Red Wings Wrap: Is It One And Done For Pearson?

Chase Pearson’s long-awaited NHL debut with the Detroit Red Wings finally came on Thursday against the New York Islanders. It didn’t go well for the Wings, who were 5-2 losers but Pearson played solidly as fourth-line center between Adam Erne and Sam Gagner. Pearson finished +1 when Gagner scored Detroit’s second goal.

“I thought Chase did a solid job,” Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. “He went in and did his job. He forechecked pretty good, he was solid defensively and he did a good job.

“I thought that was a great, great moment for him.”

Congrats to Chase Pearson, who became the 191st Griffin to play in the NHL! #GoGRG pic.twitter.com/r8ej4ZX46I

— Grand Rapids Griffins (@griffinshockey) March 24, 2022

And yet, reading between the lines, it’s sounding like there might not be a chance for Pearson to get an encore. Blashill was non-committal about Pearson playing Saturday at Little Caesars Arena against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

“I’m glad he got a chance to play,” Blashill said. “We’ll see what the future brings but I thought he did a good job.”

Milestone For Red Wings Captain Larkin

Who’s Hot: Dylan Larkin’s second assist in Tuesday’s home-ice win over the Philadelphia Flyers was the 350th point of his NHL career.

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Who’s Not: Detroit forward Michael Rasmussen has gone seven games without a point and 10 games without a goal.

Griffins Recall Fulcher

With the promotion of Calvin Pickard to Detroit, the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins found themselves down a goaltender. They solved that problem by recalling Kaden Fulcher from the ECHL Toledo Walleye.

The Griffins fell to 0-2 on their four-game West Coast trip with a 7-3 loss on Friday to the Bakersfield Condors. They play the Condors again on Saturday and are at the Ontario Reign on Sunday.

In Case You Missed It

• Darren McCarty likes Claude Lemieux the guy. He’s not so fond of Claude Lemieux the player
• Red Wings goalie Thomas Greiss will be missing weekend games against Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh
• Where might Detroit be selecting in the first round of the 2022 NHL entry draft?

Around The NHL

Pittsburgh: Missing center Evgeni Malkin, the Pittsburgh Penguins, who play host to Detroit on Sunday, were smacked 5-1 by the New York Rangers on Friday.

Boston: Not so long ago, the Red Wings were six points behind the Boston Bruins for a playoff spot. Now, the Bruins are talking about their chances of winning the Eastern Confrence.

Philadelphia: Travis Konecny was a late scratch as the Philadelphia Flyers fell 6-3 to the Avs.

Islanders: A big part of their Thursday win over the Red Wings, forward Anthony Beauvillier is trying to show the New York Islanders that he is part of their future.

Washington: The struggling Washington Capitals scraped out a shootout victory over the surging Buffalo Sabres.

Florida: Recently-acquired Ben Chiarot was helping the Florida Panthers put a beating on his old team the Montreal Canadiens.

Colorado: Newly-added forward Artturi Lehkonen remains tangled up in immigration red tape while trying to get to the Colorado Avalanche from Montreal.

Vegas; Could Evgenii Dadonov’s voided trade turn out to be the best thing to happen this season to the Vegas Golden Knights forward.

Vancouver: GM JIm Rutherford is back on the job for the Vancouver Canucks after a bout with COVID-19.

Calgary: In a 4-2 win over the Arizona Coyotes, Calgary Flames coach Darryl Sutter reunited his top line of Matthew Tkachuk, Johnny Gaudreau and Elias Lindholm.

Montreal: With Northeastern bounced from the NCAA Tournament, the Montreal Canadiens are in position to sign prospect Jordan Harris of the Huskies.