Neues » DETROIT (AP) The Detroit Red Wings‘ debut season at Little Caesars

DETROIT (AP) The Detroit Red Wings‘ debut season at Little Caesars Arena fell short Womens Claude Giroux Jersey , even of low expectations.Detroit was not projected by many to make the playoffs but the Red Wings didn’t come close.Detroit won just 30 games and finished 24 points behind the wild-card teams in the Eastern Conference, faring even worse than it did during last year’s farewell season at Joe Louis Arena. And some nights, it was as quiet as a library in their spectacular new home.”It was a tough year,” forward Justin Abdelkader said. ”Hopefully, we have guys in here that understand the long offseason gives all of us an opportunity to come back bigger, stronger and faster. We’ve got a lot of picks and hopefully some of those guys can help at some point next season and in the years to come. I don’t think we’re far off because we have a lot of pieces in this room.”The Red Wings, who didn’t miss the playoffs from 1991 to 2016, had their season end in with the regular-season finale in consecutive years for the first time since 1979-83. Back then, fans referred to them as Dead Wings and the team gave away cars to draw fans to the games.HE’S BACKThe Red Wings will continue to rely on general manager Ken Holland. He helped the franchise win four Stanley Cups from 1997 to 2008 and was given a two-year deal recently to stay in place and turn things around.”When I fly in an airplane, I always love to fly with a pilot who’s done it before http://www.flyersshoponline.com/authentic-ivan-provorov-jersey ,” team President Chris Ilitch said. ”Ken Holland has had the experience of seeing a Detroit Red Wing team in the 1980s build from the ground all the way up to the Stanley Cup champion.”ON THE BENCHJeff Blashill, who won 33 and 41 games the previous two years as coach, is expected to have his future addressed by Holland after the Red Wings gather Tuesday. On Monday, he was named the head coach for the U.S. national team competing at the world championships in Denmark next month.BRIGHT SPOTSThe Red Wings don’t have any superstars right now, but they have some younger players who could develop into game-changers.Dylan Larkin, a 21-year-old center, led the team with 63 points and made a relatively smooth transition from wing.”We had some guys that are significant in the growth of this team I thought take steps forward,” Blashill said. ”Larkin certainly would be at the top of that list. I’ve said before we need some guys to become elite players in their prime. I thought he took a step from a guy who a year ago in the middle part of the year was struggling on the wing, to a guy who is really coming as a two-way center.”Anthony Mantha, a 23-year-old wing Jakub Voracek Jersey Kids , led the team with 23 goals. Tyler Bertuzzi had 24 points in 48 games in his first extended opportunity to play in the NHL as a 23-year-old wing.ONE TO WATCHAndreas Athanasiou, a 23-year-old center, was inconsistent after holding out for a bigger contract last fall. He is a restricted free agent, eligible for arbitration, and may want to be on the move.Does he want to play for the Red Wings next season?”I want to be an NHL player,” he said. ”I want to be in this league. I’ve been very happy to wear a Red Wings wheel, but it’s a business so we’ll see what happens.”LOTTERY LUCKThe Red Wings have an 8.5-percent chance to land the No. 1 overall pick, a selection that is widely is expected to be Swedish defenseman Rasmus Dahlin. Detroit desperately needs a potential superstar such as Dahlin, but will have a pair of first-round picks and an NHL-high 11 selections in the draft.— SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) Evander Kane followed a similar timeline after each of his first eight NHL regular seasons.Pack up the locker Youth Jordan Weal Jersey , say goodbye to teammates and get frustrated watching other players compete in the playoffs rather than getting his own opportunity on the big stage.A late-season trade to San Jose changed all that for Kane, who is excited for his first chance at the postseason after 574 career games when the Sharks open their first-round series in Anaheim on Thursday night.”I’ve said it in the past: I think I’m a playoff player,” Kane said Monday. ”I’ve watched the playoffs and when I look at the style of play and it’s something I was jealous because I wasn’t involved in it. Now I get that opportunity and I have to back those words up.”Kane has had plenty of personal success since making his debut for Atlanta as an 18-year-old in 2009 after being the fourth overall pick that year. But his teams never had success in Atlanta, Winnipeg or Buffalo and he always spent the spring as a spectator rather than as a participant.He joins a franchise that has been a playoff regular, making the postseason for the 13th time in the past 14 seasons under general manager Doug Wilson, including a run to the Stanley Cup Final two years ago.”Fans and players in this organization are spoiled when it comes to that,” center Logan Couture said. ”You make the playoffs 13 of 14 years – obviously it starts at the top with Doug and the coaching staffs they’ve brought in here. It’s pretty remarkable really to make the playoffs that many times. I missed it once and it’s devastating when you miss it. We’re lucky to play for this organization.”That’s why Kane was so excited about the trade to San Jose on Feb. 26 for two draft picks and a prospect.Kane has made a big impact on the Sharks since arriving. He stepped right onto the top line with captain Joe Pavelski and has used his speed and physical play to deliver nine goals and five assists in 17 games.His presence sparked an eight-game winning streak in March that helped San Jose clinch a playoff berth and he has helped fill a scoring void created when Patrick Marleau left as a free agent for Toronto last summer and then Joe Thornton went down with a knee injury in January.”In the short period he’s been here, he’s brought speed which backs teams off, he’s brought a physical presence, which keeps some people honest Scott Laughton Jersey ,” coach Peter DeBoer said. ”For me, the biggest thing is he’s probably added a goal a night for us. When Patty Marleau left, and we asked guys to take a step, you’re not scoring as much as you normally would, and there was a lot of 2-1 games and we found a way to battle things out. Eventually, Jumbo going down, it started to catch up with us. That extra goal a game that he’s added to our lineup, whether it’s him scoring himself or creating a goal, that’s a difference in this league.”Kane was hampered late in the season by an undisclosed injury that forced him to miss two games before returning for the season finale against Minnesota on Saturday.Kane didn’t look like his usual self that game but said it was important to get rid of some ”cobwebs” before the playoffs started and he gets the chance to back up his belief that he can thrive at this time of year.”It’s a fast, hard-nosed game Womens Sean Couturier Jersey ,” he said. ”The intensity ramps up and the style of play. It’s hard to score. There are a lot of 2-1 games, 3-2 games, and you have to find different ways to score. I’ve always prided myself on being able to score in different ways and I think the physical element as well. That’s a big part of the playoffs. Guys who have 20 hits all year the next thing you know they have 20 hits in two games. It’s definitely a different animal and I’m looking forward to experiencing it.”NOTES: DeBoer said he expects all his players to be available for Game 1 on Thursday with the exception of Thornton, who has been out since Jan. 23.—