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Holl Hoping For More in Second Red Wings Season

Defenseman played game-high 21:59 in Tuesday’s win over Pittsburgh

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3 months ago

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Justin Holl, Red Wings
Justin Holl wants to play more in his second season with the Red Wings.

There was plenty to take notice of as the Detroit Red Wings won a 2-1 NHL preseason road victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday.

Start with Ville Husso. Playing his first 60-minute game since December, the veteran puckstopper was turning aside 43 shots for the victory. Then there was a beauty of a breakaway goal by 2023 top draft pick Nate Danielson to win the game.

Another Red Wings prospect, Amadeus Lombardi, was sniping Detroit’s first goal, going top shelf from the high slot. Rugged forward Austin Watson, seeking a deal from a PTO, dished out a game-high 12 hits.

Then there was defenseman Justin Holl. You probably didn’t really notice him at all.

In Holl’s case, that’s a good thing.

Steady and reliable is what the Red Wings are looking for from Holl. The only NHL-esperienced defender in what was mostly an AHL-laden Detroit lineup, Holl would skate a game-high 21:59. He was plus-one and blocked three shots, also a team-high.

Holl Looking To Earn Regular Status With Red Wings

If he can deliver that type of game on a regular basis, Holl could be in more much more of a chunk during his second Red Wings season.

“I think just play the way I’ve always played,” is Holl’s strategy to earn ice time. “That would just be driving play up ice, quick breakouts, killing plays early in the defensive zone, penalty kill.

“Typically or historically that’s the kind of player I’ve been, and that’s the kind of player that I think I’m most or that’s the kind of game where I think I’m most effective.”

Last season, as the Red Wings were making their run at a playoff spot, Holl was assuming the role of spectator/cheerleader. He’d play in just three games after January 31.

The message from Detroit coach Derek Lalonde to Holl is exactly the same as the game they want to see from him on the ice. Simple. Straightforward.

“Just bring your game, do the things you’re good at, defend,” Lalonde said. “Be hard to play against and we’ll see where it goes from there.”

Holl is refusing to look back at what could ostensibly be viewed as a lost season for him. His eyes are fixed on the opportunity that lay ahead.

“I can just maintain a narrow focus,” Holl said. “That’s kind of all I can do as a player. You learn to control what you can.

“So for me that’s just trying to perform as well as I can every practice, every game and let the chips fall where they may.”

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