played more than 27 minutes and blocked 10 shots in Sunday’s 3-1 win against the Sabres. Seider has been paired with Ben Chiarot, giving Detroit a big, physical duo to match-up against top lines.

“Nobody eats pucks like (Seider),” Lalonde said Sunday night.

Detroit is facing a Washington team that has had difficulty scoring goals of late. The Capitals haven’t scored more than two goals in any of their six consecutive losses. The Red Wings certainly want to have Seider to help control Washington’s top scorer Alex Ovechkin.

Detroit owns the final wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference, and the Capitals are just one point behind.

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Lucas Raymond wasn’t gobsmacked to learn that Detroit Red Wings teammate Moritz Seider had 10 blacked shots in the win against Buffalo.

“I feel like he does that every game almost,” Raymond said.

Not quite. Coming into Sunday’s game against Buffalo, Seider showed 196 blocks in 76 games. That’s 2.57 per game.  But with the Red Wings needing a win to have a realistic shot at making the playoffs this season, Seider took his craft to a higher realm. No other Red Wing player blocked more than three shots.  Seider was a wall against the Sabres. The Red Wings aren’t yet a playoff team, but Seider is playing like he’s already in the postseason.

“He’s a big boy, he’s a huge part of our team, just sacrificing his body, throwing it on the line for the guys like that,”  Raymond said. “That means a ton and it sends all the right signals to us as well. He’s huge for us and the way he plays he gives us a good chance every night. ”

Goaltender Alex Lyon made 37 saves and the Red Wings totaled 28 blocked shots. That is an indication of how hard the Sabres played in this game. Seider played more than 27 minutes because the Red Wings needed him.

“He’s willing, he’s physical,” Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said. “No one eats pucks like him… No one talks about his willingness to play hard and to eat pucks. I still think there’s some growth.”

Larkin Climbs Charts

Larkin scored his 31st goal of the season   Detroit’s captain is one point shy (210-289-499 in 647 games)  of 500 for his NHL career. He can become the 14th player in Red Wings history to reach the 500-point milestone.  Plus, Larkin will be the 10th Michigan-born player in NHL history to record at least 500 career points.

Lucas Raymond (1-1—2) has factored on two of the @DetroitRedWings' three goals to record the 40th multi-point game of his career.

Catch the third period on @NHL_On_TNT and @SportsonMax. #NHLStats: https://t.co/rY5jmk5H88 pic.twitter.com/0w3NWLW7Ng

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) April 7, 2024

Red Wings Ice Chips

Still no goal for Alex DeBrincat. He has one goal in his past 17 games… Detroit is 17-1-2 when leading after one period…Raymond had a goal and an assist against Buffalo for his 19th multiple-point game. He is enjoying an exceptional season.

The post Red Wings Notebook: ‘No One Eats Pucks’ like Moritz Seider appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

Nashville Predators leading scorer Filip Forsberg delivered a knockout punch to the Detroit Red Wings by scoring a late third-period goal in a 1-0 victory.

That was more his style than the second period occurrence when he found himself trading haymakers with Detroit defenseman Moritz Seider. Neither player woke up that day believing they were going to drop their gloves. Seider had never had an NHL fight, and Forsberg had two fights in an NHL career that spanned 687 games over 12 seasons. His fight card included  Jake Virtanen in 2016 and Bryden Schenn in 2020. He clearly wasn’t looking for another bout.

“Sometimes you gotta do that, too,” Forsberg said. “I pick my times for sure.”

The fight was born out of an evenly played, highly competitive game during which both teams were trying to find an edge.

Neither player would have been their team’s first choice to fight.  Forsberg is on his way to his second 40+ goal season in three years. The Predators don’t want him sitting in the penalty box for five minutes. Since rough-and-tumble Seider arrived in the NHL, it was presumed he could fight. He plays a physical game. But he leads the Red Wings in minutes most nights, and plays in all situations.  Undoubtedly, he understands he has to stay on the ice.

Seider Clear Winner

This is how Forsberg explained the fight:

“It was nothing, really. Just battling with the guy for a couple of times. He’s a good player, obviously, so we’re playing hard against each other. Heat of the moment thing.”

Hockeyfights.com allows its readers and viewers to declare a winner for NHL fights. By 11:15 a.m. Sunday, 37 votes were cast. Thirty-four had Seider winning the fight. One person went with Forsberg as the winner and one voter called it a draw.

Seider is 6-foot-3, 210 pounds and Forsberg is 6-foot-1, 205 pounds.

When Forsberg was asked after the game to score his fight, he said:  “I started out decently, then he took over. He’s a big boy. I should try to pick somebody in my weight class.”

The post Forsberg on Fight: ‘Started Out Decently, then (Seider) Took Over’ appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

The Detroit Red Wings may not have won the battle with the Nashville Predators on Saturday. However, Detroit defenseman Moritz Seider definitely got the decision in a star-studded fight with Predators leading scorer Filip Forsberg.

The two combatants clashed along the boards in the Detroit zone during the second period of Nashville’s 1-0 victory. With tempers flaring, the gloves and helmets were coming off as both players were making the decision to throw down.

“I just funneled the puck a little bit and got cross-checked and then I don’t know,” Seider told Bally Sports Detroit. “We got the best of our emotions and I think it was pretty enjoyable for everyone.”

According to HockeyFights.com, it was the first bout of Seider’s NHL career. Forsberg was engaging in his third NHL fight.

A Spirited Tilt

“Good fight, too,” Detroit goalie Alex Lyon said. “Obviously those are two guys who don’t see doing that very often. When they do it . . . and it was intense, too. A lot of respect for Mo for grinding like that.

“It was passionate. You could feel it. You love to see it.”

As Lyon notes, certainly, they wouldn’t be the first candidates to be fighting. Forsberg, whose third-period goal ultimately decided the outcome of the game, is Nashville’s most productive goal scorer and top point getter. His goal was his 39th and would account for his 78th point of the campaign.

Seider is Detroit’s most efficient minute muncher. He’s playing on average 22:08 per night. That’s tops on the team.

Seider’s five-minute enforced absence due to his fighting major put the Red Wings in a bit of a bind. They were down to four defenseman during that span of time. Olli Maatta was already in the Detroit dressing room. He was undergoing repairs after being hit in the face with a puck.

Red Wings, Predators Offer Unusual Combatants

The Seider-Forsberg scrap was eerily similar to another bout featuring unusual combatants when the two clubs met in Detroit on Dec. 29. That night, Detroit sniper Alex DeBrincat, currently third on the club with 23 goals, squared off against Nashville defenseman Roman Josi, the 2021-22 Norris Trophy winner.

The fight would enable DeBrincat to complete a Gordie Howe hat-trick – a goal, an assist and a fight in the same game. That night, the Red Wings won 5-4 in overtime over the Predators.

The post Gotta See It: Red Wings Seider Drops Mitts With Forsberg appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

There’s no player on the roster of the Detroit Red Wings who can match the winning resume of three-time Stanley Cup champion Patrick Kane. So when he speaks about what it takes to succeed in the NHL, you’d best listen up.

Just the other day, Kane was assessing the club’s performance during their current six-game losing skid. He’s not at all impressed with what he sees going on with the team.

“Just the details of our game, effort level, compete,” Kane said. “I think when you outwork, when out out-compete your opponent, you increase your chance of winning that game. It just hasn’t been there for us.”

It’s somewhat startling to hear the effort of the Red Wings being questioned. Even during the dark days of the rebuild under GM Steve Yzerman, rarely has the team’s work ethic been seen as an issue.

Kane is seeing a work rate of late with the Red Wings that ebbs and flows.

“I thought we had a good effort in Vegas,” Kane said. “We just haven’t really had that consistently.”

It certainly wasn’t in evidence Tuesday at Buffalo. The Sabres went ahead of Detroit 4-1 during the opening period.

Game recap:
Buffalo – 7
Detroit – 3 #LetsGoBuffalo #LGRW pic.twitter.com/CcmYlLNj28

— Buffalo Hockey Moments (@SabresPlays) March 13, 2024

Slow starts are becoming a trademark of this Red Wings team. Kane, for one, is at a loss to explain why this is so.

“I don’t know,” Kane said frankly. “You can make a bunch of different excuses I guess. But it just wasn’t there. Obviously when you have that type of start, you’re down 4-1 in the first, you’re trying to get something going.

“I think we had some momentum in the game but just not enough obviously. We can harp on the same things over and over but our starts haven’t been good.”

Other Red Wings Also Raising Concerns

Kane isn’t the only Detroit player sounding the alarm over their recent underwhelming effort. Defenseman Moritz Seider is another who’s raising concerns about the team’s inconsistent approach.

Optical illusion or is Mo so talented he can play on one leg?! #RedWings #NHL #Detroit pic.twitter.com/c2xMARefRj

— Arthur J. Regner (@ArthurJRegner) March 6, 2024

“It’s been too shaky when you look at the whole season,” Seider said. “We had a terrible December followed up by a really strong January and now we’ve struggled a little bit. We just got to come together as a team and really dig in together to make it a great season.

“It’s not OK to lose anymore. Now we just got to come away with points.”

The post Kane Questions Effort of Red Wings appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

Barring some truly unforeseen circumstances, the Detroit Red Wings will be playing in this spring’s Stanley Cup playoffs for the first since since 2016. However, you probably shouldn’t be counting on them hanging around for long.

The faithful at Little Caesars Arena got an eyeful of what a legit Stanley Cup contender looks like on Saturday afternoon, and it wasn’t the team wearing the winged wheel on their chest. The Florida Panthers dropped in for a visit and put a 4-0 whipping on Detroit that was exactly as one-sided as that scoreline would indicate.

Final. pic.twitter.com/CY6H1oweYv

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) March 2, 2024

This was an early education for the Red Wings on the ways of the Stanley Cup playoffs and they were garnering failing grades across the board.

“You talk about measuring sticks, this is one and we weren’t there today,” Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said following the game. “That’s a pretty good team that was clicking today and they were better than us.”

Panthers Better In All Areas

If you went through a report card for this game, the Panthers would get a check mark in all boxes.

“They just have every aspect covered,” Detroit defenseman Moritz Seider said.

The Panthers’ best players were their best players. Both Sam Reinhart (42nd goal) and Carter Verhaeghe (31st goal) tallied. Each of Florida’s top five scorers would collect a point.

BOBROVSKY DENIES SHOWTIME pic.twitter.com/9eQMYtVz3k

— Spittin' Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) March 2, 2024

When the Red Wings got chances, Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky was the one with the answers. His 21 saves would include a pair of breakaway stops on Patrick Kane. Go ahead. Try and recall the last time Kane missed on a breakaway. We’ll wait.

The cunning Panthers goaded Detroit into retaliatory penalties. Florida’s power play was 2-for-5. The Panthers penalty kill was 5-for-5.

“You saw them in the playoffs last year,” Red Wings forward Andrew Copp said of the Panthers. “They can suffocate you. Their goalie is good, they got big D, it’s tough to get to the front of the net on. That’s when they’re successful.”

Red Wings Need To Learn Lesson

In successive losses to the New York Islanders and Florida, Detroit is displaying that this team has much to learn about what it’s going to be like when the games ramp up to another level as the NHL’s second season begins in late April.

The positive from an afternoon of being schooled is that they’ve still time to study before exams begin.

“Obviously, (Saturday) wasn’t our best,” Copp said. “But it’s a great lesson. I’d rather learn this lesson now than have to learn it in Game 1 and 2 of the playoffs. So there’s positives to be taken.”

They’d better be quick studies, though, because it must be said that time is not on the side of the Red Wings.

The post Red Wings Learn Difference Between Playoff Team and Cup Contender appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

The new year has brought plenty of good into the realm of the Detroit Red Wings. Among those positive developments is that they have turned Little Caesars Arena into a fortress.

Since Jan. 1, the Red Wings are 8-1-2 on home ice. They’ve won four in a row and have points in seven consecutive home games (6-0-1).

“I just think it’s our focus,” Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said of their home-ice success. “We talk about being good at home. Any team that wants to stay above that line, be in that battle late in the season, you gotta win your home games. We’ve always put an emphasis on it.”

The post Home is Where Points Are For Red Wings (+) appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

As they ready to face the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday for the second time this season, the Detroit Red Wings will be launching a tough four-game road trip with a date against the NHL’s best player.

No, they aren’t talking about stopping Connor McDavid, because that would be patently ridiculous. You don’t completely shut down the NHL’s most skilled talent. However, they do believe that they can contain the damage McDavid is capable of inflicting upon them.

Five-time Art Ross Trophy winner McDavid is fourth in NHL scoring with 21-50-71 totals. However, it’s worth noting that he’s played at least six games fewer than each of the three players ahead of him. McDavid’s 1.09 assists per game ratio leads the league.

The post Red Wings Discuss Containing McDavid (+) appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

Like 1980s pro wrestlers Hawk and Animal, the Detroit Red Wings seek to become road warriors.

In January, they made a strong step in that direction. The Red Wings were 5-1 in away games last month.

“We’ve been just playing really good road hockey,” Detroit defenseman Moritz Seider said. “We’ve been getting pucks behind their D, aren’t afraid to forecheck, taking not a lot of penalties on the road.

“We’re just finding ways to score goals and our goalies just stepped up big.”

Moving forward, they look to be like Patrick Swayze and make themselves at home in every road house.

“When those stakes are really high, you want to be able to lean on that muscle memory of going into a building that’s hostile,” Detroit goalie Alex Lyon explained. “So I think you have to pay attention to it and be cognizant of it. Hey, it’s going to be tough. Let’s rally together. It’s us against the world.

“The mentality for me is fun. I really like it.”

Another Tough Road Test For Red Wings

A stern four-game away swing begins Tuesday for Detroit at Edmonton. The Oilers have won seven in a row at home. Next up is Vancouver. The Canucks lead the NHL with 76 points. Then the Wings go to Calgary and finally to Seattle, where the club has never won.

Detroit → Edmonton. pic.twitter.com/Q5mqoG8xz6

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) February 12, 2024

“It’s gonna be a tough test,” Lyon said. “We got two big ones . . . well, all of them are big ones, but two really good teams coming up here.”

Thanks to January’s impressive mark, the Wings are 12-10-1 away from home this season. They are 20th in the NHL in away points, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Last season, two teams – the New York Islanders (17-18-6, 20th) and Tampa Bay Lightning (18-22-1, 22nd) – were playoff teams while falling into that range in terms of road record. But they were also the only clubs to qualify for the playoffs with a losing away mark. Detroit (16-20-5) wound up 24th.

Detroit Beating Quality Teams

It’s not merely that the Red Wings are winning on the road, but it’s also about how and where they’re winning. They won at Boston. Detroit ended an 11-game drought in Florida. They went 4-0 in California for the first time since 2008.

“We kept ourselves in the Florida game, found a way (to win 3-2) in overtime,” Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said. “Kept ourselves in the Carolina game. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get to the finish line. They score on the power play with 7-8 minutes left (and won 4-2).

“It’ll be a goal of ours again in Edmonton, in Vancouver. These road trips, you got to battle just to hang in there. You got to be at your very best.

“Playing the top teams in the league on the road is a huge challenge.”

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