Detroit Red Wings Clips November 12, 2014 Detroit Red Wings PAGE 2 Holland: Quincey 'a good shutdown guy' for Red Wings PAGE 4 Red Wings' sickly shootout record leaves them baffled PAGE 7 Red Wings' power play has perked up after slow start faces tough test vs. Blackhawks' penalty kill PAGE 9 Red Wings Q&A: Brendan Smith on Jessica Biel, Thanksgiving dinner and Zdeno 'Goliath' Chara PAGE 12 Detroit Red Wings search for shootout answers
Holland: Quincey 'a good shutdown guy' for Red Wings By George Sipple, Detroit Free Press 4:39 p.m. EST November 11, 2014 Some fans questioned the move when Detroit Red Wings general manager Ken Holland gave Kyle Quincey a two-year, $8.5 million contract in July. Quincey was coming off a solid season with the Wings and Holland was convinced the defensemen could continue to evolve. "I think he turned the corner long ago," Holland said before a recent game at Joe Louis Arena. "The last 60 games last year, Quincey played 20 minutes a night for us." Quincey's has had quite a journey since he was drafted in the fourth round by the Wings in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. Quincey spent three seasons developing for the Wings in Grand Rapids before he was placed on waivers. The Wings had an overabundance of defensemen at the time and kept players such as Brett Lebda and Derek Meech over Quincey, who was claimed by the Los Angeles Kings. FREEP Datsyuk, Weiss still sore (groins), but optimistic about early return Quincey spent the next four seasons as more of an offensive defenseman with the Kings, then the Colorado Avalanche. Quincey put up four goals and 34 assists for 38 points in 72 games for the Kings in 2008-09. He scored 11 goals and 42 assists for 53 points over 154 games for the Avalanche from 2009-12. The Wings gave up a first-round pick to the Avalanche to re-acquire Quincey in 2012. Quincey has scored seven goals and 13 assists for 20 points in 147 games since returning to the Wings. He had four goals and nine assists for 13 points in 82 games last season, with 88 penalty minutes. Quincey, who just returned from an ankle injury, has no goals and one assist in 11 games this season. "Kyle Quincey, for us, he's become a good shutdown guy," Holland said. "Early last season he finally started to settle into his role on the Detroit Red Wings.a good defensive defensemen. "I think he played really well the last 60 games last year and he got off to a good start this year." Quincey just returned after missing four games with an ankle injury. He said he's enjoying his role with the Wings. FREEP How Buffalo could be stealing 'Hockeytown' from Detroit 2
"Honestly, I loved my role on Colorado and L.A., but at the same time, we never had a Niklas Kronwall on our team," Quincey said. "So, there's a reason why I'm not playing 25 minutes here. "Even when I was playing those minutes and playing on the power play, what really gave me pride and joy on the ice was shutting down the other team's lines." Quincey has helped the Wings to a No. 9 ranking among NHL teams in goals-against (2.27). The Wings also rank second on the penalty kills (88.7%). "We're up there," Quincey said. "At the same time, we need to continue to do what we're doing. At the same time, we have to figure out how to jump up, how to chip in when we do that, that's hard to not win. We're going to focus on keep shutting the door and if we can chip in that's a bonus." Detroit Free Press LOADED: 11.12.2014 3
Red Wings' sickly shootout record leaves them baffled Ted Kulfan, The Detroit News 5:42 a.m. EST November 12, 2014 Detroit It's a new season but the Red Wings are again having difficulty winning shootouts. Never mind they have accomplished offensive players, crafty goal scorers such as Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk and Gustav Nyquist, who seemingly should dominate in the one-on-one battle against opposing goaltenders. But once it gets to a shootout the NHL's way to decide tied games after a five-minute four-on-four overtime the Red Wings don't win. They've lost all three shootouts this season, after going 5-9 last season and 2-5 in the lockout-shortened 2013 season. Something about the shootout just doesn't suit the Red Wings. "You have to be comfortable with it and right now I don't think any of us are," said goalie Jjimmy Howard, who is 0-3 this season and is below.500 (19-24) in his career. "It's one of those things where you can do it in practice but once you get 20,000 people watching you it might be a little nerve-wraecking. "I'm not a shooter, but I can only imagine it's probably not one of the best feelings." The Red Wings spent time during Monday's practice they had an day off Tuesday working on the shootout, going one-on-one against Howard and goaltender Petr Mrazek. "If you don't take care of shootouts, there's a lot of lost points," Nyquist said. "Every point is so important. You know those shootout points are going to matter. You have to find a way to get them." Thus far, in three shootouts this season, the Red Wings have been ineffective on both ends. They've scored on only 1-of-8 shots (Nyquist goal), while allowing five of seven goals. It's early, but those three lost points thus far could have vaulted the Red Wings (19 points) into second place past Montreal (21 points) in the Atlantic Division. "It's obviously points on the table you'd like to have," assistant coach Tony Granato said. "That's something, moving forward, we can get better at. We've got good shooters, good goalies, so hopefully we can take advantage of that." But will the Red Wings and the rest of the league need to worry about the shootout beyond this season? There's been plenty of speculation the league will abandon the shootout to decide a winner, instead focusing more on a three-on-three concept that would surely produce nightly highlights. The NHL instituted the shootout after the 2004-05 lockout as a way to end ties and give something back to fans, who loved the idea of a shooter-against-goalie confrontation. 4
But while fans appear to still enjoy the shootout, players are getting bored. "A lot of guys are getting sick of it throughout the league," Howard said. "It was fun at the beginning, but I think how we're deciding (these) games is a tough way. "Sometimes it's not indicative of how you played. You get in a shootout and the pucks go in and all of a sudden you didn't have a good game." The league could increase the length of overtime from five to about seven or eight minutes, with the first half being four-on-four and the latter half three-on-three. Or, possibly, maybe go directly to three-on-three, which many players wouldn't mind seeing. "That's going to end a lot of games," said Nyquist of the three-on-three action. "You're going to get chances. The crowd likes shootouts, but three-on-three sounds pretty interesting." What bothers some players is the fact meaningful and important points are being decided by a skills completion similar to a home-run hitting contest in baseball. Settling on a winner or loser in more of a hockey manner even in the seldom seen three-on-three seems much more palatable. "If they want to get rid of the shootout, just go straight to three-on-three. Someone is going to score," Stephen Weiss said. "You're settling it in a game atmosphere, not so much a skills competition. I don't make those calls, but that would be pretty cool. "You'd see a lot more games ending in three-on-three. The players would love it, fans would love it." But it's because of fans' enthusiasm toward the shootout that Granato, and some players, don't want it to see it disappear just yet. "I like it because the fans like it," Granato said. "It's their game. They are what makes our game. If they want a shootout, they should have a shootout. "I don't think it's lost its pizzazz. No matter where you are in the standings, when a shooter is coming down and you see 17,000 fans come out of their seats, they still like it." Red Wings' year-by-year record in the shootout 2014-15: 0-3 (1 goal, 5 against) 2013-14: 5-9 (11-14) *2012-13: 2-5 (5-8) 2011-12: 9-3 (15-8) 2010-11: 4-4 (6-4) 2009-10: 6-9 (19-21) 2008-09: 6-4 (13-10) 2007-08: 5-5 (12-11) 5
2006-07: 2-8 (10-17) 2005-06: 4-3 (12-9) Overall: 43-53 (104-107) *NHL lockout Detroit News LOADED: 11.12.2014 6
Red Wings' power play has perked up after slow start, faces tough test vs. Blackhawks' penalty kill Ansar Khan akhan1@mlive.com By Ansar Khan akhan1@mlive.com on November 11, 2014 at 1:03 PM, updated November 11, 2014 at 1:24 PM DETROIT - The Detroit Red Wings tried something different this season to boost a mediocre power play. It didn't work at the start. They stuck with it. Now they're seeing results. The Red Wings have scored two power-play goals in each of the past three games (6 for 13). They went 5 for 46 (10.9 percent) their first 12 games. "Obviously, it was a really slow start for us on the power play and now we've got some goals," Henrik Zetterberg said. "Even if we don't score, you have to get the momentum, and we've done that the last couple of games." The Red Wings have moved up to 19th in the NHL on the power play at 18.6 percent (11 for 59). They finished 18th in 2013-14 at 17.7 percent. "I know the power play started slow, had trouble getting into rhythm, maybe had trouble trying to find the back of the net," assistant coach Tony Granato said. "But I think all along it's been building. I think it's been really big for us the last week. "I think the confidence that group has gained certainly moving forward should be a good thing for us. You put Pav back in that mix it's going to be even better." Datsyuk (groin) might return for the next game, Friday against the Chicago Blackhawks at Joe Louis Arena (7:30, Fox Sports Detroit). The Blackhawks are first in the league on the penalty kill (91.1 percent). The Red Wings are second (88.7 percent). The last time the Red Wings scored multiple power-play goals in four consecutive games was during the 2008 playoffs (Games 2-4 vs. Colorado and Game 1 vs. Dallas). The last time they did it during the regular season was Jan. 7-13, 2007. "It's something we need to have working for sure to have success," Gustav Nyquist, who has a team-high four power-play goals, said. "Our PK's been tremendous all season and the power play really had to step up. Obviously, we didn't start the way we wanted but the last few games we've gotten a couple goals. "We're getting the puck back, moving the puck quicker and really attacking when we get it, even off the rush now. We've got great skill on both units, a lot of guys who can score on both units." The power-play surge coincided with a switch at the point on the second unit, as Jakub Kindl replaced Danny DeKeyser. Kindl has two goals and an assist on the power play in the past three games. 7
"We're just trying to win some battles and shoot the puck and you never know," Kindl said. "If you have good traffic, that's how you're going to score. You're not going to score from the point where you don't have the traffic in front." The Red Wings, under new assistant coach Jim Hiller, changed their power play look, using a diamond formation with one defenseman as opposed to the traditional twodefenseman setup. "You're not always going to score but you want to do good things on it, build momentum," coach Mike Babcock said. Michigan Live LOADED: 11.12.2014 8
Red Wings Q&A: Brendan Smith on Jessica Biel, Thanksgiving dinner and Zdeno 'Goliath' Chara Brendan Savage bsavage@mlive.com By Brendan Savage bsavage@mlive.com on November 12, 2014 at 6:06 AM, updated November 12, 2014 at 6:10 AM DETROIT - Detroit Red Wings defenseman Brendan Smith is among a crop of promising young players who are the future of a franchise that has made the playoffs for 23 straight seasons. Before being selected in the first round (27th overall) of the 2007 NHL draft, the Toronto native was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award as college hockey's best player. Now in his second full NHL season - and fourth overall with Detroit - Smith is a regular on the Red Wings' blue line and has produced some memorable moments, including a confrontation with Boston captain Zdeno Chara - all 6-foot-9 of him - in the first round of last season's playoffs. Chara is one of the topics Smith tackled in this week's Red Wings Q&A. MLive: If you had a team-wide Jeopardy competition, who would win? Smith: Team-wide? I would have to give it to... that's a tough question. I know (Daniel) Cleary would like me to say him but I would probably go with (Niklas Kronwall) or maybe (Drew) Miller. MLive: Why do you go with them? Do they know a lot of useless information? Smith: Yeah, I would say something like that. I think people would go with me because I know a lot of useless things, too. But if I had to pick, it would be Kronner or Miller. Maybe Miller. MLive: You went to Wisconsin. What do you miss most about college life? Smith: I just think all my buddies and I just loved the campus. The campus was amazing. I miss the campus and playing on the weekends. MLive: Is there anything you miss least? Smith: School. (Laughs.) Waking up early to go to class. That would be the biggest one. MLive: What is the biggest misconception fans have about life in the NHL? Smith: That once you turn the TV off, we're at home. We still have to travel and get home and practice and all that stuff. I think they sometimes don't know how hard our days actually are. MLive: If Hollywood made a movie about your life, who would play you? Smith: Matthew McConaughey or Bradley Cooper. (Big laugh). MLive: Who would be your leading lady? 9
Smith: I'm going to go with -- ooh, tough question - I'd go with Angelina Jolie. MLive: Do you have a celebrity crush? Smith: I like Minka Kelly and Jessica Biel. Jessica Biel is my favorite. Jessica Biel. MLive: Who is the teammate you'd least like to meet in a dark alley when he's in a bad mood? Maybe Mule (Johan Franzen). He's grumpy or hungry, maybe he might be the most dangerous. MLive: Did you have a welcome to the NHL moment either on or off the ice? Smith: I think when I scored my first goal. It was kind of I knew I was good to go from there. It was a pretty good welcoming moment. My first game I was out there for the national anthem and started right off the bat. So that was pretty cool, too. MLive: Your brother (Reilly) plays for the Bruins. What is something people would be surprised to know about him? Smith: That he's a pretty good chess player. That would be a weird thing that people wouldn't know. And that he may know every line of every movie. He's a big-time movie buff. MLive: What's the difference between the Canadian Thanksgiving and the American Thanksgiving? Smith: There's not a big difference, different days but pretty much the same thing where you're kind of giving thanks for your life or things that are going on. So it's pretty much the same but different days. I celebrate both. MLive: What's your favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner? Smith: Turkey. Well, actually it's stuffing. I'm going to have to say stuffing. MLive: Can you finish this sentence? Zdeno Chara is... Smith: A beast. (Laughs). Big man. I don't know. Goliath. MLive: What do you think when you look back on your run-in with him in the playoffs last year? Smith: I don't know what I think. I think that it was kind of a heat-of-the-moment kind of thing. But he's not a guy you want to challenge every day. MLive: Did your brother say anything about that? Smith: He razzed me about it. He told me it wouldn't be his first choice to fight somebody like (Chara) or "what was I thinking?" kind of thing. But you know what? In the heat of the moment, when things get going, your emotions get the better of you and you kind of just try to help your team out. MLive: What's the best perk of playing in the NHL? Smith: I honestly think the guys. You get really good, stand-up guys. We all get along well. Just in general, I find hockey players to be a good breed of a human being. They're always fun and pretty light and easy to talk to. I enjoy the camaraderie. 10
MLive: If you weren't playing in the NHL, what would you be doing? Smith: I would want to say I'd be playing in the national lacrosse league because I was pretty good at that. But if there were no sports involved I'd probably be a teacher. That's what I was doing in school. I was trying to become a PE teacher. I've still got a little bit of a ways to go. But that's what I'd like to do. Michigan Live LOADED: 11.12.2014 11
Detroit Red Wings search for shootout answers By Chuck Pleiness, The Macomb Daily Posted: 11/11/14, 4:18 PM EST DETROIT >> The NHL s skills competition used to decide games that don t end in regulation or overtime hasn t been kind to the Detroit Red Wings. The Wings are 0-3 in the shootout, scoring just one goal and allowing five. (Those are) points on the table that you d like to have, Detroit assistant coach Tony Granato said. I think we ve got good shooters, we ve got good goalies, so hopefully we can take advantage of that and figure out how to get some points out of that. Detroit practiced breakaways during practice on Monday for the first time all season. And it s a skill they rarely have used since last season. You have to be comfortable and right now I don t think any of us are, Jimmy Howard said. It s one of those things you can do it in practice, but once you get 20,000 people watching you it might get a little nerve-wracking. I don t know, I m not a shooter. I can only imagine it s probably not one of the best feelings. The Wings have scored on only 1-of-8 shots, while allowing five goals on seven shots (all against Howard). It could go either way in a shootout, said Gustav Nyquist, who has Detroit s lone goal in a shootout. We ve got to find a way to score. We ve got to take care of business there and we haven t, Nyquist continued. If you don t take care of shootouts, that s a lot of lost points. Every point is still important. Down the stretch we know from last year and two years ago, it s been close. You know those shootout points are really going to matter. We got to find a way to get them. Since the league added the shootout to decide games, the Wings are 43-53, scoring 104 goals and allowing 107. Just get comfortable with a couple moves you might want to use, I think that s the biggest thing, Nyquist said. You try to have a few different (moves) because the goalies scout you a little bit. If you only have one move the goalies are going to know what you re doing. You try to have a few moves you can go to. You re hoping that will work out. Over the last three seasons Detroit is just 7-17 in shootouts. In games, breakaways are a lot easier, Stephen Weiss said. All of a sudden you re on a breakaway. You don t have time to think about what to do. On a shootout you ve got time. You might have a couple guys go before you and start second-guessing your move. You just have to go in and shoot the puck. 12
I don t think (being fancy is) your intent, Weiss continued. Sometimes when you miss it may look that way, but you re trying to score. The hardest part is having that much time to think about what you re going to do. Sometimes you think yourself out of things. Many of the Wings feel the shootouts have run their course. I think a lot of guys are getting sick of it, said Howard, who s allowed 45 goals on 150 shots in shootouts. There are a lot of different reasons for it. It was fun at the beginning, but I think how we re deciding games it s a tough way. Sometimes it s not indicative of how you played. You get in the shootout and the pucks go in and all of a sudden you didn t have a good game. If they want to get rid of the shootouts go right to five minutes of 3-on-3, Weiss said. I think you would see a lot of games ending in 3-on-3. I think the players would love it. The fans would love it and you d get rid of a lot of shootouts. I heard some ideas about going to a 3-on-3, Nyquist said. I kind of like the idea. I think that s going to end a lot of games. For sure you re going to get chances. I think the crowd likes the shootout, but I think the 3-on-3 sounds pretty interesting. Macomb Daily LOADED: 11.12.2014 13