Update (3:20 PM): Helene St. James reports that Brett Lebda will not play tonight. Apparently, Mike Babcock made the decision before the morning skate was even over. She does not provide any information on the possibility of Brett playing tomorrow against Dallas, but it does seem unlikely that he’ll be back before Sunday’s game against Columbus. Andreas Lilja will get another game in the lineup and will hopefully put on a performance similar to the one he had on Monday against the Ducks. - Matt
Tonight is the final game between these two Central Division rivals this season. The Wings lead the series 5-2, with wins November 10th (3-0), January 17th (5-3), March 6th (4-3 SO), March 13th (5-2), and March 14th (4-2). The Preds won the November 25th (6-2) and February 24th (4-3 OT) meetings.
Since the back-to-back home-and-home series with the Wings on March 13th and 14th, the Predators have posted a 3-1-1 record. After hosting the Wings on the 14th, they skated to a 3-2 win over Dallas on the 17th, but began a three-game swing out to Western Canada with a pair of . First, they were shutout by Vancouver on the 21st, and then they dropped a game in overtime to the Flames the next night. They turned things around after that, however, and finished the road trip with a 4-0 win over Edmonton on the 24th. They faced the Oilers again three days later at home and won again. The five games remaining on their schedule include tonight’s matchup with the Wings as well as games with Dallas, Chicago, St. Louis, and Colorado.
The Predators currently lead the West with 105 points, two more than the Wings’ 103. Tonight’s game will go a long way in determining whether or not the organization will be able to plan a Central Division Championship parade.
Tomas Vokoun should get the start, though Chris Mason is more than capable himself and may get the nod.
Nashville is currently missing Martin Erat (knee), Scott Hartnell (foot), Scott Nichol (thumb), and Steve Sullivan (back). Kimmo Timonen (upper body) left the game Tuesday night, but the Tennessean reports he’s “probable” for tonight.
The Wings are 1-2-2 since March 14th, with the losses coming in a four-game streak that only ended Monday night. Their last Western Canada swing ended with a pair of losses, first to Vancouver and then to Calgary. After that, they returned home and dropped a pair to Columbus and St. Louis, both in shootouts. Then, they righted the ship with an impressive 1-0 win over Anaheim on Monday at the Joe. Their six remaining games include tonight’s tilt with Nashville, a matchup with Dallas tomorrow night, and then home-and-home series with Columbus and Chicago.
Detroit stands at fourth place in the Conference, two points behind Nashville and a point ahead of Anaheim. Fourth place is probably the least desirable seeding at the moment.
Ansar Khan reported yesterday that Chris Osgood will be starting tonight, which is a definite surprise as this was meant to be Dominik Hasek’s first set of back-to-back games, not to mention the fact that Dom’s coming off a shutout and this game has enormous implications for the Division. An interesting move, but one that makes sense. As pointed out in the Free Press today, the Wings want to ensure the team’s health more than anything else, and Hasek’s health is incredibly important. In the meantime, Osgood is more than capable of giving the Wings the goaltending they need to win. Hasek will be in net tomorrow night against Dallas.
Brett Lebda (concussion) may play tonight, though that idea seems to be more a result of his optimism than any kind of doctor’s decision. He did practice with the team yesterday and has configured a helmet to fit his head with the cut, but his status depends on how he performs in the pre-game skate today.
For the first time since he was injured, Henrik Zetterberg (back) participated in his first full practice with the team yesterday. The Freep reports that he may be able to return this weekend (i.e. Sunday against Columbus). The team is well on its way to being fully healthy for the first time in weeks, as everyone on the roster practiced yesterday.
The most important thing for the Wings is that they elevate their play in these final games and therefore go into the playoffs hot. That’s why winning the Division would be so good for them, because to do so they’ll have to fight for it. They can be as healthy as possible come play time, but if they go into the postseason flat, they’ll be in more trouble than if they have an injury or two. I don’t mean to downplay health because that is a very important factor and without certain players in the lineup, they’ll be at a disadvantage, but I think how they’re playing is most important. Injuries can be made up for by others, but if the team isn’t showing up to play 60-minute games, it’s more difficult to eke out wins.
They had a great game against a very good Anaheim team on Monday, and they need to put up a similar performance tonight. Whereas the Wings are almost fully healthy, the Predators still have a number of key injuries and are therefore weakened. Nashville will be highly motivated, but the Wings should have an advantage. They won the back-to-back series in spite of injuries and ought to be able to do the same tonight when nearly fully heathy.