Preview: Red Wings host Capitals on Military Appreciation Night

DETROIT --For Vladislav Namestnikov, a conversation with Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill at the tail end of last season could be paying huge dividends in his second full campaign donning the Winged Wheel.
Namestnikov scored eight goals, bolstered by five empty-netters, and added seven assists in 53 games played during the shortened 2020-21 season. It marked his career-low output when appearing in at least 43 contests. As is common at the end of a season, Namestnikov sat down with Blashill to discuss his production, and how it could be maximized based on analytic models, most notably expected goals.

Namestnikov heads into Thursday's game against the Washington Capitals with seven goals, just one shy of his entire total from last season.
"It is something that him and I met about at the end of the year last year," Blashill said. "Whatever it was [actual goals scored vs. expected goals], it was below what his expected goal output should have been.
"So I think he went to work hard to work on his shot, to work on the ways that - there's more than just a shot that can allow you to score more goals - and I know he spent a lot of time this summer doing that. He was working with his skills coach in the area here, actually, and with I think (Alex) DeBrincat, I think (Jordan) Oesterle was in that mix. So I know he's worked hard at it, and it's paying off right now for him."

Namestnikov scored Detroit's first two goals in Tuesday's 4-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers, the first on a breakaway in the first period and the other with an opportunistic rebound 6:43 into the second period. He has found the back of the net in six games this season, and chipped in with a pair of assists.
Namestnikov was no stranger to the Red Wings organization or Southeast Michigan upon signing a two-year deal as an unrestricted free agent in October 2020. He is the nephew of former Red Wings forward Slava Kozlov, and spent his previous offseasons in Metro Detroit. Red Wings Executive Vice President and General Manager Steve Yzerman was also Tampa Bay's GM when the Lightning drafted Namestnikov with the 27th overall pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.
Namestnikov agreed that the offseason program Blashill referenced is carrying over to the season.
"Last year was a weird year for me, the pandemic, a lot of posts," Namestnikov said. "Sometimes those things happen. This year, I had a good summer. I worked hard and it's paying off right now. I hope I can keep producing like this and help the team win."
Washington heads into Thursday's game with a 6-2-4 record (16 points), and is coming off a 5-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Monday. The Capitals are currently in third place in the Eastern Conference's Metropolitan Division.
Alex Ovechkin leads the way with an NHL third-best 21 points on 11 goals and 10 assists. Evgeny Kuznetsov has added 16 points (5 goals, 11 assists), while Tom Wilson's 10 points have come on three goals and seven helpers. Vitek Vanecek has started nine games in goal, while Ilya Samsonov has appeared in five contests with three starts. The Caps have played the last five games without T.J. Oshie (lower body) and the last two without former Red Wings forward Anthony Mantha (shoulder).
Detroit and Washington will be meeting for the second time this season after the Red Wings outlasted the Caps in overtime at Capital One Arena on Oct. 27. Dylan Larkin scored the game-winner in the extra session after Detroit had fallen behind, 2-0. Adam Erne and Robby Fabbri also found the back of the net in the game.
The Red Wings (7-5-2) also have 16 points on the season, and are currently in third place in the Atlantic Division, one point behind the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Military Appreciation at Little Caesars Arena

More than a dozen veterans representing the Motor City Veterans Hockey Association will be in attendance for Military Appreciation Night, and sell 50/50 raffle tickets for the Detroit Red Wings Foundation, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the MCVHA.
Fans will have an opportunity to participate in an online auction that features camouflage jerseys and camouflage-taped sticks used by Red Wings players during warm-ups, in addition to Military Appreciation Night pucks. The items will be auctioned off at
DetroitRedWings.com/auction
until Thursday, Nov. 18 at Noon, with proceeds also benefiting the MCVHA.