Detroit Red Wings: Rasmussen scores and Update on Green

The Detroit Red Wings remain undefeated in the 2018 preseason.  The Wings traveled to Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins in a matinée contest.  The Wings came away victorious for the fourth straight game.

Michael Rasmussen and Andreas Athanasiou scored again for the Detroit Red Wings in Pittsburgh. Both players have recorded at least one point in every preseason game they have played in this season.  Jeff Blashill clearly wanted to get a good look at Athanasiou in all situations.  AA played 23:32 minutes this afternoon, or a lot for a forward!

Trevor Daley would record the game-winning goal.  The play was made by Joe Veleno though.  An outstanding effort on the backcheck led to a take away by Veleno.  He was around his blueline, turned and lifted a beautiful saucer pass connecting with Trevor Daley who split the defense and broke in on a one on one and beat the Pittsburgh goaltender with a shot from around the hash marks.

Libor Sulak continues to impress the Detroit Red Wings brass and fans for that matter. Sulak played 21:02 this afternoon recording four shots on goal.  Although Sulak did not record a point, he was active and continued to display his beautiful stride.

The more we see Libor Sulak play it is becoming more and more apparent the 6’2 defender will start the season as a regular with the Red Wings.  It may be a stretch, but I would like to see Sulak begin with Danny DeKeyser as a top pair with early absence of Mike Green.

Dennis Cholowski plays big minutes again for the Wings. The Detroit Red Wings continue to lean on these young, dynamic defenders.  Cholowski played 21:45 and was a plus one.  Cholowski did not record a point or a shot on goal but played wonderfully all afternoon.

It is starting to feel like Cholowski and Sulak are leading the pack of four potential defenders to make the club out of preseason.  Filip Hronek played 19:45 and also did not record a point but recorded 3 shots on goal.  Joe Hicketts is the last man in this group we have been watching closely, Hicketts had the afternoon off.

Anthony Mantha looked good today.  Mantha steam rolled Brandon Rust of the Pittsburgh Penguins along with recording 6 shots on goal.  Mantha had his feet moving and played with a little bit of an edge all evening.  If Mantha can put together regular efforts like this all season long, he will be challenging to play against.

A couple of other Wings that played limited minutes were Evgeny Svechnikov (12:31).  I don’t understand, the guy has scored back to back game winners and is only playing 12 minutes and change?  Svechnikov is playing for a job, and Larkin is playing north of 22:00 minutes.  Nothing against Larkin, he’s the Wings best forward but maybe play him 18 and get a better look at Svechnikov?  Larkin will be ready for 22/23 minutes a night once the season starts don’t worry.

Joe Veleno only played 9:07, Zadina 16:23, and Danny DeKeyser 14:10.

Per Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press;  Ken Holland gives a positive update regarding Mike Green;

"General manager Ken Holland told the Free Press on Sunday that tests performed Friday by an infectious diseases specialist show Green, “is on the backside,” of the infection.“He’s going to take some time off, and when he feels better, we’ll get him on a bike, see how he responds,” Holland said.“he is over the worst of it,” Holland said. “Once he feels better, we’ll gradually start to push him a little bit and if his body doesn’t respond, we’ll back off and wait a few more days. It’s sort of like concussion protocol – slowly see how a player responds.“We have no time frame for when he will rejoin the team.”"

It is welcoming news, and it seems to be nothing too severe for Mike Green.  By the sounds of it, Green won’t be ready for opening night October 4th though. Libor Sulak and Dennis Cholowski will be, and they will try to play well enough to stay.  Players like Jonathan Ericsson and Nick Jensen should take notice; these kids are coming for their jobs.

The Detroit Red Wings travel to Chicago for an 8:30 Eastern Time start Tuesday.