The offseason apparently did not cool off Detroit Red Wings goaltender Thomas Greiss. He finished last season on a hot streak and was stellar in his first appearance of 2021-22, a 40-save performance in Saturday’s 3-1 victory over Vancouver.
“He had similar games last season and wasn’t getting results early on,” defenseman Marc Staal. “It’s good to see him get a win for that kind of effort.”
Greiss is expected to start again tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets (2-0-0) at Little Caesars Arena (7:30, Bally Sports Detroit). The Red Wings are 1-0-1.
In his past 11 appearances dating back to April 4 (10 starts, one relief stint), Greiss is 7-0-3, with a 1.46 goals-against average, .953 save percentage and two shutouts.
He had struggled early in the season, when the team was missing a significant chunk of its lineup due to COVID protocol and injuries.
“The time Greisser struggled last year was when (Jonathan Bernier) was out and he ended up playing too much probably,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “I think Greisser is a guy that with enough rest plays really good hockey. He’s done it throughout his career. That’s what his numbers say. Obviously, it doesn’t get easier as you get older.”
Seider’s start
Rookie defenseman Moritz Seider has three assists in his first two games and is averaging 21:38 in ice time, second on the team to Filip Hronek (24:16).
“He’s earned some trust coming in here with his game at the different levels he’s played at,” Blashill said. “I just thought he did a real good job (Saturday). He’s a gamer. He’s a guy wo wants those types of minutes. He’s big, he can defend, and he can play offense.
“He’s going to have his growing pains; he’s got learning to do. But in the meantime, we’re going to keep putting him out there, let him learn and keep going through the trials and tribulations that young players go through.”
Electric atmosphere
Blashill noted that the atmosphere at LCA the first two games has been as charged as it has been since the building opened four years ago.
“I think the atmosphere has been great. Both games were highly emotional, which is a positive,” Blashill said. “We want to play with lots of compete, lots of emotion. The crowds have been awesome. It’s a loud building. It’s been a while since we had that (due to COVID restrictions last season). The first game in this building (in 2017), we didn’t have enough people in the seats. There were lots of people here, but they were either in the club level eating or checking out how beautiful the arena is. Now everybody is in the seats, and it just seems really, really loud.”
A loud building can provide a home-ice advantage.
“Playing at the highest level of compete and emotion every night is not easy for 82 games and most teams can’t do it,” Blashill said. “It can be a separator if we can do it on a night-to-night basis. We’re looking for every way we can to separate ourselves from other teams, and this is one way.”
Staal good to go
Blashill said Staal is available tonight, after being unable to practice Monday. He has appeared in all 58 games since joining the team before last season.
He said the decision to scratch Troy Stecher and Jordan Oesterle the first two games is not a reflection of their play.
“I think both have been good in practice,” Blashill said. “They have six guys ahead of them. If I put either one of them in the game, I’d feel totally confident they could go in and help us win. They’re both NHL defensemen. There’s zero doubt about that. We’ll use our depth throughout the year. I’m going to get them in at some point.”
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