OctoPulse podcast: Wings-Bruins showdown, Jordan Forgione interview

Ted Kulfan previews Saturday's Atlantic Division showdown between the Red Wings and Bruins and Little Caesars coach Jordan Forgione is the interview guest.

The Red Wings lost 2-0 at home against the Panthers last night and are in second place in the division with a 6-4-1 record, six points behind the Bruins (9-0-1), who still haven't lost in regulation after beating the Maple Leafs in a shootout last night.

"I think most people are surprised by the Bruins," Kulfan said on the podcast. "They've had a relatively soft schedule but give them credit, they've taken advantage of it. They do what good teams do. They've won the games they're supposed to win. They beat a good Leafs team last night. They beat the Wings Saturday. They keep rolling. There's been no let up whatsoever."

After a 5-1 start, the Wings are 1-3-1 with 40 goals scored, fourth best in the league behind Vancouver, Vegas and Los Angeles and 33 goals allowed, tied for 20th with Montreal, New Jersey, Philadelphia and Los Angeles. They're blocking 15 shots per game, the same as last year but their hits per game have dropped to 14 from 22 last year.

"The power play has definitely cooled off and that's hurt them a couple of times lately," Kulfan said. "They haven't quite got the secondary scoring. They did in Long Island. J.T. Compher had the goal and the assist but guys like Compher, Andrew Copp, (Michael) Rasmussen, (Daniel) Sprong and David Perron is still trying to find his gear offensively.

"The defense has also picked up. They're still in the top three as far as defenseman scoring and that's helped out. The goaltending will be interesting to watch. James Reimer has been playing very well and you wonder does he take a little more of the playing time away from Ville Husso. Reimer was very solid again last night. He gave up the fluky goal but otherwise he's been spectacular."

Here are other highlights from episode 95 of The Detroit News/Detroit Red Wings podcast:

▶ 1:30: Bruins still unbeaten in regulation

▶ 3:00: Daniel Sprong on sticking up for teammates

▶ 4:20: Lack of secondary scoring

▶ 5:40: Goaltending rotation

▶ 6:30: Jordan Forgione interview

▶ 21:10: Dylan Larkin on Alex DeBrincat

▶ 22:00: Success of the Larkin/DeBrincat/Raymond line

▶ 24:00: Playing second fiddle to the 6-2 Lions

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