Hirose looks to stay on track as Red Wings visit Canucks

Originally posted on Wingsnation | By Mike Gould | Last updated 3/17/22

Detroit Red Wings forward Taro Hirose picked up his first two NHL points of the 2021–22 season during Tuesday’s wild 7–5 loss to the Edmonton Oilers.

Hirose, 25, picked up the secondary helper on Marc Staal’s first of two goals in the loss before setting up Filip Zadina on the power play early in the third period to bring the Red Wings within a goal of the Oilers.

This is Hirose’s fourth season in the Red Wings organization since signing an entry-level deal with the team as an undrafted college free agent out of Michigan State University at the end of the 2018–19 campaign.

The 5’10”, 162-pound winger has been highly productive at the American Hockey League level since turning professional, scoring exactly 100 points in 116 games with the Grand Rapids Griffins, but has yet to spend more than a few weeks at a time in the NHL. In 44 NHL contests with the Wings, Hirose has three goals and 18 points.

Hirose will likely play his third game of the season on Thursday as the Red Wings take on the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena (10:00 p.m. ET, Bally Sports Detroit).

With Robby Fabbri likely done for the year and Tyler Bertuzzi ineligible to play games in Canada, Hirose has been given an opportunity. If he keeps producing, it might turn into a role going forward for the pending Group 6 unrestricted free agent.

The Red Wings (24–29–7) will need Hirose and the rest of their forwards to have a strong showing on Thursday as they look to snap a six-game losing streak. Conversely, the Canucks (30–24–7) have surged into playoff contention in the Pacific Division with a 22–9–5 record since Bruce Boudreau took over as head coach.

These two teams last met in Detroit back on Oct. 16, 2021. Fabbri, Zadina, and Sam Gagner scored for Detroit and Thomas Greiss made 40 saves as the Red Wings won by a 3–1 final score.

The Red Wings

Projected lineup via Daily Faceoff:

Vladislav Namestnikov – Dylan Larkin – Lucas Raymond
Jakub Vrana – Joe Veleno – Sam Gagner
Filip Zadina – Pius Suter – Givani Smith
Taro Hirose – Michael Rasmussen – Adam Erne

Nick Leddy – Moritz Seider
Olli Juolevi – Filip Hronek
Marc Staal – Troy Stecher

Projected starter: Alex Nedeljkovic (15–18–6, .900 SV%)

The Canucks

Projected lineup via Daily Faceoff:

Tanner Pearson – J.T. Miller – Conor Garland
Nils Höglander – Bo Horvat – Brock Boeser
Tyler Motte – Juho Lammikko – Matthew Highmore
Alex Chiasson – Nic Petan – Vasily Podkolzin

Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Tyler Myers
Quinn Hughes – Luke Schenn
Brad Hunt – Travis Hamonic

Projected starter: Thatcher Demko (27–17–3, .916 SV%)

Scoring leaders

Detroit: Dylan Larkin (27 goals, 58 points); Tyler Bertuzzi (24 goals, 48 points); Lucas Raymond (19 goals, 46 points); Moritz Seider (five goals, 42 points); Robby Fabbri (17 goals, 30 points).

Vancouver: J.T. Miller (24 goals, 73 points); Quinn Hughes (five goals, 49 points); Elias Pettersson (18 goals, 42 points); Bo Horvat (22 goals, 40 points); Brock Boeser (17 goals, 35 points).

Players to watch

Detroit: How about Marc Staal? Looking a little like Thor out there, the 35-year-old defenseman blasted home two goals in Tuesday’s loss to the Oilers. Believe it or not, it was the first two-goal outing of Staal’s 1,001-game National Hockey League career. Okay, maybe it’s not that hard to fathom: Staal only has 49 goals to his credit over his 15 NHL regular seasons with the Red Wings and the New York Rangers.

Vancouver: It’s been an up-and-down first year as a Canuck for Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who has just 17 points in 58 games with his new team while experiencing a resurgence in the defensive zone. While he may not be the elite two-way presence he once was with the Arizona Coyotes, OEL is still a reliable minute-muncher who can have a positive impact on games.

Viewing and listening options

Thursday’s game at Rogers Arena will be broadcast on Bally Sports Detroit starting at 10:00 p.m. ET. It’ll be sent over the airwaves on WXYT-FM 97.1 “The Ticket” in the Detroit area, as well as on the Red Wings’ official website.

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