Red Wings Rumblings
We’ve all had some time to settle after the first game of the regular season. Quick recap here: It SUCKED! Not much to say other than that.. But here are some of my thoughts:
It’s game one, so I’m not willing to go crazy with overreaction, but this is not really the way you want to start 2024-2025. Few bright spots, many ugly spots:
Bright side: The Wings didn’t start slow. Actually, they looked pretty good in the first period. The first line was productive (two goals and an assist for DeBrincat and Lucas Raymond picked up a pair of helpers). I also liked what I saw from Simon Edvinsson.
Ugly side: The defense was an absolute mess. Missed assignments, sloppy play, etc. Mix that with some very underwhelming goaltending from Husso and Talbot and well, you’re probably not going to win many games with that formula. Really was not a fan of what I saw from players like Jeff Petry and Erik Gustafsson. I already miss Jake Walman. 🙁
Speaking of Petry — he left the game with an upper-body injury. Haven’t seen any update on how serious it may or may not be. His status for the next game is in question for now. Would guess that Albert Johansson will make his NHL debut if Petry is out on Saturday.
The Red Wings are back in action Saturday night at LCA, hosting Steven Stamkos and the Nashville Predators.
In other Red Wings related news, the Grand Rapids Griffins will open the AHL regular season tonight at Van Andel Arena against the Milwaukee Admirals. Fans who attend games at Van Andel Arena this season will notice a big change at center ice:
I said this already on social media, but this new scoreboard was LONG overdue… Though I am going to kinda miss the old one. It had an old-school “Joe Louis Arena” vibe to it.