from Ansar Khan of Mlive, Jimmy Howard made 40 saves Monday, but Anders Lee scored with 29 seconds remaining in overtime and the New York Islanders defeated the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 in a preseason game at the Nassau Coliseum. Michael Rasmussen and Evgeny Svechnikov scored for Detroit. The Red Wings (2-1-2) have played three consecutive OT games. They are off Tuesday before closing out their exhibition schedule with four games in four nights, starting Wednesday in Pittsburgh. continued Watch the two Detroit goals below.

“We didn’t play a good game tonight. We didn’t skate well. When we skate well, things tend to work out. We didn’t skate well enough or compete well enough. Our backchecking wasn’t strong enough, our transition wasn’t good, either. We weren’t coming back fast. We played a mostly AHL lineup on the other side, 20 players who are hungry, who worked hard all game and gave us problems. If we had guys who thought it would be an easy game, they didn’t prepare well and it’s a good lesson for everyone. You can’t prepare yourself after two periods, it’s too late. So tonight wasn’t a good game, and a loss sometimes brings everyone down to Earth and I hope that will be the case.” -Claude Julien, head coach of the Montreal Canadiens.  Eric Engels of Sportsnet has more on the 3-0 loss to Toronto.

from Larry Lage of the AP at USATODAY, OUTLOOK Red Wings fans have been clamoring for Yzerman to come back to lead the franchise. They got what they wanted, but Yzerman isn't going to be able to make miracles happen with a team that doesn't have much offense after its top two lines and a defense that is average at best. Coach Jeff Blashill acknowledged the organization has to be surprised by many of its players to speed up the turnaround. PREDICTION Detroit seems destined to win a little more than 30 games for a fourth straight season. Yzerman retained Blashill, who was given a two-year contract last spring, but there may be a change on the bench by this time next year. more

I like the intensity when these two clubs have met over the past few seasons, and can sense a budding rivalry. It's a good feeling. Great fans, great history on both sides. It's a, still the preseason Live Blog!

from Michael Traikos of the National Post, The numbers don’t add up. At least, not if you are the Toronto Maple Leafs. How else to explain what’s going on with restricted free agents these days? While the Leafs were forced into paying above sticker price for Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander, every other young player in the league seems to be giving their team a discount. It’s like buying a ticket to a hockey game, only to realize that the person sitting next to you got theirs for a quarter of the price. Days after Mitch Marner agreed to a $10.893-million cap hit, Boston defenceman Charlie McAvoy signed for just $4.9-million per year. A week later, Tampa Bay got centre Brayden Point under contract for $6.75-million annually. What’s next? Calgary’s Matthew Tkachuk and Winnipeg’s Patrik Laine signing for the league minimum? For the Leafs, it’s difficult not to see how this will affect the team going forward. continued

TSN Hockey Insiders Bob McKenzie, Darren Dreger and Pierre LeBrun discuss if Brayden Point’s three-year deal will push the remaining RFA’s to sign, the ongoing Kyle Connor and Patrik Laine negotiations in Winnipeg, Dustin Byfuglien’s unknown status, the latest on Taylor Hall’s contract talks in New Jersey, and more. Watch at TSN, no geo-blocking.

George left this on his site a few minutes ago. My mother has passed away at age 69. She died sometime on Sunday and I found her on Sunday night. She had a severe urinary tract infection and may have succumbed to a number of things. We will probably never know. I do not know when I will return or what the future holds for The Malik Report, but I will keep you apprised of the situation. Thank you for your time, readership and support. I know George's mother has had her ups and downs the last 3-4 years. Thoughts go out to George and his aunt during this time.

LIVE STREAM: Red Wings vs. Islanders tonight on FOX Sports GO. https://t.co/yyE8XHZWVq — FOX Sports Detroit (@FOXSportsDet) September 23, 2019

The Wings skated in Detroit, then headed to Long Island to face the Islanders. No game tomorrow, then off to Pittsburgh to face the Penguins on Wednesday. Jeff Blashill is below after the skate.   "I feel good. I'm ready to go." Dennis Cholowski in tonight. | #DETvsNYI pic.twitter.com/CsZlc7l19L — Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) September 23, 2019

Brayden Point signed for 3 years at $6.75 million. — Eric Francis (@EricFrancis) September 23, 2019

from Emily Kaplan of ESPN, On the Devils' roster needing more talent surrounding him To be honest, there was never a time when I sat with Ray and I said, "This needs to get better." Nor did he ever ask me anything like that. When I came out in the media and said we need more talent, that was fairly obvious. I think I was saying something that wasn't news to anyone. I think everyone in the organization saw that this was a summer of opportunity with a lot of teams that were in cap trouble. Last year I was hoping they would make a splash in free agency, but looking back, there probably wasn't anybody worth chasing after. They did a great job this summer. I don't ever look at it like they're making moves to satisfy me or they're doing things to make me happy. They're just trying to create the best team possible, and I want to be the best player possible on this team. On Jack Hughes He makes the game look easy. It doesn't look like his heart rate is too high when he's out there because he's so calm and poised with the puck. He's never panicking. His stride is pretty effortless. I'm really impressed with his shot. He has a better shot than I saw two years ago when I first skated with him. I honestly thought he could barely shoot the puck when he was 15 years old. That's only going to keep getting better. more

from Dana Gauruder at the Detroit Free Press, Any doubts about Dylan Larkin's health were squashed in his preseason debut on Sunday night. The Detroit Red Wings' star center picked up steam as the game went along, then put his speed, skill and playmaking ability into overdrive on the final play. Larkin's assist on Madison Bowey's overtime game-winner put the dazzle into an otherwise drab preseason game. Larkin won a faceoff against Pittsburgh's Jared McCann in his own zone, pounced on the puck and skated along the left side, then made a cut to the right while splitting defenders after entering the Penguins' zone. He reached the goal line, stopped hard and found Bowey wide open in the slot. The pass, as usual, was exquisite. "Better and better as the game went along," coach Jeff Blashill said of Larkin's debut. "Obviously, he made an unreal play at the end there." Having Larkin back was much like taking the Lamborghini out of the garage for a spin. continued Below, watch the extended game highlights.

from Ed Willes of the Vancouver Province, 1: Is Jacob Markstrom an upper-tier NHL goalie? After a brutal November, he certainly was over the final four months of last season. The Canucks can’t win with average goaltending. They need Markstrom to be a top 10 ‘keeper. 2: Is Elias Pettersson an 80-point centreman? He’s the Canucks’ best player and teams go as far as their best players take them. Pettersson’s talent isn’t the question. It’s can he establish himself as a legitimate No. 1 centre over the NHL’s 82-game grind. 3: Can Quinn Hughes and the Canucks’ young stars revive the power play? more

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Sports Business Journal on Monday named Grand Rapids-Comstock Park, Mich., as the “Top Minor League Market” in the United States, the latest in an extensive list of national honors for the West Michigan region.   The market, which Sports Business Journal defines as including the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins, the Midwest League’s West Michigan Whitecaps and the NBA G League’s Grand Rapids Drive, completes its ascendency in the publication’s biennial rankings. Grand Rapids-Comstock Park ranked sixth in 2017 after claiming the final spot in the top 10 in 2015.   “I think it’s a validation of what we’re doing here, the work that’s being done from a franchise level,” said Griffins president Tim Gortsema, who has been with the team since before the first puck dropped in 1996. “But it’s a larger validation for the community and the outpouring of support that West Michigan has had for the Griffins, the Whitecaps and the Drive for years.

3-2 over Pittsburgh in OT. Highlights below.

Ya. After the typical tying goal in the last two minutes, followed by the game winner in OT, you'd think we would be learning how to break the old habits. I don't know aboot the rest of you, but it's always disappointing to lose. Unacceptable. It's a Live Blog!

from Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press, With two weeks to go, here are projections for the opening night lineup (subject to change because of injuries).... Forwards Line 1: Dylan Larkin centering Anthony Mantha and Tyler Bertuzzi Line 2: Frans Nielsen centering Andreas Athanasiou and Taro Hirose Line 3: Valtteri Filppula centering Adam Erne and Christoffer Ehn Line 4: Luke Glendening centering Justin Abdelkader and Darren Helm Defense Pair 1: Patrik Nemeth and Mike Green Pair 2: Danny DeKeyser and Filip Hronek Pair 3: Trevor Daley and Madison Bowey more on each of the lines plus reserves and goalthending...

via Mark Dreyer of SupChina, A regular season record 6,200 people saw the game against Barys, before a new franchise record of 7,716 saw the game against Traktor (beating the 7,100 who watched Red Star’s playoff win against Metallurg in Beijing). But that was beaten just one day later, as 8,115 went to the Universiade Sports Complex in Shenzhen to see a 2-1 win. That’s way up on last season’s average of 2,507, and above the league-wide average of 6,121. The team’s attendance figure would rank sixth in the 25-team league based on last year’s averages.... And in a seamless transition to another warm-weather hockey haven, the Dallas Stars have linked up with the Shougang Eagles Hockey Club in Beijing, under which amateur coaching staff from the Stars will train players in Beijing, while the Eagles will also get to travel to Dallas to hone their skills there. The Stars have taken this opportunity to launch a Weibo account, becoming the fifth NHL club to do so, and looking to emulate the success on Chinese social media of their arena mates, the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks.

The paperwork has been filed but it can be reversed at any time and it’s not something that would come as any surprise to Byfuglien. In the meantime, WPG waits while he ponders his future. — Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) September 22, 2019   The Jets made the right move and had to protect themselves cap-wise but it’s not easy because they want Byfuglien back... it’s a though situation for everyone involved right now. But the suspension paperwork is understandable. — Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) September 22, 2019

from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun, - Kyle Dubas would like Mike Babcock to change and be more open-minded. And then training camp opens. And same old Babcock. Clearly, Babcock wasn’t thrilled with Dubas’ signing of Jason Spezza and he couldn’t hide it or help himself and took a couple of unnecessary shots at the veteran forward. - The Boston Bruins should teach an NHL course: How to work the salary cap? They got Charlie McAvoy for $3 million a year less than Ottawa paid Thomas Chabot. Brandon Carlo at less than $3 million a year is rather magical signing as well. - My advice to Patrick Laine: Watch game films of last season. Try and find yourself on some of them. more

from Dana Wakiji of DetroitRedWings.com, "Obviously, it's scary when it's your heart," de la Rose said after Saturday's practice at Little Caesars Arena. "You don't really know what's going on. You know right away it's something serious when it comes to the heart. I knew I was in good hands with the doctors and everything. It was the second time it had happened, too. It happened in Montreal in training camp last year, so I kind of knew what it was this time. "We decided to have a procedure done and everything went well. I feel normal. I had a good summer and was able to work out as usual, so I feel fine and I feel excited to get this season going." The 24-year-old Swede experienced no trouble in playing back-to-back games against the Chicago Blackhawks to start the preseason. In the first game, at Little Caesars Arena, de la Rose had 23 shifts for 20:19, had one shot, three hits, one giveaway and was an impressive 10-for-13 in face-offs. In the second game, at Chicago's United Center, de la Rose had 21 shifts for 18:10, had one shot, three hits, one giveaway, two takeaways and was 5-for-14 in face-offs. read on plus more notes after today's practice...

from David Satriano of NHL.com, The town of Calumet, Michigan, is so synonymous with hockey, it boasts the oldest indoor ice arena in North American and is considered the birthplace of professional hockey. Built in 1913, Calumet Colosseum has withstood a lot in its more than 100 years of existence but received much-needed upgrades as the winner of Kraft Hockeyville USA 2019. Hundreds of communities entered, but Calumet was selected and awarded $150,000 in rink upgrades and will receive $10,000 worth of new equipment from the NHLPA Goals & Dreams fund in addition to hosting a preseason NHL game between the Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues and Detroit Red Wings on Thursday (7 p.m. ET, NBCSN). "It's phenomenal. Everybody's talking about Hockeyville and this rink," rink manager Mark Peters said. "Everyone in this community has a smile on their face. We're really excited for this. Everybody's going to be able to see the changes in the rink. The sheet of ice is incredible right now." continued

from Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe, Much has changed in the new NHL. The game is faster, the goals fewer, and the hits don’t necessarily keep on coming, certainly not as many of those big, explosive, seek-and-destroy hits that 5-10 years ago were the stock footage of video montages played on arena big screens across the league. What happened to all that thump? The overall emphasis on the game’s speed, hand in hand with coaches preaching puck possession, have altered the dynamic of the hitting game, particularly for the six blue liners who suit up each night to protect the back ends of their respective teams. “I think there is still room to make hits, and being physical is still a big part of the game,” noted Bruins captain Zdeno Chara, who delivered more that 200 smacks a season, 2006-08, his first two years in residence in Boston. “But the last few years, the puck is the key — play the puck first. It is always nice to finish checks, and make big splash hits. But I think to be able to prevent the pass going through you, or stopping the play with your stick, is more effective or valuable [today] than going out there and making the big hit, and the puck goes through and someone makes a play. The puck is the key.” continued plus additional hockey topics...

Next game is Sunday at 5pm with the Wings hosting the Penguins.  The game is on the NHL Network and Fox Sports Detroit. The only report is Justin Abdelkader was in the ice with the team this morning. That's about it, enjoy your Saturday and I will update as needed.

from Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times, DeBrincat is just the 10th player in the last three decades to score more than 68 goals in his first two seasons. His company includes Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby and Steven Stamkos, but not Kane or Toews. At this rate, he’s due for a new contract next summer with a cap hit pushing $10 million, which would cement his position as a cornerstone for the Hawks’ post-dynasty era. And yet, he doesn’t carry himself as a cornerstone at all. “I feel like I’m more quiet in the locker room. I try to stay out of the chirping and stuff,” DeBrincat said. “Those core guys have been there for a long time and are obviously very respected around the league. So especially my first year, I kind of stayed away and kept my mouth shut so I didn’t get in any trouble. I know them pretty well now, and it’s easy to joke around with them, but I had to keep my mouth shut until someone talked to me.” Despite the lighthearted intentions of the media tour, DeBrincat didn’t stray far from that mouth-shut identity. He seemed amused but rarely delivered the comedy that segment hosts were looking for. more

from Ansar Khan of Mlive, “One of the things we got to get Zadina to understand is it’s super hard in this league to self-create,” Blashill said. “In order to self-create, you’ve got to be super-fast or super big and strong and he’s not either one of those, so what he’s got to do is make sure he does a really good job in his give-go game. “I think sometimes Filip wants to score so bad that he’s trying to do it all himself. We’ll just keep working on trying to get better opportunities to have a give-and-go, give it, dart to areas and get it back.” Zadina, who is competing for a spot on the NHL roster, said he’s been through stretches like this before. “I just want to be patient,” Zadina said. “It’s not about the goals. I just want to play hockey, have fun and win the games. “I’m not a selfish guy, so I just want to pass it back. For sure I want to keep the puck but at some point, (but) I got to pass it back quicker and I can keep the puck on my blade longer.” more and othe topics too from Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News, A disappointing finish for the Red Wings, exhibition season or not. Islanders forward Anthony Beauvillier forced overtime with a late goal, then won it 32 seconds into overtime, giving the Islanders a 4-3 victory. continued Below watch Moritz Seider, Anthony Mantha, Filip Zadina and Jeff Blashill after the game.

The best part of the preseason is watching the kids that really want to make an impact and make the Team. The boring part of the preseason is waiting for the vets to show up and play half as tough as the youngsters. It's another preseason Live Blog!

TAMPA BAY – The Tampa Bay Lightning announced today they have officially added Caley Chelios as a member of their radio broadcast team, promoting her to the position of radio analyst & digital reporter. She will serve as color analyst for all Lightning road games and will also fill in for team founder Phil Esposito when he is unavailable for home broadcasts. Chelios’ radio broadcast responsibilities will be her primary focus, working alongside 18-year veteran Dave Mishkin. She will continue to contribute to Lightning content initiatives including serving as a reporter/host for TampaBayLightning.com and LightningVision.  Chelios joined the Lightning in 2016 as the team’s hockey reporter.  She has since grown the role exponentially, being featured on national hockey shows, including becoming a fixture on NHL Network, providing analysis regarding the Bolts across North America. After unofficially starting her analyst role during live web streams of Lightning Development Camp 3-on-3 Tournament games, Chelios began making appearances with Mishkin on radio during the 2018 preseason and continued for select regular season games during that regular season. Chelios majored in communications at Northwestern University and earned a Master’s degree in journalism while also playing on the women’s lacrosse team.  She won the NCAA National Championship with the Wildcats in 2012.

from Ken Campbell of The Hockey News, When the Ottawa Senators announced the signing of 22-year-old defenseman Thomas Chabot to an eight-year deal worth $64 million, it was almost universally hailed as a very good move by the team. After all, Chabot has displayed an enormous amount of potential as an NHLer and will almost certainly be the Senators’ next captain. Forget that the deal will probably considered a bargain before too long, it was also a show of faith to Senators fans that after years of dysfunction, perhaps better times lie ahead. One of the outliers in all of this was former NHL star and current television broadcaster Jeremy Roenick, who acknowledged in a tweet that Chabot, “is a great kid with some serious skill.” He then publicly expressed his amazement at what 80 career points in the NHL gets you these days... continued

With an additional comment in the video...   “People always ask me, ‘How’s camp going?’ We look good against each other. It’s nice to put on an opposing jersey and get in a game situation. You certainly find out a lot more once you’re able to play a game.” — #NYR Coach Quinn pic.twitter.com/w4ulFtFF54 — New York Rangers (@NYRangers) September 20, 2019

from Dana Wakiji of DetroitRedWings.com, Detroit Red Wings fans will get to see a fresh face and some welcome young veteran faces when the team hosts the New York Islanders in their third exhibition game tonight at Little Caesars Arena. The fresh face is Oliwer Kaski, the free agent Finnish defenseman the Wings signed May 28. Like several other players, Kaski was nursing a tweak or two after a tough training camp but is finally ready to play. During the morning skate, Kaski was running the point on the power-play unit that had Michael Rasmussen, Taro Hirose, Adam Erne and Filip Hronek. "I want to see him on the power play," Wings coach Jeff Blashill said of Kaski. "Obviously, see (Dennis) Cholowski on the power play and Hronek. You only have so many spots but a real good chance for Kaski." continued with more topics...

from Frank Seravalli of TSN, Here are five recent first-round picks fighting for jobs in Canadian training camps: Evan Bouchard (Oilers) Age: 19 Position: Defence Shoots: Right Draft: 10th overall (2018) Last Year: London (OHL), 45 GP, 16 goals, 37 assists, 53 points Scoop: Edmonton’s most glaring need on defence is a partner for Oscar Klefbom. That is Bouchard’s opening to earn a full-time spot on the roster. Bouchard broke camp with the Oil last year, scoring his first NHL goal in his seven-game audition. He earned the nickname “Old Man Bouchard” around town for his laid-back demeanour. He rarely seemed rattled on the ice. It was perhaps his relative lack of intensity or urgency that raised eyebrows at the World Junior Championship for Team Canada. Fellow Swedish import Joel Persson has gotten the bulk of the ice time with Klefbom to start camp, but Bouchard has plenty of opportunity in front of him. 4 more players...

Blashill up first, below are Mantha and Rasmussen.   Coach Blashill looks to tonight's preseason matchup with the Islanders. pic.twitter.com/TOU7jvfd4E — Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) September 20, 2019

Tonight's game will be streamed on the Wings' website and the FoxSports Go app but you have to be in the Detroit market to watch. Puck drop is 7:30pm ET. via Ansar Khan tweet, lines at the skate: Bertuzzi-Rasmussen-Mantha Hirose-Filppula-Athanasiou Erne-Nielsen-Zadina Helm-Veleno-Svechnikov Defense: DeKeyser-Hronek Cholowski-Seider Hicketts-Kaski Howard (starting) Pickard Detroit roster for the game tonight is below.

TAMPA BAY – Former Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Dan Girardi announced his retirement today after 13 NHL seasons, including two with the Bolts. “I would like to thank all my coaches, family, friends and teammates for supporting me throughout my entire hockey career,” Girardi said. “I want to thank the New York Rangers for giving me a chance to fulfill my childhood dream of playing in the NHL. Throughout those 11 incredible years I have made so many friends on and off the ice. I bled Ranger blue and gave it my all for my team, the city and the Garden faithful. I also want to thank the Tampa Bay Lightning for helping me continue my career by giving me a chance to play for such an amazing organization, city and fan base. The last two years in Tampa Bay have been so much fun for me and my family. I will always fondly remember my time here. Finally, I want to thank my wife Pamela for always being there for me and holding down the fort and to Landon and Shaye for always being daddy’s No. 1 fans. “I gave my all every single night and left it all out on the ice. Now it’s time for the next chapter of my life to begin and I couldn't be happier...and so is my body.”