Red Wings Review October 31 2022
Game Review – Game 1, L 6-2 vs New Jersey. Game 2, L 5-1 @ Boston. Game 3, W 2-1 vs Minnesota.
Broken Wings – Robbie Fabbri (Knee), Tyler Bertuzzi (Upper Body), Jakub Vrana (Player Assistant Program). Oskar Sundqvist (Upper Body) – Played Tuesday but missed the rest of the week. Is not on IR and isn’t expected to miss substantial time.
Talking Hockey – The Detroit Red Wings played like the team we’ve been accustomed to seeing the last 6 seasons this week. They started games alright, then collapsed at the slightest adversity. The PK was completely dismantled by Boston and the team filed to the penalty box time and time again. This is a young team (David Perron is the oldest member of the team at 34 and only Ben Chiarot and Jordan Oesterle are also over 30) and we must expect there will still be weeks like this. Three seasons ago this was the worst team in the league and their primary expectation this season is to be in the wild card hunt around the trade deadline. The game against Minnesota was the highlight of the week, where Detroit showed it can play with a small lead by shutting down a team defensively and waiting for offensive opportunities to be given to them rather than making themselves vulnerable by forcing opportunities.
Week Ahead – Detroit plays four times this week. They start the week in Buffalo on Halloween before returning to Detroit to host Washington and the Islanders on Thursday and Saturday. They then have a quick turn around to play the Rangers in New York on Sunday.
Hot Wings – Dominik Kubalik played well to start the week but wasn’t a factor on Saturday against Minnesota. Lucas Raymond was a ghost all week before having his first breakout game of the season Saturday.
Frozen Wings – Filip Hronek did not have a good week. He took too many penalties and had too many ill-advised turnovers by trying to force plays against Boston. Michael Rasmussen had three penalties against Boston, including a high sticking penalty that earned him a two-game suspension. Alex Nedeljkovic has struggled.
In Play! Player of the Week – Dominik Kubalik – Kubalik put up three points (1G, 2A) this week, being a factor on every goal in New Jersey and earning a point against Minnesota. He also finished the week even in plus/minus.