On the Wings

Update (6:35 PM): Looks like Schneider’s out, but Lidstrom’s in, according to Helene St. James. No one has been called up, so unless the Wings are planning on going short a defenseman, Lidstrom must be ready to go. - Matt

Tonight is the third of eight games between these two teams this season. The Wings lead the series 2-0 with wins November 2nd, 2006 (2-1) and December 14, 2006 (3-2). The remainder of the games are spread over the last months of the season, with a game in February and March, and the last two in April.

The last time the Wings played the Hawks, Chicago seemed to be on a bit of an upswing. They were 5-0-3 over their previous eight games and had a good thing going. After their loss to the Wings, they kept some momentum, winning four of their next six games (9-3-3).

Since then, however, they’ve hit a skid, losing six of their last seven. During that stretch, they’ve dropped games to Boston, Columbus, St. Louis, Nashville, Phoenix, and Buffalo. Their lone win came against the Blues on January 2nd, a 4-1 effort they followed up by being shut out 2-0 two days later. In the last four games alone, they’ve been outscored 16-6. It’s not from lack of trying, however, as they managed to put 35 shots on net in their most recent loss, 2-1 to Buffalo.

One reason for their recent misfortune has been the loss of Martin Havlat to injury. Havlat has missed the last three games with a groin pull, though he could be back tonight, according to the AP. The Hawks are 6-12-4 when Havlat is not in the lineup.

The Wings are finally home after a five-game road trip in which they went 2-3-0, winning the last two games, first over Colororado and then over Phoenix. Since beating the Hawks on December 14, they’ve gone 9-4-1, so they’ve had a better month, even with the three-game skid to start the road trip. They are kicking off a three-game homestand tonight and will host the Canadiens and Predators next week before leaving on a road trip to Columbus, Colorado and St. Louis.

Chris Osgood is slated to start tonight. Dominik Hasek will be the backup as Joey MacDonald is in Grand Rapids on a two-week conditioning stint.

The Free Press reports that Nick Lidstrom may sit out tonight after suffering a knee injury at the start of the second period of their win over Phoenix Thursday night. He took an Owen Nolan shoot-in off his left knee and had to be helped off the ice, but he returned to finish the game. Apparently, he’s “feeling a little banged up,” and might miss just the 21st game in his career, most of which were for rest purposes at the end of the season.

Mathieu Schneider (knee sprain) is listed as doubtful for tonight, so the Wings will be short a defenseman if both he and Nick sit out. No one has yet been callled up from Grand Rapids (as of 12:30 PM), though Ken Holland was there scouting last night and told the Freep he’d make a decision after the morning skate.

The Wings have a good opportunity here to take advantage of a struggling team. Given their knack for waking teams up, however, I suspect it won’t be as easy as it should be, especially since it’s their first game back from a long road trip. Still, if they can continue to play like they played Tuesday night in Colorado and Thursday night in Phoenix, they should be able to pull off a win in spite of the Hawks’ efforts, much like they did against the Avs and Coyotes. Unfortunately, I probably won’t catch the game tonight because it’s my last night at home before the semester and watching hockey probably won’t be on the family agenda.

It’s definitely a good day to watch hockey, between Hockey Day in Canada, and Sidney and the Pens on NBC this afternoon. Be sure to tune in, especially since the NHL’s current scheduling system won’t allow the six Canadian teams to play each other next year.