Update (4:50 PM): Ansar Khan reports that Niklas Kronwall will sit out with a groin injury. He’ll be replaced by Derek Meech, who will make his season debut paired with Chris Chelios. Brett Lebda will move up to the second pairing to play with Andreas Lilja.
Khan also says that Dallas Drake, though cleared to play, will not dress tonight because Matt Ellis and Aaron Downey are now ahead of him on the depth chart. I don’t imagine Dallas is too thrilled about that, but it’s good to see Ellis and Downey continue to be rewarded for their hard work.
Lastly, Khan provides an update on Johan Franzen, who asserted he’ll be ready to play Tuesday in Edmonton. If so, the Wings will be one man over the roster limit and would have to make room somehow. Khan points out that Dominik Hasek could be put on the IR, but that’s a little thin given the supposedly minor nature of his injury. Because of the roster problem, I suspect Franzen won’t be back until Hasek’s ready to go, at which point the the team can make room by sending Jimmy Howard back to Grand Rapids, as his services would no longer be needed. If Dom’s injury really is minor, Thursday doesn’t seem out of the question for a return date. - Matt
Tonight is the second of four games between these two teams this season. The Wings won the first meeting, 3-2 this past Wednesday at home. They’ll wrap up the season series in January and February. The game will start ten minutes later than usual, hence the unusual start time in the post title. (via Snapshots)
After losing to the Wings on Wednesday, the Canucks flew to Washington, where they beat the Caps 3-2 Friday night. Tyler Pyatt scored two of their goals, while Daniel Sedin scored the first. Roberto Luongo made 26 saves, extending his personal win streak against the Caps to 10 games and holding off a rally led by Alexander Ovechkin in the final minutes. The win put them at 2-2 over their last four.
Luongo should be in net again for the Canucks.
The Wings won their only game between Wednesday and today as well, rolling the Sharks 5-1 on Friday night. This game is the first of a three-stop road trip that will take them to Edmonton and Calgary Tuesday and Thursday.
Dallas Drake is listed as probable for tonight, so it looks as though he’ll be returning after sitting out two games. My guess is he’ll replace Aaron Downey in the lineup.
Dominik Hasek (hip) is still out, so expect to see Chris Osgood in net again, with Jimmy Howard backing him up.
The Canucks will be looking for some revenge for their loss last week and should be energized playing in front of their home crowd. The Wings need to pick up where they left off Friday night and put on another strong performance. It should be a good game.