The Detroit Red Wings severely damaged their chances of qualifying for the playoffs by losing a 2-1 decision to the Washington Capitals Tuesday night. Bob Duff detailed how veteran mistakes hurt Detroit in the narrow loss.

The Red Wings go into Thursday’s game at Pittsburgh knowing they need a win and help from other teams to get back into a favorable position for a run at the Eastern Conference second wildcard spot. The Capitals now have a one-point lead over Detroit for that position.

But the Red Wings outlook seems rosier than the Philadelphia Flyers’ perspective this morning. The Flyers also desperately needed a win against the Montreal Canadiens, a team that seeks a good draft position, not a playoff spot. But Montreal hammered the Flyers 9-3. Philadelphia has lost eight consecutive games, giving up 42 goals in those setbacks.

Philadelphia coach John Tortorella has a bigger issue about his team than its sinking playoff hopes.

“Whether it’s enough time to do what we want to do to try to get in, I’m not concerned about that,” Tortorella said. “I’m concerned about just being pros, trying to get some of our dignity back, and just playing the right way.”

Meanwhile, the New Jersey Devils were officially eliminated by a Tuesday loss to Toronto.

Flyers Head Coach John Tortorella meets with the media following #PHIvsMTL. pic.twitter.com/KOGf0Lt8BK

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) April 10, 2024

Red Wings In Case You Missed It

• Andrew Copp suffered a broken cheekbone when he was hit by a Washington Capitals’ high stick.  No penalty was called on the play.
• Detroit defenseman Moritz Seider came down with the flu bug the morning of the Washington game.
• Coach Derek Lalonde’s Detroit squad desperately needs Alex DeBrincat to start scoring again.

Red Wings Next Game

Tuesday’s Washington game was called the Red Wings’ biggest game in a decade.  They could have established a positive tone for their quest to qualify for the playoffs. But Detroit lost that game 2-1. Now, Thursday’s Red Wings game at Pittsburgh is their biggest game of the season. Should they lose that game, the Red Wings’ odds of qualifying are reduced significantly. Detroit has four games remaining.

Hockey Now Network

Boston: Jimmy Murphy writes that officials got the call correct on the Hurricanes’ no-goal in the game against the Boston Bruins.

Chicago: Former Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville opened up on a podcast, saying “I should have asked  more questions.”

Colorado: Nathan MacKinnon put on an offensive fireworks show in the Colorado Avalanche‘s 5-2 win against the Minnesota Wild.

Montreal: Juraj Slafkovsky registers his first hat trick for the Montreal Canadiens.

New Jersey: Devils top scorer and leader Jack Hughes will miss the rest of the season because he is having shoulder surgery. The Devils also were officially eliminated from playoff consideration.  New Jersey Devils.

Pittsburgh: The Pittsburgh Penguins will need help to qualify for the playoffs.

The post The Daily: Red Wings Stumble, Flyers Fall; NJ Eliminated appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

The NHL is on the clock this morning with the trade deadline set for 3 p.m. ET. We start the day with a changed TSN trade board reflecting New Jersey Devils forward Tyler Toffoli as the new No. 1 deadline day option.

The Devils scratched Toffoli Thursday in anticipation of moving him. Several NHL teams, including the Edmonton Oilers, Vegas Golden Knights, Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks, are looking for a scorer. Toffoli has 26 goals this season.

Also, this morning, Pittsburgh Penguins fans are reacting negatively to the return Kyle Dubas received for trading Jake Guentzel to the Carolina Hurricanes. The ‘Canes receive Guentzel and defenseman Ty Smith in exchange for forwards Michael Bunting, plus prospects Ville Koivunen, Vasily Ponomarev, Cruz Lucius and conditional 2024 first- and fifth-round picks from Carolina.

Koivunen, a Finnish League standout, is ranked 34th on Craig Button’s recent list of top NHL-affiliated prospects, but the Hurricanes didn’t part with their top prospect (Alexander Nikishin) or anyone who is close to being NHL ready.

Second, the first-round pick becomes a second-round pick (previously owned by Philadelphia) if the Hurricanes don’t make the Stanley Cup Final.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now’s Dan Kingerski gave Dubas a C- for his work.

“The Penguins haven’t fortified their prospect pool,” Kingerski wrote, “nor have they gotten better on the NHL ice. It’s hard to say what Dubas and the Penguins really accomplished.”

What are your Toffoli predictions? pic.twitter.com/iKBkfYDTPz

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) March 7, 2024

Red Wings In Case You Missed It

• What would it take for the Red Wings to deal prospect forward Jonatan Berggren? He has played well for the Grand Rapids Griffins.
• Bob Duff writes that it doesn’t seem likely the Red Wings are going to acquire Michigan native Bryan Rust from the Pittsburgh Penguins.
• The Red Wings need to down the Arizona Coyotes convincingly, given their recent struggles.
• Paywall story: Tim Robinson updates readers on Detroit draft pick Noah D ower-Nilsson, To subscribe, click here.  Use the promo code kevin10 to receive a $10 discount.

Red Wings Next Game

It’s too much to say the Red Wings face a must-win game tonight when they play a road contest against the Arizona Coyotes. However, the Red Wings have lost three in a row, and need a victory to return to the path to earning a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Detroit and Tampa Bay, holding the two wild card spots, only have a two-point lead over the New York Islanders. They have won five in a row.

Hockey Now Network

Boston: Jimmy Murphy addresses whether the Boston Bruins still have a chance to land Elias Lindholm in a deal with Vancouver.

Buffalo: Who’s leaving Buffalo today? Erik Johnson is likely to move, and there could be others. Jason Moser explore the Buffalo Sabres options.

Chicago: Nate writes about what the Chicago Blackhawks can offer shopper on trade deadline day.

Colorado: GM Chris MacFarland made another deal Thursday and he may not be finished. Colorado Avalanche.

Montreal: Marc Dumont writes that Joshua Roy deserves to be in the show with the Montreal Canadiens. 

Philadelphia: The Philadelphia Flyers are going to try to trade Ryan Johansen before today’s deadline.

The post The Daily: Toffoli Best Available Deadline Day Option; Guentzel Deal Backlash appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

Chafing from back-to-back home-ice losses, the Detroit Red Wings saw another two points chipped away from their lead for an NHL playoff spot on Sunday night. Continuing their impressive run of late, the New York Islanders were whipping the Boston Bruins 5-1.

corporate needs you to find the difference between these two pictures pic.twitter.com/h5JERaaUQZ

— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) March 2, 2024

The Isles hold a game in hand on Detroit and trail the Red Wings by six points in the standings. It was the Islanders who beat Detroit 5-3 Thursday at Little Caesars Arena. Sunday afternoon, the Wings were spanked 4-0 at home by the Florida Panthers. It was the second time this season they’ve been shut out at home by the Panthers.

Let’s look to the week ahead of the Red Wings chase for a playoff spot.

Detroit Red Wings (33-22-6, 72 points)

Games This Week: Wednesday at Colorado; Friday at Arizona; Saturday at Vegas

Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde is aware that things could get ugly quickly for his team. “The biggest thing to staying in these battles is stopping these momentum slides,” Lalonde said. “We knew this would be a tough stretch. Florida, we’re at Colorado and obviously at Arizona, at Vegas back to back. We’re in the hole a little bit. And if you want to stay in this battle, it’s how you get out of these holes.”

That could be easier said than done. They’ve been the losers of six in a row at Colorado. The Avalanche are holding a 31-14 edge on the scoreboard over that span. Detroit is also surprisngly 0-1-2 in the club’s last three visits to Arizona.

New York Islanders (26-20-15, 66 points)

Games This Week: Tuesday vs St. Louis; Thursday at San Jose; Saturday at Anaheim

HATTY HUGS pic.twitter.com/mDG28m4AR6

— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) March 3, 2024

A Kyle Palmieri hat-trick was pacing the Islanders to their third successive win, a 5-1 drubbing of the Boston Bruins on Sunday night. After Tuesday’s home date with the Blues, the Isles begin a four-game road trip of their own.

Washington Capitals (28-22-9, 65 points)

Games This Week: Monday vs Arizona; Thursday at Pittsburgh; Saturday vs Chicago

Just when it looked as though the Capitals were dead in the water following Tuesday’s 8-3 smacking at Detroit, they rose up and smacked the Philadelphia Flyers 5-2 on Friday. Washington is 5-2 over the past seven games. The Caps are playing three winnable games this week, facing the Coyotes and Blackhawks at home and Penguins on the road.

New Jersey Devils (30-26-4, 64 points)

Games This Week: Monday at Los Angeles; Tuesday vs Florida; Thursday vs St. Louis; Saturday vs Carolina

New Jersey wraps up a road swing Monday at LA. The Kings were 2-1 winners Feb. 15 at New Jersey. The up and down Devils are 1-2 in their last three games and 2-4 over the past six. Latest NHL trade rumors put the Devils in hot pursuit of Calgary Flames goalie Jacob Markstrom.

The post Red Wings Playoffs: Handicapping The Race appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

There is nothing more temporary than a permanent place in an NHL playoff race. The Detroit Red Wings were reminded of that fact by an 8-4 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday.

It was just one loss, but now the New Jersey Devils are only two points behind the Red Wings. The Tampa Bay Lightning have now moved three points ahead of Detroit for third place in the Atlantic Division. The Red Wings’ objective is to qualify for the playoffs for the first time in eight seasons, but their most optimistic goal would be to land in the top three in their division.

This is a team that is 10-3-2 in 2024. But qualifying for the playoffs is difficult.

But’s it’s clear the players believe that’s a realistic goal. If you segment the Red Wings, this is a key four-game road trip. How many points do they need to hold ground? Probably four, maybe five.

How many points to continue their surge? At least five, maybe six.

That’s how tight the Eastern Conference race is. The New York Islanders, with Patrick Roy behind the bench, are only three points behind Detroit.

The New Jersey Devils have not won a game in regulation at Nashville in over 15 years!

Jack Hughes was only seven years old; @Rupper17 played in that game, and @KevinWeekes was on the roster. @JamieHersch | @BriBrows22 | #NJDevils | #NHLNow pic.twitter.com/SKuytwlpnb

— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) February 14, 2024

Red Wings In Case You Missed It

• Ville Husso‘s comeback didn’t last a full period. He was playing his first NHL game in eight weeks, but had to leave 8:48 into the game when he was hurt on a goal by Leon Draisaitl.
• Defenseman Jack Phalen, a 2023 Red Wings draft pick, suffered a lower body injury over the weekend and will be sidelined for an undetermined number of games. He’s playing for Sioux Falls in the United States Hockey League.
• Robby Fabbri stepped away from the Red Wings for personal reasons. His absence is expected to be short.

Red Wings Next Game

The Detroit squad will be in Vancouver Thursday for a 10 p.m. ET meeting with the Canucks. The Red Wings just downed the Canucks 4-3 Saturday at Little Caesars Arena. The Red Wings are expecting Robby Fabbri to be playing again after taking time away from the team for personal reasons.

Hockey Now Network

Boston: The assistant general managers of the Calgary Flames (Dave Nonis) and Columbus Blue Jackets (Basil McRae) were both scouting the Tampa Bay-Boston game. The Flames may be moving defensemen Chris Tanev and Noah Hanifin, while the Blue Jackets have a few player to move.

Buffalo: Sabres say they are not shopping Casey Mittelstadt. That doesn’t mean that rival teams aren’t making pitches for him. Mittelstadt will be a restricted free agent this summer. Buffalo Sabres.

New Jersey: Here’s the story of how the Jacob Markstrom-to-New Jersey trade didn’t happen. New Jersey Devils. 

Pittsburgh: Evgeni Malkin gets honest about his performance level at age 37. Pittsburgh Penguins. 

San Jose: Prospect Will Smith’s agent told SHN that he has “zero issues” with San Jose Sharks. He will talk about Smith’s future at the end of the college season. San Jose Sharks.

The post The Daily: Red Wings Day-to-Day in Playoff Hunt; Sabres Keeping Middelstadt? appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

Insider Elliotte Friedman is reporting that the New Jersey Devils have engaged with the Calgary Flames about the possibility of acquiring goalie Jacob Markstrom.  New Jersey Now’s James Nichols has the story of the Devils goaltending problems.

Eastern Conference general managers, including Detroit Red Wings, must be concerned about the potential deal because the Devils are a quality team that could receive a lift from Markstrom or another proven goalie acquisition. They have the talent to string together wins.

Markstrom does have a no-trade clause in his contract. It’s unknown whether he has agreed to play in New Jersey.

The Devils were expected to compete for the Metropolitan Division title this season, but numerous injured players (including Dougie Hamilton and Jack Hughes) have undermined their progress. In addition, the Devils goaltending underlying goalie numbers have been at the bottom of NHL goalies.

Despite their issues, the Devils are still only six points out of one of the wild card positions currently owned by the surging Red Wings.

Jacob Markstrom tries shooting the puck into the empty net. But he turns it over and it leads to an Islanders goal.

: Sportsnet | NHL pic.twitter.com/Mj9frqDdC6

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) February 10, 2024

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Red Wings In Case You Missed

• Thanks to Jake Walman, the Red Wings pull off another come-from-behind win, this one coming against the NHL’s top team.
• Lucas Raymond took a tough  to blowthe head, but came back to play in the game. Nikita Zadorov was suspended for the hit.
•  Marco Kasper scored a nifty between-the-legs goal to lift the Grand Rapids Griffins to their seventh consecutive win on Friday.
• How will Detroit’s goalie rotation work from here? All we know for sure is for now Alex Lyon will have the net most of the time.

Red Wings Next Game

The Red Wings will practice today in preparation for a four-game Western Conference road trip that starts Wednesday against the Edmonton Oilers. The trip will also include games against Vancouver, Calgary and Seattle. After winning 16 in a row, the Oilers have lost two of their last three.

Hockey Now Network

Boston: In a paywall story, columnist Jimmy Murphy wonders if a Phil Kessel signing makes sense for the Boston Bruins. 

Chicago: Nate Brown discusses whether former Chicago Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford should have his number retired.

Florida: Sasha Barkov hasn’t scored in a month, but the Florida Panthers are not concerned.

Montreal: The Montreal Canadiens recalled top forward prospect Joshua Roy from Laval.

Nashville: The Nashville Predators have a surplus of goalies. Nashville Hockey Now looks at what the Predators should do with them.

Philadelphia: Jonathan Bailey explores what the next Travis Konecny contract will look like with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Pittsburgh: Is this season slipping away from the Pittsburgh Penguins? Dan Kingerski has a quality paywall story about a season on the brink.

The post The Daily: Proposed Devils Deal Could Impact Red Wings; Detroit Rallies appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

Game Facts

What: Red Wings at New Jersey

Where: Prudential Center, Newark, N.J.

When: 7 p.m.

TV/Radio: Bally Sports/97;1 FM

Records: Red Wings 16-13-4, Devils 16-13-2.

What to Know

The Red Wings recalled Simon Edvinsson from Grand Rapids this morning after Olli Maatta was injured in Friday’s game. Edvinsson, a 6-8 defenseman, has six goals and 16 points for the Griffins this season. He made his NHL debut last season, scoring two goals in nine games. Jake Walman, who sat out Friday’s game, is expected to be back in the lineup tonight. …

The Wings and Devils, besides having nearly identical records, have a couple of things in common. Both have been enduring slumps as of late, both in results and in goal. The Devils have lost three in a row and four of  their last six, while the Wings have lost four of their last five. The teams are among the NHL leaders in goals scored per game (the Red Wings are fifth in the NHL, the Devils eighth). …

The Red Wings had another roller-coaster performance in Friday’s 7-6 shootout win over Philadelphia. Derek Lalonde was asked his theory as to why: “I think it’s more holes in our game. This feels a little bit different,” he said. “We had a bunch of chances to get six, to get seven. We could’ve had nine tonight. This one felt a little bit different. There is a way to manage our game, especially where we are. We got two goalies on IR. We got a third goalie that is battling in there. You’d like to think we could manage our game a little better. It’s a little bit of the DNA of our team, the DNA of our current lineup and that has to change to be successful going forward.”

Lalonde didn’t sayt Friday who would start in goal tonight after hinting that Michael Hutchinson could start. But the Red Wings did make a move on Saturday, putting Alex Lyon on IR, retroactive to Dec. 16.

The post Red Wings at Devils: Edvinsson Recalled appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

Game Facts

Who: Red Wings vs. New Jerey

Where: Little Caesars Arena

When: 7 p.m.

TV/Radio:  Bally Sports/97.1 FM

Records: Red Wings 8-6-3, New Jersey 8-7-1

What to Know

It’s the first game back for the Red Wings after their trip to Sweden last week. The team got only one point out of the trip, but coach Derek Lalonde was otherwise pleased. “I think we’re going to benefit from it,” he said Tuesday. “There’s a lot of positives of the team spending time together away from the usual routine. It’s really tough to judge. There’s such frustration that sits in both of those games, the way they played out. We got what we deserved. We beat ourselves in both situations. With that said there’s some pretty good things in those games. It’s just a reflection of where we’re at. ” …

Alex Lyon will start in goal tonight for the second game in a row after sitting out the first 16 games of the season. “I liked what Alex gave us,” Lalonde said. “Not fair to put Ville (Husso) in considering this was his first practice in about a week. I liked what Alex gave us, can build some confidence within the room.” ..

Lalonde also is shaking up his lines, moving Joe Veleno into the top line with Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond. “I wanted to elevate Veleno and (Michael Rasmussen), having their legs a little bit on the wing,” he said. “I wouldn’t read too much into the lines. You might see a lot of different combinations.” Alex DeBrincat will be on a line with Rasmussen and J.T. Compher. …

Both teams have been slumping. The Red Wings have lost four of their last five games, two in overtime, while the Devils have lost four out of five. New Jersey has a potent offense (sixth in the NHL) and struggles on defense (29th). The Devils have converted on 39% of their power plays, which leads the NHL.

The post Red Wings vs. New Jersey: What to Know appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

The NHL trade market remains hamstrung by the salary cap, but there has still been plenty of chatter across the league and as teams figure out exactly what they are.

Will the Columbus Blue Jackets finally unload a defenseman on the NHL trade market?

Did the Canucks play a bigger role in the Connor Garland trade chatter?

Also, the NHL and ESPN held the first ‘NHL Frenzy’ on Tuesday night, with all 32 NHL teams playing in a staggered schedule that had games starting up every 15 minutes. Will the frenzies become more frequent?

The post Off The Record: Blue Jackets; Garland; NHL Frenzy (+) appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

Despite the promise of next season’s NHL salary cap spike, insiders tell OTR the NHL trade market continues to be hamstrung by the current $83.5 cap. Based on recent NHL trade chatter amongst NHL executives and pro scouts, the feeling is desire will outpace ability until American Thanksgiving, if not into the New Year.

“There’s so many teams that can’t even ice a full roster right now,” an NHL executive source pointed out to to Off The Record recently. “Obviously, we don’t usually see much activity until American Thanksgiving, but I wonder if it goes even deeper. Teams are just so hamstrung. There could be minor moves to just stay under that cap, but nothing significant. Maybe a few teams can make a trade of substance right now.”

Note: Tuesday, the Vancouver Canucks traded defenseman Jack Rathbone and forward Karel Plasek to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for scrappy defenseman Mark Friedman and minor league forward Ty Glover.

Those are likely the depth, if not draft picks and prospects trades, we’ll see for at least the next month, but here are three teams that could make more noticeable moves by American Thanksgiving (Nov. 23), if not a bit later.

The post Off The Record: Three Teams To Eye On NHL Trade Market (+) appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

NHL legend  Wayne Gretzky said recently that the dynamic New Jersey Devils team reminded him of his Edmonton Oilers team from the 1980s. It seemed as if the Great One was just trying to point out that the Devils play an energetic, entertaining brand of hockey.

The Devils are fast. Their offense is dangerous. Their roster is young and hungry.  Jack Hughes can dominate. The Devils will win many, many games this season. Many preseason predictions have the Devils making a serious run at winning the Stanley Cup.

That’s why the Red Wings probably won’t read too much into a 4-3 loss to the Devils in New Jersey in the opening game of the season. They don’t like the loss, but they probably do like some of the events of this game. Alex DeBrincat and Daniel Sprong, two players brought in to help the offense, both scored in their first game in a Red Wings uniform.

Alex DeBrincat has his first as a Red Wing! #NHLFaceOff pic.twitter.com/1locp1vZCl

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 13, 2023

Good Numbers on Special Teams

The special teams were solid: the Red Wings’ power play was 2-for-4, and killed off five of New Jersey’s six power-play chances. Ville Husso made some big saves. Jake Walman and Moritz Seider were strong on defense. The Red Wings were the better team in the first period.

But one good period isn’t enough to take down this Devils bunch.

The Red Wings couldn’t figure out how to contain Hughes, who had two goals and four shots on goal. One of his shots was a precise bank shot off the back of Husso’s helmet and fell into the net.

After the first period, the Red Wings’ defensive effort wasn’t as strong as coach Derek Lalonde needs it to be if the team wants to push for a playoff spot in the Atlantic Division.

It’s just the first of 82 games. There’s no value in over-analyzing the result.  But if you must ,and you are an optimist, you could say the one-goal loss suggests the Red Wings can compete with a quality New Jersey Devils squad. If you are a pessimist, you can make a case that the loss shows the Red Wings still must tighten up their defensive play to be a playoff team.

If you are a realist, you can simply say this is a small sample size. It will be 10 to 15 games before we will know what to expect from this revamped Red Wings’ lineup.

The post No Reason to Read Too Much Into Red Wings’ Loss to Devils appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.