March 31, 2026, 5:06 a.m. ET
That was 10 minutes of exhileration and aid for Carter Mazur.
The Detroit Red Wings draftee is slated to seem in his second straight NHL recreation when the Wings play on the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday, March 31 (7 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Detroit), the beginning of a three-game journey and the primary of 9 video games left on the schedule. Goaltender John Gibson is slated to make his twelfth consecutive begin.
Mazur made his 2025-26 debut Saturday, somewhat greater than a yr after his NHL debut lasted simply 1:10 minutes, ending throughout his second shift when he suffered an elbow damage.
“The first period I was a little bit timid for sure, especially with how last time went,” Mazur stated after Monday’s apply. “That’s kind of in the back of my mind. But now that I got the first one out of the way, I’m feeling really confident in my game.”
It’s a heady time to be becoming a member of the Wings (39-26-8, two factors out of playoff cutoff) as they struggle to climb the standings, however Mazur match the invoice when the teaching workers was trying for somebody within the minors to help within the effort.
Mazur has 11 targets amongst 15 factors in 14 video games with the Grand Rapids Griffins this season.
“I didn’t know a lot about Carter,” coach Todd McLellan stated. “Even through training camp, there’s so many players this year. We were together for six, seven days, and then an exhibition season, and there’s so many to manage that it’s hard to really get to know an individual, so you rely a lot on individuals in the organization. Anything that we saw this year, he really wasn’t involved in because of another injury, which has been unfortunate to him.
“Since he is been again, although, he is been fairly an efficient participant down there, and we have at all times tried to faucet into these gamers which might be taking part in properly and perhaps productive there and produce them up and see if they’ll give us a spark. I believe he offered that, however it wasn’t a straightforward recreation to come and play when the remainder of the group was fairly flat.”
Mazur practiced on a line with J.T. Compher and David Perron in Monday’s practice, after playing with Marco Kasper and Emmitt Finnie for around 10 minutes Saturday. Mazur, who turned 24 on Saturday (the day he was called up) – missed most of this season dealing with the latest in a slew of injuries that has waylaid his progress since the Wings selected him in the third round (No. 70 overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft out of Denver University. In 2024-25, he was limited to 20 games.
“I’m simply blissful to be again right here and get again to my recreation,” Mazur said. “It’s a very good feeling. Again, I’m right here for a cause. I would like to deliver vitality and spark to this crew, and I really feel like I can do this. And then I simply look ahead to displaying what I can actually do. I’ve solely performed 14 video games this yr, so to get again on this and simply ramp up my depth is absolutely all I want to do.
“”It’s been a tricky street, however I really feel like I bought higher from it.”
Contact Helene St. James athstjames@freepress.com.
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