On the Wings

Update (2:00 PM): Ansar Khan reports that Derek Meech will make his NHL debut playing with Nick Lidstrom tonight.

It’s a good move by Mike Babcock since playing with the best defenseman in the league should give the kid some confidence as he dons the Winged Wheel for the first time. So you can rest easy, Wings fans. Nick will be there to cover for Meech if the rookie makes mistakes.

I guess Andreas Lilja will have to wait to play with Lidstrom, though he should get more ice time. - Matt

Update (7:17 AM)- Derek Meech has been called up from Grand Rapids, as reported by Griffinscentral. He’ll be in the lineup tonight against the Blues. With the Griffins, Derek has 3 assists for 3 points in 24 games. He is also +4, in a tie for third on the team with Galvin. Meech has played extremely well this season, and is projected as a depth defenseman. Tonight will be his first appearance in the NHL.

-Megan

I’m short on time so this will be brief:

Tonight is the fourth of eight games between these two teams this season. The Wings won the last meeting, 5-1 on Tuesday.

The Blues will be without former Red Wing Manny Legace for at least a week after he was knocked unconscious during practice by a puck hitting his mask. By the sound of it, Blues fans won’t miss him. Classless.

The Wings announced yesterday that defenseman Danny Markov has a broken hand and will be out 2-3 weeks. As of 5:45 AM, no one has been called up from Grand Rapids.

The current injury list is Markov (hand), Franzen (knee), Kronwall (groin), Osgood (wrist).

The Wings need to pick up where they left off on Tuesday, with another dominating performance.