On the Wings

This afternoon, the Wings and Avs meet for the fourth and final time this season. Detroit leads the series 2-1, having won the first meeting, 4-3 in a shootout on January 9th in Denver, and the third, a 3-1 effort at home in which the Avs were out-shot 42-12, on January 28th. Colorado won the second meeting, 3-1 on January 20th, in Denver.

Since their loss to the Wings, the Avs have posted a 7-8-1 record. Over the last month or so, their wins have come in ones and twos, such as their current two-game streak, and their losses have come in twos and threes, such as the 0-2-1 skid they were on before that. It took a game each against the Central Division cellar-dwelling Blackhawks and Blue Jackets to halt their skid, which began February 22nd against the Wild and continued on the road in LA and Anaheim. After beating Columbus at home on the 27th, they left on a five-game road trip, stopping first in Chicago, where they won on March 1st. After today’s game, they will leave for Boston, to face the Bruins on Tuesday.

The Avs are currently in 9th place in the Conference, 10 points behind Calgary for that last playoff spot. Their chances diminish with every loss, as they need a 14-3-0 record between now and the end of the season if they want to hit the 95 point mark, which is a likely minimum for making the playoffs.

Peter Budaj, who has solidified his standing as the Avs’ starting goaltender, should be in net tonight.

Since January 28th, the Wings have posted a 10-2-2 record. They have won their previous two, both of which came against Chicago, after dropping the two before that in extra time, first to Edmonton in a shootout, and then to Nashville in overtime.

The Wings are currently 4th in the Conference. The Predators beat the Kings 6-3 last night, so they now have 92 points to the Wings’ 90. If the playoffs were to start today, Dallas would be the first round opponent.

Chris Osgood will get his second straight start, as Dominik Hasek is not ready to return from a thigh injury. Jimmy Howard will do the backing up.

Ansar Khan reported yesterday that Chris Chelios would be a game-time decision, and the Free Press, going on the same information as Khan, lists him as “probable.”

Don’t be surprised if either Robert Lang or Tomas Holmstrom sit, as neither of them practiced yesterday, and though Mike Babcock said there were no new injuries, he may be saying something different today.

With the Preds’ win last night, this game has become that much more important if the Wings want to catch them for the lead in the Central. They’ve had the Avs’ number since the Lockout, and they need to continue that today.

The game is on NBC and has an early starting time, 12:30 PM ET, so be aware of that.