On the Wings

Tonight is the sixth of eight games between these two teams this season. The Wings lead the series 3-2, with wins October 28th (3-2), December 5th (5-1), and December 7th (4-3 OT). The Blues won the November 24th (3-2) and January 26th (2-1 OT) games. They’ll face each other once more this month (the 8th) before wrapping up the season series next month (March 24th) n Detroit.

In the week since we last saw the Blues, they have lost both games they’ve played. The first was a 6-3 disappointment at home to Nashville the next night and the second was a 5-2 decision to the Wild, also at home. The loss to the Preds was their sixth this season, but it was the loss to Minnesota that probably hurt them the most, as it put them 10 points back of the 8th place Wild. With Minnesota’s win over Colorado last night, the Blues are now 12 points back of a playoff spot, making winning over the next couple months very important for a team hoping to salvage its season with a postseason berth.

Manny Legace, who has beaten the Wings twice this season, should be in net for the Blues tonight.

The Wings have won both games since losing to St. Louis a week ago, notching a statistically impressive 3-1 win over Colorado on Sunday and mounting a comeback to beat the Islanders 4-3 in overtime on Tuesday. The two wins kept them on Nashville’s heels for the division lead, pulling them within 5 points of the Preds, who have dropped their last two. If the playoffs were to start today, the 4th-place Wings would play 5th-place San Jose, a highly undesirable matchup, while the 1st-place Predators would play the 8th-place Minnesota Wild, making catching Nashville very important.

Dominik Hasek should be in net tonight and I’m sure we’ll see him put on a great performance as a rebound from his shaky one on Tuesday.

Mathieu Schneider is slated to return tonight from his knee injury. He has missed the last 10 games and has had his return delayed as the Wings were careful not to rush him back as soon as he could play. As frustrating as that was as a fan wanting to see him back, it will definitely help in the long run as he’ll be rested for the dash to the finish line.

However you look at it, tonight is an important game for the Wings, who have a good opportunity to deal the Blues a major blow to their playoff hopes, especially if they couple a win tonight with another next week. A St. Louis team no longer hoping to make the playoffs would be a team more willing to deal away forwards such as Bill Guerin or Keith Tkachuk, who are being talked about as trade deadline acquisition posibilities for the Wings.

On the other hand, a Blues win tonight would keep their playoff hopes alive and give them a greater chance of finishing 7th or 8th, which could potentially be a good thing for Detroit. If the Wings manage to pass the Predators and finish 1st or 2nd, a first round matchup with St. Louis would be ideal as they have historically owned the Blues in the playoffs.

Not that I’m advocating the Wings throw the game, but if they do lose, I won’t be enormously disappointed, because it could mean success in the future at the cost of a loss or two now. Of course, the Wings need to keep winning if they want to catch Nashville, so another win tonight is more important than any other consideration. Playing the Blues in the first round might just be a pipe dream, but I do like the idea.