NOTEBOOK: Red Wings enter holiday break appreciating extra time to rest

Just before the Detroit Red Wings held practice at BELFOR Training Center inside Little Caesars Arena on Thursday, the NHL announced that the club's road matchup against the Ottawa Senators on Friday, Dec. 23 was rescheduled for Feb. 27, 2023, due to impending severe weather in Ottawa.

For Andrew Copp, getting a head start on the league's annual three-day holiday break will ultimately be beneficial for the Red Wings.
"With where we are at in the standings, it's gonna be a dogfight all the way through the deadline and to the end of the regular season," Copp said. "We're gonna need to take advantage of the rest when we get it."

As of Dec. 22, Detroit is fourth place in the Atlantic Division with 35 points and a 14-11-7 overall record. The Red Wings will return from the holiday break to play a back-to-back road set against the Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres on Dec. 28 and Dec. 29 before closing out the calendar year against the Senators for Detroit's annual New Year's Eve game at Little Caesars Arena.
"Since training camp, it's been pretty much a sprint for the past three to four months," Copp said. "There's these built-in breaks where you need to be able to get away and reset the body."
The Red Wings pulled away from the Tampa Bay Lightning, 7-4, on Wednesday at Little Caesars Arena.
Detroit tied a season-high with four third-period goals, snapping a six-game winless streak.
Head coach Derek Lalonde acknowledged while momentum might be on Detroit's side, the extra day away from the rink will help its depleted forwards corps get healthy.
"Maybe you wanna get right back and play, but at the same time, we have four to five guys unavailable to us who may be available when we play them (Senators) again," Lalonde said. "You take it all in stride."

When asked about his holiday plans, Copp said he is excited to celebrate Christmas with his family.
"I've always been able to get home, but the travel hasn't always been very easy," said Copp, an Ann Arbor, Mich. native. "It's nice to just drive down the road this year and not worry about too many logistics, particulars or flights."

Larkin and Chiarot take maintenance day Thursday

Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin and Ben Chiarot each took a maintenance day on Thursday and did not participate in Detroit's practice.
On Wednesday, Larkin had two goals and an assist for his seventh multi-point game of the season. He leads the Red Wings in goals (12), assists (19) and points (31) in 31 games.
As for Chiarot, the 31-year-old defenseman recorded an assist on Michael Rasmussen's first-period goal against the Lightning. Through 32 games, Chiarot has eight points on two goals and six helpers.

Pair of prospects impressing at University of Denver

A pair of Red Wings prospects are impressing at the University of Denver this season.
Forward Carter Mazur, who was Detroit's 70th overall pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, is averaging a point per game and ranks third on the Pioneers with 20 points (15 goals, five assists) in 20 games.

Shai Buium, a 6-foot-3, 209-pound blue line prospect, has one goal and seven assists in 18 games. The Red Wings selected Buium in the second round (36th overall) of the 2021 Draft.