Update (3:07 PM): Ansar Khan reports that Brett Lebda is in. - Matt
Update (3:05 PM)- Kuklas reports that both Dominik Hasek and Chris Chelios will sit out tonight. Hasek has a sore thigh, while Chelios has a sore groin. The Wings called up Jimmy Howard from Grand Rapids to back up Chris Osgood. As far as I know, no defenseman has been called up, so it looks like Lebda will probably play. Lilja will have to be in for Chelios. -Megan
Tonight is the sixth of eight games between these two Central Division teams this season. The Wings lead the series 5-0, with wins November 2nd (2-1), December 14th (3-2), January 13th (6-3), February 21st (4-2), and February 27th (4-1). They will wrap things up with a home-home series April 5th-7th.
The Hawks played last night, losing 6-1 to Colorado at home. Apparently, they had three goals overturned by the Toronto War Room, including one by Jason Williams, the newest Hawk, and former Red Wing.
Martin Havlat returned to the ice last night after missing the game Tuesday due to the flu. According to head coach Denis Savard, via the Chicago Sun-Times, he’s lost 10 pounds since becoming sick on Monday. He played on an empty stomach against the Avs and spent much of the game bent over on the bench, missing the final 8 minutes. The paper reports that his status is in doubt for tonight. (I would think so! Wow.)
Since Nikolai Khabibulin started against Colorado, Patrick Lalime will be in net tonight. (via Left Wing Lock).
In contrast to the Hawks, the Wings haven’t played since Tuesday. Tonight’s game kicks of a five-game homestand for the Wings, who have a light month as far as travel goes.
The big news in Detroit is Todd Bertuzzi’s first practice with the team, which is the main story of the Detroit News, the Free Press, and mLive, though Ansar Khan takes a slightly different angle by focusing on the newest Wings’ relationship with Chris Chelios. Khan also has a handy roundup of Bertuzzi quotes on his blog.
Dominik Hasek should be in net tonight for the Wings.
None of the injured Wings (Henrik Zetterberg – back, Bertuzzi – back, Mikael Samuelsson – foot, Dan Cleary – knee) will be back tonight. Valtteri Filppula will play his second game on the top line in place of Zetterberg, to whom he was compared yesterday by Mike Babcock.
Brett Lebda didn’t practice yesterday due to the flu, so he may not be in the lineup tonight. If not, Andreas Lilja will play his second consecutive game.
It’s important that the Wings keep winning, as the Predators have won their last three and lead the Central Division by two points. They currently have three more wins (43) than the Wings. After tonight, both teams will have played 65 games, which means the Wings can’t pull ahead with a better points percentage, which is the first tie-breaker. They just need to keep pace and hope to get ahead after the four head-to-head battles between the two teams this month.
Look for the Hawks to put up a better performance than the embarrassing game they played Tuesday night. They may be tired from last night’s game, but there’s that pride factor which might make things difficult for the Wings.