On the Wings

Update (7:15 PM): Helene St. James reports that Babcock will have a couple new lines tonight:

Kopecky-Datsyuk-Holmstrom
Lebda-Filppula-Maltby

Both should be good at generating pressure, I’d think. - Matt

Tonight is the first of four meetings between these two teams this season. The Wings won the 2005-2006 season series 3-1, with wins coming November 11th, 2005 (3-1), and January 30th (5-4), and April 2nd, 2006. The Wild’s win came on January 3rd, a 4-2 decision. The teams will wrap up their season series in December when they play three games over five days.

After a strong 6-0-0 start, Minnesota came back to earth, filling out their record with 7 wins and 11 losses, including one overtime loss. They have lost two in a row and have only won two of their last seven. Their recent troubles can no doubt be attributed in part to the absence of Martin Gaborik (20. Oct, groin) and Pavol Demitra (20. Nov, concussion), both of whom contributed offensively when in the lineup. Gaborik may return tonight tonight, the AP reports.

Unfortunately for Minnesota, Demitra and Gaborik aren’t the only players out with injuries, as Michael Russo of Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune writes today in a sob-story of a piece. The team will be without six regulars tonight if Gaborik sits.

Flint native Brian Rolston leads the team with 12 goals and 21 points. Starter Manny Fernandez has a 9-8-0 record, a 2.69 GAA, and a .913 save percentage.

The Wings snapped a five-game losing streak with a 2-1 win over the Dallas Stars on Monday, socring their sixth and seventh shorthanded goals in the process. The power play is still a concern but the team apparently has been working on it this week so perhaps we’ll see a new look tonight.

Dominik Hasek will get the nod tonight, meaning he’ll likely be on the bench tomorrow at JLA against the Sharks.

Brett Lebda will play as a forward tonight to help cover for the absence of both Johan Franzen (sprained knee) and Jason Williams (charley horse).

Despite their injuries, the Wild still have some weapons to go with their defensive game plan. The Wings will need to play tight defense themselves, while at the same time getting higher quality shots at the net. I have a feeling the power play may not click tonight because Minnesota is #3 in the League on the penalty kill. Our own PK unit will need to be sharp against the #4 power play. Given where both these teams are this season, it should be a hard-fought game.

I don’t know that I can justify watching the game tonight with my end-of-the-semester homework load (yeah, on a Friday night. It sucks, I know). We’ll see though.