The Daily: Walman Saga a Misunderstanding; Berggren Woes

Much like the plot of every Hallmark Christmas movie, the Jake Walman drama with the San Jose Sharks was caused by a misunderstanding.

The Sharks made the former Red Wings defenseman a healthy scratch on Tuesday because he didn’t understand the treatment plan for his minor injury.

That’s what Walman told San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng:

“I missed a treatment session for my upper-body injury on our day off, our treatment day, and it’s a team policy that you got to be in there if you’re dealing with an injury,” Walman said. “Just from my end, I misunderstood our treatment plan. That was the reason for the scratch. It’s our team rule to be held accountable for something like that. If you have an injury, you got to be in there taking care of it. That’s what happened.”

Walman said he respected the decision.

“I just misunderstood that on our treatment day there,” Walman said. “That’s what that was. I acknowledge it, own up to it. I think it was a good decision from coach to hold me accountable and won’t happen again. We’ll move on from it.”

He missed Thursday’s game because of the injury.

“People kind of blow stuff out of the water,” Walman said. “Took a life of its own a little bit. But that’s what it was, I missed a treatment session for my upper-body injury. And then the next game after that, (the injury got) a little bit worse.”

Red Wings In Case You Missed It

Coach Derek Lalonde‘s Detroit squad continues to struggle to score. The Red Wings have scored a five-on-five goal in only one of their last five games.

Paywall story: Jonatan Berggren is waiting for the ketchup to flow when it comes to his scoring slump. Bob Duff explains. His story is available to subscribers. To buy a subscription, sign up here.

Paywall story: Where does Sebastian Cossa fit into next season’s Detroit plans? He’s off to a strong start for the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Red Wings Extra

The Detroit squad will probably be watching the Lions play their Sunday night game against the Houston Texans. The Red Wings have the day off today because they don’t play again until Wednesday when they launch a four-game road trip in Pittsburgh. They don’t play a home game again until Nov. 21 against the New York Islanders.

Hockey Now Network

Buffalo: Jason Moser explains how the Sabres have put together a three-game winning streak. Buffalo Sabres.

Colorado: Colleen Flynn explains how Mikko Rantanen escaped his goal scoring slump. Colorado Avalanche

Philadelphia: Jonathan Bailey offers the latest update in the Ryan Johansen drama. Philadelphia Flyers. 

Pittsburgh: The Penguins recalled Tristan Jarry from his AHL conditioning stint. Just where is the Penguins’ goaltending at these days?