Short on time today, so this’ll be brief. And jacked up on coffee, so it’s less serious than usual.
Columbus has to stave off elimination tonight with their first ever playoff win in just their second ever playoff homegame. They’re going to be flying. Keys to the game for the Jackets:
Score first. And do it quickly. I’ll leave the specifics up to Rick Nash.
Stay out of the Wings’ bench. A shot at that donkey Commodore, sure, but my larger point is this: don’t be stupid and look for meaningless retribution, which is retribution in any form other than goals.
Let Mason stop the puck. To the Jacket skaters: he’s a good goalie. He doesn’t need you to try to stop shots for him. You’re not good goalies.
I hear they’re shuffling lines again. Good luck with that, Hitch. Demoting Huselius is smart, though.
The Wings can sew this series up with another strong performance. Better to get it done tonight, than have to go home and do it. Keys to the game for Detroit:
Big checks. I don’t actually believe the Jackets will follow the second key above, so the more big hits, the better. Let the Jackets scramble for revenge while wide open Red Wings score goals.
Pay attention. This one is serious: if the Jackets do go headhunting, the Wings need to be careful not to get hurt. Smart plays with the puck, no suicide passes to linemates or looking down at the puck.
Octopi. Not octopus. This is for Wings fans in the crowd, not the team. We need more than one of those things on the ice tonight, please.
No lineup changes for the Wings.
Looking forward to 7.