The Detroit Red Wings head on the road for the first time this season feeling good about themselves after an encouraging 2-2 start but apprehensive about their first travel experience.
A week into the 2021 season, four of their players already have spent time in COVID-19 protocol, and every day brings fresh news involving the pandemic. Now comes a week away from home, with team personnel essentially confined to their hotel outside of games and practices. Hearing from other players who already have gone through the experience, Anthony Mantha knows what to expect.
“They say it’s bad,” he said Thursday after an unusual practice at Little Caesars Arena. “But, at the end of the day, it’s the sacrifice to play the game right now.
As much as <span class="token token-playerCard" id="token-441FFD82461475981DCBD">Ben Hutton</span> was dying to get back to playing some hockey, the circumstanc.
The Detroit Red Wings opened a mini-series against the Columbus Blue Jackets with a strong start, but were unable to carry the momentum.
The Blue Jackets struck twice a little more than a minute apart in the third period of Monday’s matinee at Little Caesars Arena, leaving the Wings to swallow a 3-2 loss.
Tuesday’s rematch at LCA may be heated after a melee broke out in the final minute. Columbus players shoved Bobby Ryan and Vladislav Namestnikov into the crease as Anthony Mantha fired a puck, which ended up hitting Ryan on its way into the net. That set off several fights, including one between former Michigan teammates Dylan Larkin and Zach Werenski.
Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Detroit Red Wings: Updates, Lineups, Keys to the Game
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Updates
We haven’t seen any line updates after this morning’s skate, so this is all we have at this point.
D Christian Djoos (No. 44) joined #RedWings for the morning skate today after being in quarantine for 10 days. Blashill said he might be available this weekend and could help the power play. He didn t reveal any possible lineup changes tonight vs. CBJ. Bernier expected to start. Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) January 19, 2021
Projected Lines
Keep Shooting
The Wings played arguably their best period of hockey in this early 2020-21 campaign in the first period yesterday. Part of the reason is because they were aggressive on the puck (more on that in a minute) but part also was because they took shots when they were there and got those shots to the net. Not every shot is created equal for sure and they do not need to just start chucking pucks the second they get into the offen
Total: $3.21M
The one thing that Detroit has plenty of is young talent on entry-level contracts. While not all of them have earned full-time roles on the team yet, others are ready to step in order to try and earn a bigger role. Currently, only Zadina and Hronek have earned full-time roles. Zadina earned a full-time role late in the season last year as he posted eight goals and has worked his way onto the second line to start the season. Hronek has been the team’s top defenseman for quite some time already and has already developed into an impressive blueliner.