Detroit — There's been some tough discussions in the Red Wings' meeting rooms this week.
Bad losses to New Jersey (6-2) and Boston (5-1) exposed a variety of issues, and coach Derek Lalonde has had to address it with different players.
"I had some hard conversations with a lot of different guys (Wednesday) morning," said Lalonde, after Tuesday's Devils loss. "That's all part of it."
Chances are, not too many bets would have had forward Dominik Kubalik leading the Wings in scoring heading into Saturday's game, with October nearly coming to a close.
Kubalik had a team-leading 10 points and six assists, and was tied with Larkin and David Perron with a team-high four goals.
Chicago, interestingly, chose not to extend Kubalik a qualifying offer after last season, making Kubalik an unrestricted free agent. Days later, when free agency began, Yzerman quickly signed Kubalik a two-year contract worth $5 million ($2.5 million per year cap hit).
Lalonde had Kubalik among the bottom-six forwards in the preseason and the start of the regular season. But the rash of injuries quickly skyrocketed Kubalik to the top line, where Kubalik hasn't looked out of place.
Thus far, the Kubalik and Red Wings pairing has fit perfectly.
"I was kind of looking to get back where I was when I came (from Europe) and get back to my game," Kubalik said. "Last year, pretty much the whole season, I just didn't feel like myself. I wasn't getting scoring chances. I didn't even shoot.
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/nhl/red-wings/2022/10/29/hard-conversations-part-of-lalondes-dealings-with-red-wings-players/69602523007/
The Wings, meanwhile, bounced back from a pair of lopsided road losses last week with a 2-1 win over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night at Little Caesars Arena. Second-year forward Lucas Raymond netted both goals for his first scores of the season after putting up 23 goals (and 34 assists) in 82 games last season.
TT has been in on our last four goals. Nice hit by Quinn!
