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Quick Hits: The Wild Card Edition

Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

Red Wings Rumblings

Happy Victory Monday to all who celebrate!

How about those Red Wings? Currently riding as six-game win streak after last night’s OT win in Vancouver — Detroit is 7-2-1 in their last 10 games, making them one of the three hottest teams in the Eastern Conference. Last night’s win put the Wings at 59 points, which has them sitting in the first wild card spot for the time being. Here are the highlights from last night’s game, courtesy of the NHL:

So, can we call Todd McLellan’s coaching voodoo yet? Detroit is going to finish this road trip with at least six out of eight points. I was expecting less given the matchups, and maybe they stole a win or two that they shouldn’t have, but consider me pleasantly surprised by this team’s grit and determination. Gutsy to say the least. I digress, the Wings are 14-4-1 since McLellan took over and have had TWO different six-game winning streaks since then. If it wasn’t obvious before, it should be now — coaching was the problem.

Detroit has two games this week — Tuesday in Seattle and then Saturday back at home against Tampa. Then the NHL will take a break for the Four Nations Face-Off. Is anyone really that excited to watch this (meaningless) tournament? Can you tell that I am not? 🙂

Need to mention this — we learned more about Jeff Petry’s status over the weekend. The veteran defenseman had surgery and is expected to miss 6-8 weeks. That could certainly make for a very interesting situation at the trade deadline. Will GMSY add depth via trade or stay with the options he has in Grand Rapids?

Down in the AHL, the Griffins had themselves a stinker of a weekend — shutout in back-to-back games against Colorado. Not the case for the Toledo Walleye, though! The ECHL club won all three of its games this weekend, and hey look — another highlight-reel save from Carter Gylander.

Looking to some NHL news — Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman has been offered an in-person hearing from NHL DoPS after a dirtbag stunt against Ottawa’s Tim Stutzle Saturday night. Hartman isn’t new to this — he served a couple of games in 2023 for tripping Alex DeBrincat, among other violations he’s had. Hartman was assessed a match penalty and I would EXPECT he gets a hefty suspension.

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