Detroit Red Wings Clips November 3, 2015

Transcription

1 Detroit Red Wings Clips November 3, 2015 Detroit Red Wings PAGE 2 Red Wings vs. Lightning: Game info, TV, time, etc. PAGE 3 Red Wings' Nyquist: 'Fun' to have horse named after me PAGE 4 Green hopes to return for Red Wings this weekend PAGE 6 Mitch Albom: Farewell to the boss; he made us all better PAGE 8 Wings' dueling goalies in dead heat PAGE 10 Red Wings drawing on Chris Chelios' knowledge as Hall of Fame defenseman joins team on ice PAGE 12 First pieces of steel placed for new Red Wings arena in Detroit PAGE 13 Red Wings' Gustav Nyquist not into horses, but honoured that top thoroughbred is named after him PAGE 14 Ottawa's Mark Stone suspended two games for hit to head against Red Wings' Landon Ferraro PAGE 15 Red Wings' Mike Green starts practicing again; Pavel Datsyuk more involved during drills PAGE 17 5 things to WATCH: Red Wings host Lightning, hot Stars; Justin Abdelkader cools off after hot start PAGE 19 Chelios steps into assistant role

2 Red Wings vs. Lightning: Game info, TV, time, etc. Kirkland Crawford, Detroit Free Press 1:35 a.m. EST November 3, 2015 Tampa Bay Lightning (6-5-2, 14 points) at Detroit Red Wings (5-5-1, 11 points) Where: Joe Louis Arena When: 7:30 p.m. TV: FSD Radio: WXYT-FM (97.1; Click here for other radio affiliates). The skinny: So it hasn't been the smoothest of starts for the Red Wings, especially after winning their first three games. The split a home-and-home with the Senators most recently, claiming the latter of the two, 5-3, in Ottawa.... The Wings struck down the Lightning, 3-1, on Oct. 13 at the Joe. Henrik Zetterberg and Kyle Quincey both had a goal and an assist.... Mike Green (shoulder) returned to practice Monday and could be back in the lineup as soon as Friday. Detroit Free Press LOADED:

3 Red Wings' Nyquist: 'Fun' to have horse named after me George Sipple, Detroit Free Press 6:51 p.m. EST November 2, 2015 Detroit Red Wings forward Gustav Nyquist is apparently a fan of the horse named after him. I hope he keeps running fast, Gustav Nyquist said of Nyquist, a two-year-old colt that won the Breeders Cup juvenile race on Saturday in Kentucky. Nyquist, trained by Doug F. O'Neill, has won all five of its races thus far. Nyquist told reporters today that he plans to reach out to the horse s owner, Paul Reddam of Reddam Racing LLC. Nyquist said he s been to a couple of horse-racing tracks in his native Sweden, but doesn t follow the sport. I watched the Breeders Cup on replay, he said, adding that it was both weird and fun to have a horse named after him. To me, personally, I guess it doesn t affect me in any way, Nyquist said of the horse s chances of winning the Kentucky Derby next year. Obviously, it s fun. It s a fun thing. He said he d watch the horse, assuming he doesn t have a game to play. I ve never really watched that many races, he said. I haven t been into horses, but maybe this makes me watch a couple more. Nyquist said he was aware that Reddam, a Windsor native and Red Wings fan, has named other horses after other Red Wings, including Mrazek (goalie Petr Mrazek), Kronwall (defenseman Niklas Kronwall) and Tatar (forward Tomas Tatar). Mrazek, also a 2-year-old colt, has won two races. I heard Kronner wasn t a very good one, Nyquist joked. Reddam, 60, told the Windsor Star last week that he had been a Red Wings fan since he was 5 years old. We d go to the Olympia and Gordie Howe was my childhood hero," Reddam said. "In 1966, when they got beat by Montreal in the (Stanley Cup) final, my dad (John) had tickets to Game 6 of that series. He took my mother and I was so upset. I said, How could you be going to see the Wings in the Cup final and not take me? It wasn t on TV, it was on the radio and I remember listening to it and Henri Richard scored the winning goal (in overtime). It was torture. After that, when expansion happened (in 1967), the Wings just kind of hit the skids. But I still maintained the loyalty. Detroit Free Press LOADED:

4 Green hopes to return for Red Wings this weekend George Sipple, Detroit Free Press 4:48 p.m. EST November 2, 2015 Defenseman Mike Green (shoulder) participated with the Detroit Red Wings on Monday and is hoping to return to action this weekend. It was just good to be out there with the guys and in a structured practice, Green said. Been skating here the last few days with Pavel (Datsyuk), but it s not the same once you get back into a practice. Today was good. The Wings host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night, then visit the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday night and return home to host the Dallas Stars on Sunday. Green said physical contact is his last hurdle before returning. Just kind of battling and making sure it s strong enough to do so, Green said. Once that s the case I think that s a green light to go, but I have to talk to the trainers. Joining Green and the rest of the Wings on the ice at Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett s ice rink on Monday was Hall of Fame defenseman Chris Chelios, who is serving as another set of eyes from the press box during games for coach Jeff Blashill. Chelios is also a sounding board for Blashill and someone the players can talk to for advice. Chris will be on the ice a bunch with us, especially at home, Blashill said. He would have been on the ice from the beginning of training camp, but he had some different issues health-wise that he had to take care of. He s been a great resource for me over three years and he ll continue to be. Chelios, fresh off knee surgery, said he ll mostly focus on working with the the defensemen. It worked great in GR, Chelios said of helping out gave advice the past few seasons when Blashill coached the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League. I think I m fair, Chelios said of giving feedback to players. When Blash needs some help or a player needs to hear from someone just like when a kid gets sick of listening to a parent, well, sometimes it s good to have an outsider talk to your kids. Asked about his assessment of the defense this season, Chelios said chipping in more offensively has been an adjustment for everyone. It s a little transition for all our D, being more active in the offensive zone, Chelios said. I don t want to tell our secrets, but most teams are doing it, or a lot of teams we ve faced. It s harder on the D, being more active. We tried to get more guys involved last game. You seen what happens when you ve got guys involved. It helps a ton. It s new to me too. Chelios said he enjoys being the team s eye in the sky during games. Chelios said now that he s recovered from knee surgery it will be easier for him to get downstairs 4

5 between periods to give the coaching staff his assessment. Chelios said he had been communicating via a microphone but it was difficult for him to hear Blashill from the press box because of the crowd noise. Briefly: Ottawa forward Mark Stone was suspended two games without pay for an illegal check to the head of Wings forward Landon Ferraro during Saturday s game. Detroit Free Press LOADED:

6 Mitch Albom: Farewell to the boss; he made us all better Mitch Albom, Detroit Free Press Columnist 10:29 a.m. EST November 2, 2015 Today s column will surprise the first person who reads it. That s because the first person to read my column for pretty much the last 25 years has been my editor, my boss and my friend, Gene Myers. Who will retire once he edits this last one. It s not my fault (I hope). He is taking an early retirement from the Detroit Free Press, something sadly too common in the journalism business, as contraction and cost-cutting wipes out expansion and exploration. Already, I can feel Gene s discomfort. He does not covet attention. He will go to bat for you, will fight for you, will sing your praises and tell the world how great you are, he just won t step out in front of you. In this way, he has been the rarest of bosses: the kind who actually enjoys supporting his employees, instead of counting them as his minions. How beloved is Gene Myers? He announced he was leaving 11 days ago, and it has been a banshee-screaming denial around the sports department ever since. There s a tradition of cobbling together a few farewell paragraphs from staff members when someone leaves our section with luck, we can whip it into a single mocked-up page. Gene s is four pages long. Honestly, we could make a special section. Which is something Gene has done, many times. Special sections on Lions seasons, Tigers previews, the Olympics, the Stanley Cup. Commemorative books when local teams win titles. These were beyond the normal back-break of producing a daily sports section and 24/7 website; they required immeasurable planning, endless copy editing. Getting s from Gene at 3 a.m. has been commonplace for years. You had the sense he was always working, sunlight, moonlight. When you d ask, How you doing? he d laugh and say, Too early to tell. But what is early if you never sleep? He began at the Free Press 33 years ago, a summer intern with the forehead bangs haircut like that dorky kid in Almost Famous. The fact that he retires at 55 with a full (if somewhat grayer) scalp is a miracle. Lord knows his job gave reason to yank his follicles. Computer crashes on deadline, sudden overtimes that negated entire pages, complaining readers, complaining teams, complaining bosses, complaining writers. Being sports editor is like being the one airport counter person when a full flight is delayed. Everyone thinks you can fix it. None of this, somehow, ever got him down. Gene is ineffably happy, a Kansas kid whose sun is permanently shining. He says dandy! and woo-hoo! For years, when I d send in my column, he d send me back a one-word response: GONCHAR! 6

7 Enthusiastic, even in acknowledging receipt. A demon on deadline Now I ve had a lot of bosses in this business. Had one who refused to pay me a dime my first six months. Had one who told me I would never succeed because I used too many italics. Had one who just grunted. Gene Myers, on the other hand, writes long s when a staff member has a baby, gets married or loses a loved one. He writes paragraphs of praise when an intern moves on. He is the town crier and the country preacher and the wise grandpa on the porch of this staff, and, honestly, I have never heard a negative word said about him. Through the years, we ve been through a lot. Buried parents. Buried colleagues. Fought against the crashing waves of journalistic issues. And we were comrades-in-deadlines. Joined at the hip. Gene not only edited my frenzied copy in minutes, he took dictation when my computer failed from airplanes, from an earthquake-shaken San Francisco, from a kitchen phone in an Alaskan diner. Reading your work aloud to someone who is rapidly typing it on a screen is as close as you get to delivering in this business. Even doing that, Gene would suggest a better word, double-check a statistic, fix my spelling, improve whatever I wrote. Nearly always, at the end of the day usually beyond midnight we d share a quick, weary phone call. All set then? I d say, yawning. Good job, man! he d say, still effervescent. The word boss has a negative connotation. More accurate in this case is leader, someone who inspires you, who teaches and nourishes you, who brings out your best. Our leader puts down his pen with these last paragraphs (just coincidentally, he assures me). Nothing I write can properly address the moment. But here s the best I ve got, Gene, the last lines you ll read from me as a Freep editor: You were one of a kind. It s been an honor to work for you. And I m a better man for having known you. You don t need to respond. I know already. GONCHAR! Did I spell that right? Detroit Free Press LOADED:

8 Wings' dueling goalies in dead heat Ted Kulfan, The Detroit News 12:19 a.m. EST November 3, 2015 Detroit Anyone looking for separation between the two Red Wings goalies through the first month of the season will have to look long and hard. Jimmy Howard and Petr Mrazek both have been effective, so for the foreseeable future, coach Jeff Blashill will continue to use both equally. Both guys have been real good, Blashill said. If you look at the numbers, they ve been real good. Now, numbers don t say everything, but they re both real close and they ve done a real good job and given us a chance to win every night. Mrazek has appeared in six games with a 3-3 record, 2.67 goals-against average and.921 save percentage. Howard s statistics in five games? He has a record, 2.21 GAA and.928 save percentage, with one shutout. It s a toss-up, in a positive manner for the Red Wings, and Blashill doesn t see anything wrong with that. In today s NHL most teams have had to use two goalies through the year, Blashill said. Very few teams are able to ride a goalie year after year like a Martin Brodeur did (playing in New Jersey). We want both guys playing at a high level and both have earned the opportunity to continue to play through their performances. Ultimately if there s separation, that ll answer itself. If there s not separation, we ll continue to give both guys the opportunity to play if they give us the best chance to win. Right now they ve both played equally and well, they both give us a chance to win. Chelios returns Assistant coach Chris Chelios made his first appearance on the ice, helping out the defense during Monday s practice at Grosse Pointe University Liggett. Chelios recently had knee surgery and was limited in training camp with an unspecified injury, so his participation on the ice had been limited until Monday. Chelios has been an eye in the sky all season, offering in-game communication with the coaching staff from his press box perch. The focus has been the defense, helping them along, said Chelios of his coaching role. It worked great in Grand Rapids and hopefully it ll happen here. Chelios has assisted Blashill in a similar role the last three seasons with the Griffins. He is a sounding board for the entire coaching staff, said Blashill, who added Chelios will occasionally travel with the Red Wings. He gives tons of one-on-one advice to 8

9 players. He sees the game as a player, when sometimes as a coach you see it only as a coach. He gives us a different perspective. He s been a great resource for me over three years and will continue to be. Ice chips Mike Green (upper body) took part in his first practice since getting hurt Oct. 23 in Calgary. Green could return this weekend. It was just good to be out there with the guys in a structured practice, Green said. I ve been skating the last few days with Pavel (Datsyuk) but it s not like getting into an actual practice. Datsyuk, incidentally, also increased his workload in Monday s practice and seems on schedule for a return in another week or two. Datsyuk (ankle surgery) has yet to play this season. Gustav Nyquist was thrilled to see the horse named after him Nyquist win the Breeders Cup Juvenile race Saturday and instantly become a strong favorite to win May s Kentucky Derby. It s a fun thing, said Nyquist, who is not an avid horse racing fan. I ve never watched many races but maybe this will make me watch a couple more. I know that (Kentucky Derby) one is a big deal for sure. Ottawa s Mark Stone was suspended two games by the NHL for Saturday s illegal check to the head of Landon Ferraro. Lightning at Red Wings Faceoff: 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Joe Louis Arena. TV/radio: FSD/ 97.1, 1270-AM. Outlook: The Red Wings won the previous game between the teams this season Tampa Bay is (14 points) but only in its last 10 games D Victor Hedman leads in scoring with 10 points, all assists. Detroit News LOADED:

10 Red Wings drawing on Chris Chelios' knowledge as Hall of Fame defenseman joins team on ice By Ansar Khan on November 02, 2015 at 8:11 PM, updated November 02, 2015 at 8:23 PM DETROIT Now that Chris Chelios is healthier, Detroit Red Wings players and coaches will be drawing on his experience and expertise more often during practice. The Hall of Fame defenseman already has been serving as the team's "eye in the sky," watching home games from the press box and communicating through the headset with assistant coach Pat Ferschweiler. On Monday, Chelios joined the team on the ice for the first time this season at practice. "He's been a great resource for me for three years (in Grand Rapids) and he'll continue to be," coach Jeff Blashill said. "He is a sounding board for the entire coaching staff. I think he gives tons of one-on-one advice to players. He sees the game still as a player; sometimes when you've been coaching for a long time you see the game as a coach, so sometimes it's a different perspective." Chelios, 53, had knee surgery 10 days ago. He couldn't get on the ice during training camp due to another unspecified injury. Chelios will work mostly with the defense. He said he'll be fair when speaking to players and he hopes his word carries some weight. "The great thing here is that I'm familiar with the players," Chelios said. "I think Blash said it he'd like it from a perspective from a player, a defenseman, to help out with the team. It worked great in GR and now hopefully the same thing will happen here. "Just like when you have a kid who's sick of listening to your parent. Well, sometimes it's good to have an outsider talk to your kid.... It's new to me and I'm looking forward to it at this level." Chelios assessed the defense. "It's for sure a new system, not totally, but condensed with what we've done in the zone," Chelios said. "So it's a little transition for all of our D, being more active in the offensive zone. "I don't want to tell our secrets, but most teams are doing it now, or a lot of teams we've faced, so it's harder on the D, being more active. We tried to get guys more involved. Last game you see what happens when we got guys involved. It helps a ton." When his knee feels better Chelios hopes to go back and forth from the press box to the dressing room during intermissions. "For me, that would be a lot more helpful to talk to Blash face to face than it is on the microphone," Chelios said. 10

11 "Not only do we have Tony (assistant coach Granato), who's been around for a long time, but we have Cheli as well, who's played 20-something years," defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. "Having a guy like that around giving us pointers is only going to help us." Chelios will attend some road games. He is committed to serving as assistant coach to Ron Wilson on Team USA for next months' World Junior Championship in Helsinki, Finland. Michigan Live LOADED:

12 First pieces of steel placed for new Red Wings arena in Detroit Ian Thibodeau on November 02, 2015 at 7:05 PM, updated November 02, 2015 at 7:17 PM DETROIT - Olympia Development of Michigan on Monday announced the first pieces of steel were placed at the site of the Detroit Events Center on Woodward Avenue. A 41-foot, 4-inch beam of metal was the first of many to go in at the site, where the Detroit Red Wings are expected to play beginning in According to a short statement, the $50-million steel contract was awarded to Midwest Steel, a Detroit-based company. Follow along with The District Detroit live broadcast of construction here. Just over 30 percent of the contract dollars for the massive $450-million project in the Cass Corridor have been awarded to Detroit companies, meeting Olympia's goal. In a little under two years, the entire arena and all of the mixed-use development for the initial build out is expected to be completed. On top of the arena, another $200 million is planned in additional development. The Ilitch family, who own Olympia and the Red Wings, late last week announced a $40-million gift to Wayne State University to be used to build a brand new Mike Ilitch School of Business to be located just north of the new arena on Woodward Avenue. Christopher Ilitch, CEO of Ilitch Holdings, said last week that the companies will exceed a promised $200-million in private development around the site. Numbers confirming this have yet to be released. The 785,000-square-foot, 20,000-seat arena will sit on a plot of land along Woodward Avenue just north of downtown Detroit. Retail, restaurants, offices, living space, parking garages and a park will all be pieced into the current planned development zone. According to the District Detroit website, the planned neighborhoods will all back up to a major property affiliated with the Ilitch family. "Columbia Street" encompasses The Fox and the future site of the Little Caesar's headquarters; "Columbia Park" sits behind that, covering the Cass Avenue approach to the back of the future arena site; "Woodward Square" holds the arena development; "Wildcat Corner" ropes in Comerica Park and the site of future apartments planned for the parking lots that touch Woodward Avenue. And it's "Cass Park Village" -- currently known as a part of Cass Corridor, and part of which has already been redubbed as "Midtown" -- that the most recent reports of land buys circle around. The Village would connect the arena district to MotorCity Casino, which looks over The Lodge at some new housing, but a lot of vacant land. The $650 million development is to be funded with a mix of $365.5 million in private investment and an estimated public investment of $284.5 million. 12

13 Red Wings' Gustav Nyquist not into horses, but honored that top thoroughbred is named after him Ansar Khan on November 02, 2015 at 4:15 PM, updated November 02, 2015 at 4:21 PM DETROIT What's one of the best ways to turn somebody who's not into horse racing into a fan of the sport of kings? Name a racehorse after him, one that could be favored to win the Kentucky Derby. Detroit Red Wings forward Gustav Nyquist never paid attention to horse racing until Nyquist won the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile race Saturday in Lexington, Ky. The 2-year-old thoroughbred is owned by diehard Red Wings fan Paul Reddam, a Windsor native who has named several of his horses after players on his favorite team. "Obviously, it's a lot of fun to see that he's winning and see that he won I don't know what you call it, a tournament or a cup or a race," Nyquist said. Asked how it felt to hear his name being called when the horse was coming around the final turn, Nyquist said: "It does sound a little weird. I watched the race, the Breeders' Cup on replay, and it was weird for sure. But it's fun." Nyquist has won all five of his races. Nyquist, the player, said he'll watch the Kentucky Derby on May 6 if the Red Wings aren't playing at that time. "I've never really watched that many races because I've not been too much into horses, but maybe this makes me watch more," Nyquist said. He said the Kentucky Derby is one of the few races he has heard about. "That's a big deal for sure," Nyquist said. "Even this one, the Breeders' Cup, I've heard about before. I'm happy for the owner and the horse as well." Nyquist said he'll try to reach out to Reddam at some point. Reddam also owns horses named after Niklas Kronwall, Tomas Tatar and Petr Mrazek. "I heard Kronner wasn't a very good one, so that's a good thing," Nyquist said. Nyquist has bragging rights, for sure. "I hope he keeps running fast," Nyquist said. Reddam told the Windsor Star: "To me it was definitive that he's the top colt in America now." Nyquist said horse racing is "huge" in his native Sweden. "It's a big sport in Sweden, but for some reason I've never really gone for it," Nyquist said. "I've been to one or two (races) maybe in Sweden just for the fun of it. I have friends who watch a lot of horse racing." Michigan Live LOADED:

14 Ottawa's Mark Stone suspended two games for hit to head against Red Wings' Landon Ferraro Ansar Khan on November 02, 2015 at 2:09 PM, updated November 02, 2015 at 3:48 PM DETROIT -- Ottawa Senators forward Mark Stone has been suspended for two games for his illegal hit to the head against the Detroit Red Wings' Landon Ferraro on Saturday, the NHL announced today. Ferraro was shaken up briefly, but returned to the game. He practiced today. "I just saw him at the very last second. I just tried to get my head out of the way as much as I could," Ferraro told detroitredwings.com. "I was able to pull it back a little bit. I don't know, just got hit and then I didn't really know what was going on for the first second. I got up pretty quick. "It's scary. Whether he meant to or not, I don't think he tried to, but that's what we're trying to get out of the game. It's scary, but I'm all right." In a video posted by the league, the Department of Player Safety said: "Stone is cycling up the half wall in the offensive zone. He moves the puck to treammate Patrick Wiercioch at the point and begins circling back into the slot. After a shot by Wiercioch is blocked, Stone accelerates towards the loose puck, hoping for a rebound. "Stone is beaten to the puck by Ferraro, who quickly fires it out of the defensive zone. Immediately after Ferraro clears the puck, Stone clips Ferraro in the jaw with his right shoulder, making the head the main point of contact and sending him to the ice. This is an illegal check to the head. We accept Stone's description of the play, which is that he is attempting to corral a loose puck for a scoring chance and that once he recognizes that Ferraro has moved the puck, he moves to get a piece of Ferraro in an attempt to slow him up and prevent an odd-man rush toward the Ottawa net. "However, once Stone changes from attacking a loose puck to initiating a hit, the onus is on him to deliver that hit in a legal manner. Here, in part because he was not originally planning on delivering a hit, he delivers a reckless shoulder to the head of an opponent, making the head the main point of contact. "To summarize, this was an illegal check to the head. While he was attended to on the ice, Ferraro suffered no injury on the play. Stone has been neither fined nor suspended previously in his 114 NHL game career." Michigan Live LOADED:

15 Red Wings' Mike Green starts practicing again; Pavel Datsyuk more involved during drills By Ansar Khan on November 02, 2015 at 1:51 PM, updated November 02, 2015 at 2:03 PM DETROIT The Detroit Red Wings, seeking more offense from the blue line, were encouraged to see defenseman Mike Green return to practice on Monday. Green, out since Oct. 23 with a shoulder injury, won't play Tuesday against Tampa Bay at Joe Louis Arena (7:30, Fox Sports Detroit), but is hoping to return on the weekend, either Friday in Toronto or Sunday at home vs. Dallas. "It was just good to be out there with the guys in a structured practice," Green said. "I've been skating here the last few days with Pavel (Datsyuk), but it's not the same once you get back into practice, so today was good." He said the next step is being involved physically in practice. "Just battling, making sure it's strong enough to do so and once that's the case then I think it's a green light to go," Green said. Green was injured during the first period of a 3-2 overtime loss to the Flames on a hit by Josh Jooris. Regarding a possible return this weekend, Green said: "Today was a starting point to lead up to that. We'll see how the next few days go." "I think it's good to see Mike taking that step," coach Jeff Blashill said. "Obviously, we've got lots of belief in Mike as a player but we're still focused on the 20 that are going to be dressed tomorrow." Datsyuk, who started practicing with the team last week after skating on his own for some time, took part in battle drills Monday. He's probably still 1-2 weeks away from returning, following off-season ankle surgery. "He's out there and involved," Blashill said. "And he was involved a little more today than he was the last week and more last week than he was the week before. So he's taking steps in the right direction. "But I haven't had a conversation with Pav to say how close are you. I think Pav has to feel like he's 100 percent ready to go before he's going to go, as he should. Our goal ultimately is when Pav comes back, that we have him back for the season, so hopefully we can get him to 100 percent." Blashill said he'll reveal his starting goalie Tuesday morning. He said he's been comfortable with both Jimmy Howard and Petr Mrazek and that there's been virtually no separation between the two. 15

16 "I think both guys have been really, really good," Blashill said. "Numbers don't tell everything, but they're both real close and they've both done a real good job. I think they've both given us chances to win every night." Here are the lines and defense pairs they skated with today: Justin Abdelkader-Henrik Zetterberg-Dylan Larkin Tomas Tatar-Riley Sheahan-Gustav Nyquist Joakim Andersson/Tomas Jurco-Darren Helm-Teemu Pulkkinen Drew Miller-Luke Glendening-Landon Ferraro Niklas Kronwall-Brendan Smith Danny DeKeyser-Jonathan Ericsson Jakub Kindl-Alexey Marchenko Mike Green Kyle Quincey (concussion) and Brad Richards (back) did not skate. Michigan Live LOADED:

17 5 things to WATCH: Red Wings host Lightning, hot Stars; Justin Abdelkader cools off after hot start Ansar Khan on November 02, 2015 at 6:05 AM, updated November 02, 2015 at 10:02 AM DETROIT The Detroit Red Wings have played too much catch-up hockey. After a 3-0 start, they went seven games in a row in which they trailed at some point. That streak was snapped Saturday, when they never trailed during a 5-3 victory at Ottawa. Could it be the game that sparks them? The Red Wings finished the month 5-5-1, despite ranking last in the NHL in shots per game (25.2) and shots differential (minus-7.4). Here are five things to watch this week: 1. Lightning searching for a spark The Red Wings start their week against a team that's also in need of a spark, hosting Tampa Bay for the second time this season on Tuesday. The Lightning (6-5-2) snapped a four-game winless streak with a 4-3 victory Sunday at Carolina. Steven Stamkos leads the Lightning with six goals. Tyler Johnson is off to a slow start with one goal and five assists. The Red Wings won the first of four meetings between the teams, 3-1 on Oct. 13 at JLA. Tampa Bay is 7-3 against the Red Wings since Detroit moved to the Eastern Conference in including the playoffs. 2. Zetterberg's hot, Abdelkader's not Henrik Zetterberg has points in nine of 11 games and is among the league's scoring leaders with 14 points. He needs one goal to reach 300 for his career, after picking up his 500th assist and 800th point on Saturday. Justin Abdelkader, who's played every game on Zetterberg's line, has gone nine games without a point, after collecting four goals and an assist in the first two games, which earned him the NHL's No. 1 star honors for the opening week. Despite not scoring, Abdelkader has played physical (team-leading 31 hits) and has provided a net-front presence on several goals. 3. Maple Leafs in a free-fall Mike Babcock expected rough times in Toronto after taking over behind the bench, but he probably didn't anticipate the disaster the Leafs appear to be. Toronto (1-7-2) has lost four in a row, is winless in six (0-5-1) and is well on its way to missing the playoffs for the 10th time in 11 seasons. Its lone win came on Oct. 16 against Columbus, which is

18 The Red Wings visit Air Canada Centre on Friday. Detroit beat Toronto 4-0 in its season opener Oct. 9 at JLA. The Maple Leafs rank 29th in goals per game at 2.00, ahead of only the puzzling Anaheim Ducks, and 28th in goals against per game (3.30). They are last on the power play at 7.4 percent and 28th on the penalty kill. 4. Can defense produce more? The Red Wings want their defense to be more involved in the attack, like it was on Saturday, contributing two goals and three assists. Detroit defensemen have combined for five goals and 11 assists. That's without much contribution from Mike Green, their most offensively talented defenseman, who has no goals and two assists in seven games. He's out for at least another week with a shoulder injury. Niklas Kronwall is off to slow start with no goals and four assists but had a pair of assists on Saturday. 5. Stars off to franchise-best start The Red Wings will host one of the hottest teams in the league on Sunday, when Dallas comes to town. The Stars -- in their third season under general manager Jim Nill, the former Detroit assistant GM -- equaled the best start in franchise history after 11 games (also in and ). Jamie Benn, who won the Art Ross Trophy last season as the NHL's leading scorer, leads the league again with 17 points for a team that ranks third in goals per game (3.64). Tyler Seguin has 16 points. The Red Wings will be facing Patrick Sharp for the first time since his trade from Chicago. Rookie center Mattias Janmark has three goals and five points. The Red Wings selected him in the third round in 2013 (79th overall). Janmark was part of the trade deadline deal in March that brought veteran forward Erik Cole to Detroit. The Red Wings have won three in a row against the Stars and are in their past 11 vs. Dallas. Michigan Live LOADED:

19 Chelios steps into assistant role By Chuck Pleiness, The Macomb Daily POSTED: 11/02/15, 3:46 PM EST UPDATED: 10 MINS AGO DETROIT >> When you ve got a great resource as an assistant coach you might as well use him and that s just what Wings coach Jeff Blashill did Monday afternoon at McCann Arena. Hall of Famer Chris Chelios was on the ice at University Liggett assisting in his first practice this season. He ll be on the ice a bunch with us, especially at home, Blashill said. He s been a great resource for me for three years and he ll continue to be. Chelios, who was unable to help with practices early due to an injury, aided Blashill while he was in Grand Rapids. He is a sounding board for the entire coaching staff, Blashill said. I think he gives tons of one-on-one advice to players. He sees the game still lots as a player; sometimes when you ve been coaching for a long time you see the game as a coach. He gives us a different perspective as well. Chelios holds the record for most games played in the NHL by a defenseman and is fifth overall at 1,651. He s also tied with Gordie Howe for most NHL seasons played with 26. I think the great thing here is that I m familiar with the players, Chelios said. I think Blash said it he d like it from a perspective from a player, a defenseman to help out with the team. Mostly, the focus has been on the D, just to help them along and to help the coaching staff. It worked great in GR and now hopefully the same thing will happen here. Chelios isn t on the bench during the games, but instead up in the pressbox for a different view of things. There are more things that you can t see from the bench, you can see who s skating faster from up there, Chelios said. It s for sure a new (defensive) system, not totally, but condensed with what we ve done in the zone. So it s a little transition for all of our D, being more active in the offensive zone. So it s harder on the D, being more active. We tried to get guys more involved. Chelios was also named this summer as an assistant coach for Team USA at the 2016 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. When I was a player, being known as a leader, my teammates always followed my lead as a captain, Chelios said. When I speak to guys I hope I m fair and hope it carries a little weight when Blash needs some help or a player needs to hear from someone else. Just like when you have a kid, you get a kid who s sick of listening to your parent. Well, sometimes it s good to have an outsider talk to your kid. It s new to me and I m looking forward to it at this level. 19

20 NO STARTER NAMED; GREEN PROGRESSING Blashill won t reveal until Tuesday who his starting goalie will be when the Wings host Tampa Bay. Basically no separation, Blashill said of the competition between Jimmy Howard and Petr Mrazek. I think both guys have been really, really good. If you look at the numbers, they ve both been really good. Numbers don t tell everything but they re both real close and they ve both done a real good job. I think they ve both given us chances to win every night. Defenseman Mike Green, who s been out since Oct. 23 with a shoulder injury, won t play Tuesday, but could return Friday or Sunday. I ve been skating here the last few days with Pavel (Datsyuk), but it s not the same once you get back into practice so today was good, Green said. Today was a starting point to lead up (this weekend). We ll see how the next few days go. STONE SUSPENDED TWO GAMES Ottawa s Mike Stone was suspended two games for his illegal check to the head of Landon Ferraro, Saturday. I just saw him at the very last second, Ferraro said. I just tried to get my head out of the way as much as I could. I was able to pull it back a little bit. I got up pretty quick. It was more kind of to tell myself I was all right. It s scary. Whether he meant to or not, I don t think he tried to but that s what we re trying to get out of the game. It s scary but I m all right. Macomb Daily LOADED: