Last night’s friendly against the Capitals went about as well as it could, with solid performances from vets and impressive looks from prospects in the 5-2 win. The A-squad now gets a rest as the B-squad takes the ice on the second half of the back-to-back. Well, maybe not the full B-squad…
Time: 7:00pm
Where To Watch: ESPN+
Berggren Danielson Sprong
Söderblom Lombardi Hirose
Sawchuk Bliss Määttä Gostisbehere
Edvinsson Petry
Johansson Tuomisto
McIsaac Didier
Well well well… take a look at that Line 3. Yes, that’s #29 Nate Danielson pulling double duty. After assisting on the Cross Hanas goal last night, and scoring our first goal of the pre-season against the Penguins, the 2023 9th overall pick is obviously giving management a lot to think about and warranting more looks on the ice. It’ll be interesting to see if Lalonde tries stacking him up against Bedard, after the Chicago pick’s comments back at the draft.
That’s right, hockey’s next Golden Child is expected to take the ice tonight. Bedard has 2 assists in the pre-season so far (1GP). Ideally, I’d like to see this squad hold him off the scoresheet tonight. Realistically, I’ll be happy if they can just keep up.
Another storyline to watch for is in net for the Wings. Tonight features Lyon and Reimer. Nobody else. Detroit has carried 3 goalies at least once this pre-season, but it looks like tonight is going to factor at least somewhat significantly into who is awarded the back-up role and who (possibly) gets exposed to waivers before Opening Night. I’m still looking hard at Lyon for the back-up role, and I hope he can shine tonight.
Finally, there are rightfully going to be quite a few eyes on the defense pairings. Edvinsson is STILL paired with Petry, and now we’re getting to see Määttä with Gostisbehere. Kyle Kujawa had previously predicted that Määttä/Ghost could be a look, and it seems like Lalonde & Co. are ready to try it. Edvinsson is most likely still skating next to Petry to learn some veteran lessons, but part of me wonders if there’s something there that the coaches like. The longer these pairings are kept together, I think it gets more likely that they stay together (and in Edvinsson’s case, that obviously means making the roster).
Sound off in the comments on my crack-pot theories, the game, and the state of our pre-season in general.
LGRW
