Tonight is the fourth of eight games between these two Central Division teams this season. The Wings lead the series 3-0, with wins November 2nd (2-1), December 14th (3-2), and January 13th (6-3). They’ll face each other once more this month before a game in March and the remaining two games in April.
Since losing to the Wings last month, the Hawks have gone 5-6-4. Their last win came on February 11th in Columbus, and they have lost their last three, with two coming in shootouts, since then. They are coming off a 2-1 loss to the Rangers on the road Sunday and will wrap up a short two-game road trip tonight.
Martin Havlat has been hot lately, having scored 8 goals in his last 10 games, including the lone Chicago goal in their loss to the Rangers. It was his 23rd of the season.
I expect Nikolai Khabibulin to be in net tonight.
The Wings are 10-4-1 since January 14th and have won their last two. Their most recent loss came on February 12th, an embarrassing 6-1 rout by the Flyers which came the night after the Wings dominated the Flames, 7-4. Since the loss, they have beaten Dallas (3-1) and Phoenix (4-1). The game in Phoenix ended a three-game road trip and tonight’s game begins a two-game homestand in which they will host Edmonton Friday night. Saturday night is an important game in Nashville.
The Wings are one point behind Nashville for the Division lead following the Preds’ 4-1 win over the Coyotes on Monday. The Predators play again on Thursday and have a good chance to beat the struggling Habs. With a game against the Preds coming up on Saturday, the Wings have a great opportunity to pass them with wins tonight and Friday night.
Dominik Hasek should be in net tonight.
The Wings need to continue their dominance of the Hawks tonight for the reason stated above. They aren’t going to be able to pass Nashville for good this weekend, but it’s important that they keep pace with the Preds now or else catching them will be that much more difficult in the end.