On the Wings

Update (2:35 PM): Ansar Khan confirms that Mathieu Schneider will not be back until after the All Star Break. Apparently, he’s not dong any better and is scheduled for more tests. Definitely not good news for the team. - Matt

Tonight is the third of eight games between these two Central Division rivals this season. The series is tied 1-1, with the Wings winning 3-0 on November 10th, and the Preds winning 6-2 on November 25th. The teams will play once more next month before wrapping up the series in March with four games.

The Central-leading Predators have been nearly perfect in 2007, posting a 6-1-0 record since January 1st. Their only loss came to Colorado on New Year’s Day and since then, they’ve been winning. Four of their wins this month came against fellow Central Division teams, such as the Hawks (8-3), Blues (3-2), and Blue Jackets (2-0, 4-1). They’ve also beaten Anaheim (5-4) and Calgary (5-3), their most recent win.

With the exceptions of the Chicago and second Columbus game, the Preds have been at home so far in January. They have not had an extended roadtrip since a four-game West Coaster in early December in which they went 1-3, beating LA but losing to Phoenix, Anaheim and San Jose.

Chris Mason, the Preds’ former backup, has stepped up this year while Tomas Vokoun has been out with injuries. He’s been great for them, posting a 2.31 GAA and a .930 SAV% with 18 wins. Vokoun is back in the lineup, however, though he played against the Flames and may therefore sit tonight in favor of Mason. He’s always given the Wings trouble.

The Wings have won their last four after losing the previous three. They will finish a three-game homestand tonight and will head to Columbus for a game Friday before flying to Denver for another matchup with the Avs on Saturday. Following next week’s All Star Break, they’ll be in St. Louis on the 26th.

If the Wings were serious about starting Chris Osgood more, he should be in net tonight, as Dominik Hasek got the nod Monday.

I don’t see anything in the papers about Mathieu Schneider’s status. Based on reports Monday, it looks like he might not be back until the Blues game next week.

This is a huge game for the Wings, who need a win to cut into the Preds’ division lead. As others have been saying, winning the Central would be the surest way to avoid San Jose or Anaheim in the first round of the playoffs, though finishing 6th (or 7th) with the Preds finishing 3rd (or 2nd) would be another way.* For now, though, the Wings need to disrupt Nashville’s recent success with some of their own.

*I’d rather see the Wings play closer to home in the first round because West Coast starts always seem to end in disaster.