On the Wings

Update (6:46 PM): You can watch the game via the FSN Detroit feed on NHL TV here. - Matt

Update (6:30 PM): There are two liveblogs going on tonight: one over at Abel to Yzerman (though IwoCPO will not participate because he’ll be at his own surprise birthday party) and one over at the Miami Herald blog On Frozen Pond. - Matt

 Update (6:00 PM): HockeyTownTodd points out that there is a major disparity between the teams’ two +/- ratings: -50 for the Panthers and +109 for the Wings. Todd has the Wings headed for an embarrassing loss, so let’s hope he’s wrong.  - Matt

Update (5:39 PM): According to Bruce MacLeod, Tomas Holmstrom said he’ll be back Monday, though obviously that’s contingent on his being cleared by the medical staff. If his injury really is as minor as has been reported, that shouldn’t be much of a problem. - Matt

Update (2:05 PM): Looks like local kid David Booth won’t return to the Panther lineup tonight after all. The Miami Herald’s George Richards now reports that he did not skate and therefore won’t play, despite the fact that 50+ friends and members of his family will be there. - Matt

Update (1:55 PM): George Malik has a preview roundup over at Snapshots. - Matt

Update (1:47 PM): Ansar Khan reports that Tomas Holmstrom participated in the full practice today, which should mean a Monday return isn’t out of the realm of possibility. Khan also says Kris Draper (knee) is hoping to return this week, though that seems optimistic. - Matt

Tonight marks the only meeting between the Wings and the Florida Panthers this season. The Panthers won the last meeting 3-2 in overtime two years ago.

Florida is 2-2-1 thus far in December. They snapped a three-game losing streak with a 3-0 win over the Islanders on the 7th, but lost four nights later to the Flames, 2-1 in a shootout. On Thursday, they kicked off a four-game road trip with a 1-0 win over St. Louis. The Panthers will be trying to beat a team record for consecutive road wins by notching a fifth.

Predictably enough, Olli Jokinen  leads the team in goals (16), assists (15), and points (31). He is the only Panther with 10 or more goals, though Nathan Horton is not far away with eight.

Forward Dan David Booth will make his return to the lineup tonight, but the Panthers will be without Mike Van Ryn, Glen Murray (shoulder), Chad Murphy (shoulder), Brett McLean (hand), and Noah Welch (shoulder).

Tomas Vokoun has been unbeatable in his last three games, posting  a .989 save-percentage (92-for-93) over that time span. He put on a 33-save performance on Thursday and should get the start tonight.

Fan-run Panthers blogs are a little thin on the ground, but  you can stop by The Daily Growl and Panthers Daily Puck for the Florida perspective. The newspaper blogs, On Frozen Pond (not that one), and  Panthers Blog are also worth checking out. It’s nice to see the contrast between this post by the Miami Herald’s George Richards and this one by the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune’s Michael Russo (which has since been somewhat toned down from its first incarnation).

The Wings had a seven-game winning streak snapped Thursday night with a 4-3 shootout loss to Edmonton. Tonight is the second of a four-game homestand for the Wings, who will play host to Washington on Monday and LA on Wednesday.

Mikael Samuelsson has gone 10 games without scoring a goal and has a mere two points over that span. The Wings need him to get going and tonight’s as good a time as any for the former Panther to make his return to the scoreboard.

Tomas Holmstrom (knee), Kris Draper (knee), and Kirk Maltby (back) are all out tonight. Mark Hartigan, Aaron Downey, and Matt Ellis will fill in for them.

Mike Babcock told the media on Wednesday that Chris Osgood would start today and confirmed it once again yesterday.

For more of the Wings perspective, see  Snapshots, Gorilla Crouch, Abel to Yzerman, HockeyTownTodd, Gloveside, Behind the Jersey, No Pun Intended, Red Wings Nation, and Winging It In Motown. Dougie has some pre-game comments already posted at HockeyTownTodd.

The Wings are going to need to take control of the game from the start tonight. They can’t let the Panthers play their dump-and-chase style and slow the game down to a snail’s pace. If they can manage to play with the energy and efficiency they showed versus the Wild on the 7th, they should have no trouble putting a couple past Vokoun and shutting down Jokinen. If they get lulled to sleep by the Panthers, it’ll be a different story.