Notebook: Season nearing halfway point; Gemel Smith "available" on Friday

DETROIT -- When the final horn sounds on Friday night at Little Caesars Arena, the Detroit Red Wings will have officially reached the halfway point of the 2021-22 season. Such benchmarks often lead to reflection and big-picture analysis. It's also a reminder that there's at least 41 more games to play.
Detroit (18-17-5) has assured itself of at least a .500 record at the midway point of the NHL season, which is about to take another unique twist with an upcoming month of February that will feature the Red Wings playing just seven games.

Heading into Thursday's NHL slate, Detroit is one of only eight teams across the league with at least 13 home wins. The Red Wings have also won just five games on the road. Jeff Blashill often references the NHL being a day-to-day league. And with plenty of season left, that's how he'd prefer to approach it.
"I want to win Friday. I want to get better," Blashill said. "I thought we got better today in practice. I know those sound like boring things, but that's reality."

As he referenced earlier this season, Blashill and his staff continue to evaluate the season in five-game segments. It provides a barometer and a road map for what it historically takes to be a playoff team. Other than that, the focus remains narrow.
"We've got some different stretches coming up, some tough opponents, including this weekend," Blashill said. "I think it's a constant opportunity to measure yourself. I don't think there's a measuring game, that one game is bigger than the other. But I think it's a constant opportunity to see where you're at.
"We've played both these teams once already, and lost to both of them. Now we have an opportunity to see how we've improved and how they've improved."
Those teams are the Dallas Stars and the Nashville Predators. Dallas visits Little Caesars Arena on Friday (7:30 p.m., Bally Sports and the Red Wings Radio Network), and the Red Wings will travel to Bridgestone Arena to face the Predators on Saturday night. The Stars defeated the Red Wings, 5-2, on Nov. 16 at American Airlines Center. Nashville snapped Detroit's season-long five-game winning streak with a 5-2 win at Little Caesars Arena on Dec. 7.

Gemel Smith "available" on Friday

Somewhat surprisingly, Blashill announced that newcomer Gemel Smith would be "available" on Friday. He didn't confirm where Smith will start his season - in Detroit or Grand Rapids - but he has received medical clearance after recovering from an abdominal injury. Smith has not played in an NHL game this season.
Blashill met Gemel Smith for the first time on Thursday. But it turns out his younger brother, Givani Smith, jokingly bugged Blashill to orchestrate a situation where he could go head-to-head against his brother last season. Now they'll be playing with the same organization.

"I think Givani was excited," Blashill said. "Givani was working me - I think it was last year - to get Coop [Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper] to put him in the game when he wasn't playing in Tampa so they could match up head-to-head against each other. I don't know Gemel - obviously I just met him today. Givani's a great person, so it's nice to have him around."
According to Blashill, the first thing Gemel Smith provides the Red Wings is needed depth. It's an added bonus that he can play center. The Red Wings remain without centermen Mitchell Stephens and Carter Rowney, so there was also a positional opportunity within the system.
"He's a guy who's played in a couple of different organizations. He's been able to step in at different times and play, so he has some NHL experience," Blashill said. "He can play the center ice position, so that gives us more depth at that position, which I think's important. I think he's gotta be a good energy player. So we'll see where it all takes us."

Blashill addresses reshuffled schedule

Thursday was the first time the media was able to hear from Blashill after the
NHL announced a comprehensive update
to the 2021-22 schedule, including eight games affecting the Red Wings.
Blashill, who added he has been a part of scheduling meetings at various levels throughout his career coaching hockey, praised NHL officials for pulling the complicated schedule together.
"We moved home games with Toronto, and that just speaks to how difficult these things are," Blashill said. "The complexity of schedule making is incredible. My hat's off to the NHL to be able to do it."
Detroit's current February schedule includes four home games and three on the road. Sandwiched around the NHL All-Star Game on Saturday, Feb. 5, the Red Wings will have a combined six days off. They'll host the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday, Feb. 2, before traveling to Philadelphia on Feb. 9.

"We have five or six days right at the All-Star break, so that will be our kind of break, where guys could get away," Blashill said. "It's a sizable enough time for us, because we don't play the 7th or 8th, and we can't practice until the 8th."
The Red Wings will also be idle from Feb. 18-22 after playing the New York Rangers on Thursday, Feb. 17. Like every other team across the league, the Red Wings' coaching staff will be focused on how to manage one of the most uncommon months the NHL schedule has ever seen.
"Obviously we've got a light February, and there's some unique kinda challenges in there," Blashill said. "How we handle it, and the way we approach it with our group. It is nice to not have to play every other day, and it's nice to have some practice time.
"It is what it is, and we're gonna have to adjust to it."