Mrazek Set for Second Red Wings Debut as Detroit Looks to Right Ship vs. Sabres
Feb 18, 2018; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Red Wings goaltender Petr Mrazek (34) defends the net during the first period against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Little Caesars Arena. (Tim Fuller, Imagn Images)The last time Petr Mrazek wore a Detroit Red Wings jersey to play in an NHL game was Feb. 18, 2018, when he made 31 saves on 34 shots in a 3–2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. A day later, he was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers for two draft picks. The first time came five years before that: Feb. 7, 2013, when Mraek made 26 saves to beat the Blues 5–1 in his NHL debut.
The next time Mrazek will wear the Winged Wheel and compete in net for Detroit is Wednesday evening against the Buffalo Sabres at Little Caesars Arena. Mrazek said Wednesday morning, it "feels great" to put the iconic Winged Wheel sweater back on, adding that because his "first steps in the NHL were here...it wasn't easy to leave this place."
Just one player remains from Mrazek's last game as a Red Wing the first time round: Dylan Larkin, who has since graduated from promising and productive 21-year-old to captain and franchise cornerstone at the age of 28.
Unlike Larkin, the Red Wings as a collective haven't kicked on to brighter days since Mrazek's departure. The trade was an unequivocal marker of rebuilding that has not yet yielded a return to the postseason. The regime overseeing the rebuild has changed, and the lineup is much stronger than the one Mrazek left behind, but the payoff on years of accruing draft picks and prospects has not yet arrived.
Instead, Detroit enters Wednesday's game in desperate, if not dire, straits. The Red Wings have lost six straight, the latest a 2–1 defeat in Ottawa Monday night, in which they outshot the Senators 49–23. Controlling the run of play is cold comfort as the playoff cut line slips further into the distance, but at least the loss provided something positive to latch onto.
"I thought everything was really good," said defenseman Moritz Seider after Wednesday's morning skate. "We didn't allow a five-on-five goal. That's obviously something positive. Even the game before, we limited the goals against...[Against Ottawa], we came out and played a really good road time...If you want to pick one thing [we did well], I think we stayed mentally dialed the whole game, even though things weren't always as pretty, and I think that's a good start."
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Detroit lost to the Sens without conceding at five-on-five because of two goals against from its struggling penalty kill. Per Seider, the Red Wings' short-handed struggles have more to do with their own mistakes than the exploits of the opposing power play.
As for what Detroit is looking for while short-handed, Seider said, "If the pucks bouncing around the yellow [at the base of the boards], you want to pressure like every other team. Other than that, we want to stay in our structure and just eliminate danger zones in front of our net. I think usually we do a pretty job [of that]. It's just easy mistakes, usually in the end of a power play, that kind of kills us and takes the momentum away."
For a team that's lost six straight but still lingers on the outer reaches of the playoff race, the imperative of winning each night is obvious. For the Red Wings against the Sabres Wednesday night, that imperative holds, with its own unique twist in the form of the upcoming schedule.
As NHL.com's Nick Cotsonika pointed out Wednesday morning on Twitter, Wednesday's game is the last game Detroit will play this season against a club currently sitting below it in the standings. With veritable Cup contenders in Carolina, Vegas, and Washington next up in the league's toughest schedule to close the season, the Red Wings' need to take two points against the Sabres (last in the Eastern Conference) only grows.
The Red Wings will be rolling with the same lineup from Monday night in Ottawa as they look to force their way off the schneid, with Mrazek taking over the goaltending duties from Cam Talbot.
It hasn't been an easy '24-25 season for Mrazek (an .890 save percentage and 3.46 goals against average in 33 games a Chicago Blackhawk). Now, he's cast into a spot where the Red Wings need him to reward their bet on him for the end of this season and onto next in a hurry.
Before the Ottawa game Monday, coach Todd McLellan rejected the notion of a "must-win" game on the grounds that any team approaches every game with that mindset. However, with the losing streak ballooning and the strength of the forthcoming schedule, Wednesday night clearly represents a game where a strong performance won't be sufficient. All that matters is the result. And to get that result, McLellan and his team will be counting on Mrazek, in his return to Hockeytown, to set the tone from the net out.
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