Detroit Red Wings duck hunt: fairy tale ending or turn into a pumpkin? Plus Griffins

When I lived in the Mountain Standard Time Zone, I relished the late-night starts. Now that I’m back in the Eastern Standard Time Zone (and old), I dread these late-night games.

Fortunately, it’s a Friday night/Saturday morning, so there isn’t an early morning the next day, but staying up so late with hockey is still a challenge.

In 15 games this season, the Anaheim Ducks sit second from the bottom of the league with 12 points (record of 5-8-2 with a .400 point percentage and -13 goal differential). Not far ahead in the standings, the Detroit Red Wings sit 24th in the league with 15 games played and 15 points (record of 7-7-1) with a point percentage of .500 and a -8 goal differential). In short, it’s a battle of the basement teams.

Say what you will about the Detroit Red Wings being the better team, it’s still not a pretty look.

Overall, the Detroit Red Wings have trended in the right direction with their best game of the season, played a week ago against the New York Rangers (resulting in a loss), and their flashy win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Hopefully, the team doesn’t let up.

Detroit Red Wings need to continue their uptick in performance

After a bumpy start to the season, the Detroit Red Wings have pieced together an impressive couple of games, but have only one win to show for their output.

Now on a West Coast road trip, the boys are looking to win points against other teams who have faced their own challenges. All but the Los Angeles Kings have struggled to gain footing in a league meant to break the toughest of minds.

The Detroit Red Wings likely rotate a few players. Three games in four nights while traveling across the country seems to demand a change of faces. 

I’m hopelessly dreaming Albert Johansson gets a full-time gig in the Detroit Red Wings lineup. Arguably, Tyler Motte will factor into a game, along with Alex Lyon, who is returning from injury. Ville Husso has already returned to Grand Rapids, Michigan, after a short, unsuccessful stint with the Detroit Red Wings.

The team and beat writers haven’t announced the lineups for tonight, but it will likely be the same (or very close) to Wednesday’s matchup. 

It should be fun to watch out guys, especially the likes of Moritz Seider and Simon Edvinsson, play a competition that is different from the Connor McDavid’s and Sidney Crosby’s of the world. (No slight against the Anaheim Ducks, just a different tier of players—players neither they nor the Detroit Red Wings possess, yet).

Grand Rapids Griffins have a busy weekend

Meanwhile, the Grand Rapids Griffins host the Chicago Wolves tonight at 7 p.m. ET. A quick turnaround follows Saturday night against archrivals, the Milwaukee Admirals. Ville Husso couldn’t have returned at a better time (as much as I would love seeing Jan Bednař or Carter Gylander suit up), tomorrow’s game will be a brutal one. Having Husso as an option definitely helps the cause.

The Grand Rapids Griffins sit second in the central division with 13 games played with 19 points (9-3-1 record) with a points percentage of .731 and a +9 goal differential. These stats place the Grand Rapids Griffins at fifth overall in the American Hockey League (AHL) standings. 

Leading the pack is Grand Rapids Griffins legend Dominik Shine, 12 points (four goals, eight assists) in 13 games. Amadeus Lombardi is second with 10 points (five goals, five assists) in 13 games. Joe Snively rounds out the top three with 10 points (three goals, six assists) in 13 games. 

For any curious like myself, here are the young guys (statistics from the AHL website):

For context, I left Marco Kasper as a point of reference.

It’s my understanding that Carter Mazur and William Wallinder are injured. 

The number one starting goaltender for the Grand Rapids Griffins has played in 10 games, giving up 19 goals against with a shutout and 1.99 goals against average (GAA). He’s earned six wins, lost three in regulation and one in overtime. His save percentage (SAV%) is .935. It’s not a bad start to the season. There’s still room to grow, but it’s not a bumpy start by any means (at least overall statistic-wise).

Cossa is expected to make starts more often than not. In the previous season, he and Michael Hutchinson split duties pretty equally until the wind down to the regular season. In the playoffs, only Cossa played (rightfully so, as Cossa activated his beast mode switch and demanded the starter’s job).

Should be a fun and busy weekend for ice hockey. Here's to hoping fun, no injuries, and some wins!