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Series Preview: 1 Detroit vs. 8 Nashville

Published
by
Matt Saler
on April 10, 2008
in 2007-2008, GameDay, Playoffs and Predators
. 0 Comments

Update (7:54 PM): If you’re not already there, the A2Y liveblog is here. - Matt

Update (6:67 PM): Darren McCarty is in, Aaron Downey is out. - Matt

Update (6:35 PM): The FSN crew just said that both Aaron Downey and Darren McCarty will take the pre-game skate. Babcock will make a decision after that. - Matt

Update (12:20 PM): Bob Duff writes that McCarty “wasn’t counting on playing” when he talked to him this morning. - Matt

Update (12:12 PM): Ansar Khan reports that with Mikael Samuelsson set to play, the final roster spot will go to either Aaron Downey or Darren McCarty. Bruce MacLeod, on the other hand, reported earlier that McCarty would get the nod.

Khan provides projected lines and pairings for Nashville:

Jan Hlavac-Jason Arnott-J.P. Dumont
Martin Erat-Radek Bonk-Alexander Radulov
Vern Fiddler-Scott Nichol-Jerred Smithson
Brandon Bochenski-Rich Peverley-Jordin Tootoo

Dan Hamhuis-Greg de Vries
Ryan Suter-Marek Zidlicky
Greg Zanon-Shea Weber

- Matt

Tonight is Game 1 of “Series E,” the Western Conference Quarterfinal between the #1 seed Detroit Red Wings and the #8 seed Nashville Predators.

Playoff History

It is the second time the teams have met in the playoffs. In 2004, the Wings knocked the Predators out of the first round in six games. It was Nashville’s first ever trip to the post-season.

2004 series recaps:

Game 1: Wings 3, Predators 1
Game 2: Wings 2, Predators 1
Game 3: Wings 1, Predators 3
Game 4: Wings 0, Predators 3
Game 5: Wings 4, Predators 1
Game 6: Wings 2, Predators 0

Regular Season Series

The eight-game regular season series ended 5-3 in Detroit’s favor. The Wings won November 7th (3-2 SO), December 10th (2-1), March 9 (4-3), March 20th (6-3) and March 30th (1-0 OT). The Predators’ wins came November 22nd (3-2), February 12th (4-2) and March 15th (3-1).

The Predators

The Predators finished the season 41-32-9 with 91 points. They were just 18-18-2 through December 31st, but a 23-14-7 second half put them in the playoffs. They finished the season with a 5-1-1 flourish after a 3-6-0 stretch.

They clinched a spot when Vancouver lost 2-1 to Edmonton on the third. Their 3-1 loss to Chicago on the 4th locked them in 8th place.

The Predators have a 4-12 post-season record and have yet to win a series. They were bounced in five games the past two years in a row by San Jose. This is the organization’s fourth playoff series.

Forwards

JP Dumont (76) and Jason Arnott (76) led the team in points. Dumont’s 29 goals were a team-high, with Arnott coming in at a close second with 28.

Just two other Predators hit the 20-goal mark: Alexander Radulov (26) and Martin Erat (23).

David Legwand (15), Radek Bonk (14), Jan Hlavac (12), Vernon Fiddler (11), Jordin Tootoo (11), and Scott Nichol (10) were the only other Preds to finish with double-digit goal totals. Martin Gelinas came close with 9, but had his season cut short by a knee injury.

Erat led all skaters with eight points against the Wings this season. He and Radulov both scored 4 goals. Dumont and Arnott notched 5 assists.

The forward corps contributed 208 goals to the Preds’ 12th-place 227 goal total.

Arnott led the forwards and the team in plus-minus with a +19. Nichol (12), Radulov (7), Brandon Bochenski (6), Dumont (5), Martin Gelinas (5), and Peverly (4) finished in the positives.

Darcy Hortichuk (-1), Hlavac (-1), Erat (-3), Legwand (-4), Fiddler (-4), Tootoo (-8), and Jerred Smithson (-9) finished in the minuses. Radek Bonk was a team-worst -31.

As a group, the Predators’ forwards have 431 games of playoff experience.

Martin Gelinas leads the way with 147, 11 of which came against the Wings. He has 7 points over those 11 games, but his total playoff production is 56 points, 23 of which were goals. Due to his knee, however, he won’t play in this series.

Jason Arnott is the second-most experience forward with regard to the playoffs, having appeared in 96 post-season games. He has never faced the Wings in the post-season. His 63 career playoff points are a high on Nashville.

The Predators’ forward corps has elements of size, with Jason Arnott leading the group at 6′4″, 220 lbs. Radek Bonk is not far behind at 6′3″ 213. Darcy Hordichuk (215), JP Dumont (205), Vernon Fiddler (204), and Jan Hlavac (201) all crack 200 pounds. A further five players weigh in at 190 or more.

Defense

Marek Zidlicky led the team with 43 points, 38 of which were assists. Ryan Suter’s 31 points were good for second. Dan Hamhuis (27) and Shea Weber (20) were the only other defensemen to crack 20 points.

Ville Koistinen finished with 17 points and Greg De Vries finished with 15, but Greg Zanon ended up with just five assists.

The defense accounted for 19 of the Preds’ total team goals-for.

Koistinen led the defense in plus-minues with a +13. De Vries was +7 and Suter was +3.

The rest of the blueline finished in the minuses: Hamhuis (-4), Zanon (-5), Zidlicky (-5), and Weber (-6).

The defense has 148 games of playoff exeperience, most of which were logged by De Vries (105) during his years with Colorado.

Dan Hamhuis has appeared in all 16 Nashville playoff games.

De Vries is the heaviest Nashville defender at 215 lbs, but the 213-lb, 6′3″ Weber is the tallest. Zanon (211), Hamhuis (211) and Suter (200) break 200 lbs, but Zidlicky and Koistinen are pegged at 190.

Hamhuis is the big TOI guy, with an average of 22:43 minutes per game. Zidlicky and Suter average 20:49 and 20:34, respectively. Weber, De Vries and Zanon are good for 19:00, give or take 30 seconds.

Goaltending

Dan Ellis has been pegged as the starter for this series. He finished 23-10-3 and appeared in 44 games. He posted a 2.34 GAA and .924 save-percentage.

His colleague, Chris Mason, went 18-22-6, appearing in 51 games and posting a 2.90 GAA and .898 save-percentage.

Mason and Ellis have five games of playoff experience between them and all of them belong to Mason. He posted a 1-4 record in last year’s playoffs. Ellis has just 45 NHL games of any kind under his belt.

Injuries

The Predators lost 238 man-games to injury. 82 of those were because of Steve Sullivan’s back injury, which has had him out indefinitely.

Currently, Nashville is without Gelinas (knee, season), Ortmeyer (knee, season), and Legwand (foot, day-to-day).

Legwand practiced yesterday, but his status for tonight is “doubtful.”

Resources

Pred-Joe
Official blog
LadyPredator
On the Forecheck
The Tennessean blog

The Tennessean

The Detroit side of the preview is after the jump. Continue reading ‘Series Preview: 1 Detroit vs. 8 Nashville’

GameDay: vs. Chicago (40-33-8, 88 Pts) 12:30 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on April 6, 2008
in 2007-2008, Blackhawks and GameDay
. 0 Comments

Update (12:42 PM): Dallas Drake has been given the game off in favor of Justin Abdelkader. Chris Chelios is also resting in favor of Jonathan Ericsson. - Matt

Update (11:18 AM): Additional Blackhawk injuries via the Chicago Tribune: Dustin Byfuglien (back disc), Andrei Zyuzin (groin), and Robert Lang (back) are out. Brent Sopel also will not play. - Matt

Update (11:17 AM): George Malik scouts the Blackhawks here. - Matt

This afternoon, the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks meet in the season finale at Joe Louis Arena. The Blackhawks lead the season series 5-2 with wins October 6th (4-3 SO), October 12th (3-2), November 11th (3-2), November 17th (5-3) and March 2nd (6-2). The Wings won the January 6th (3-1) and March 11th (3-1) meetings.

The game will be broadcast on NBC.

The Hawks are winners of their last four and have done everything within their power to make the playoffs. The Predators’ win over the Blues last week, however, eliminated them from contention. Currently with 88 points, they have a chance today to finish one point out of the playoffs.

Rookie Patrick Kane leads the team with 71 points, 51 of which are assists. Patrick Sharp leads the team in goals with 36. Rookie Jonathan Toews (24), Robert Lang (21), and Kane (20) are the only other Blackhawks to crack 20 goals this season.

Martin Havlat (shoulder) and Ben Eager (shoulder) are bothj questionable for today.

Nikolai Khabibulin should get the start.

For the Hawks’ perspective, see The Third Man In.

The Wings are 2-1-1 in their last four. They clinched first place overall with their 3-2 win over Columbus on Thursday and will face Nashville in the first round of the playoffs. They can max out at 115 points with a win today.

Pavel Datsyuk leads the team with 97 points and 66 assists. Henrik Zetterberg’s 92 points are good for second, but his 43 goals are a team high. Datsyuk (31), Johan Franzen (27), Dan Cleary (20), and Tomas Holmstrom (20) are the other Wings to crack 20 goals. Valtteri Filppula has been seitting at 19 goals for the past six games.

Tomas Holmstrom (abdomen/groin) is expected to return today after missing 13 games.

Mikael Samuesslon (groin) remains out. He has not been on the ice much since March 25th and no return timetable has been set.

Kris Draper (groin) also remains out, but told the media yesterday that he’d be in if this were a playoff game. He is expected to play in the post-season opener.

Brad Stuart (broken finger) is out, but should be back for Game 1.

Tomas Kopecky (knee) will be out until training camp or beyond. He is missing the playoffs for the second year in a row.

Brian Rafalski will have the game off today. Derek Meech will play in his place.

The team called up Darren Helm from Grand Rapids yesterday, giving them 13 active forwards. Mike Babcock told the media yesterday that all 13 would dress for warmups and he’ll decide who sits after that. Players likely on the cusp: Justin Abdelkader, Darren Helm, Aaron Downey, and Darren McCarty.

Projected lines:

Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Holmstrom
Filppula-Franzen-Cleary
Drake-Hartigan-McCarty
Hudler-Helm-Abdelkader

Abdelkader was the odd man out in practice yesterday, but my hope is that he plays. I’d also like to see McCarty get in another game, so in this scheme, Downey or Helm sit. I chose Downey because Helm makes that fourth line more dangerous.

Projected pairings:

Lidstrom-Meech
Kronwall-Lilja
Chelios-Lebda

Dominik Hasek is slated to start today.

For more of the Wings’ perspective, see Snapshots, Abel to Yzerman, HockeyTownTodd, Behind the Jersey, No Pun Intended, yzerman is god, Detroit Hockey, LetsGoWings, Red Wings Brasil, BR Red Wings, and Winging It In Motown.

The Blackhawks play for pride today. The Wings play to finetune their game as they head into the post-season. Expect the Hawks to seek to put another feather in their cap with a sixth win over the Wings by playing hard. I hope the Wings can get in this game mentally and avoid that embarrassment.

GameDay: vs. Columbus (34-33-12, 80 Pts) 7:30 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on April 3, 2008
in 2007-2008, Blue Jackets and GameDay
. 4 Comments

Update (5:51 PM): George Malik has a couple roundup posts worth checking out here and here. - Matt

Update (4:14 PM): George Sipple reports that Kirk Maltby (hamstring) underwent MRI and ultrasound tests today. Apparently, he suffered the injury when he fell awkwardly along the boards and “felt a pop.” That doesn’t sound good.

Sipple asked Ken Holland about a possible return date and was told,

“We haven’t got a clue, other than to say he’s questionable for Game 1 of the playoffs and won’t play the rest of the regular season.”

That’s certainly not good news. Malts isn’t the player he once was, but he still kills penalties well and can be a good energy player, as last night’s game showed. The sooner he’s able to make it back, the better. - Matt

Update (3:00 PM): The Dispatch’s Aaron Portzline has a post-practice update posted here.

Interesting bit:

Oh, and the Red Wings are mad. Won’t be easy tonight.

… — The Wings are honked off following a 6-2 loss in Chicago on Wednesday. “They’re going to be battening down the hatches early in the hockey game,” Hitchcock said. “Their coach (Mike Babcock) is not a happy guy today.”

Good.

Also interesting is this quote from AHL-er Zenon Konopka:

“I’ll be running Chelios tonight. I hope I get an opportunity to really crank a few guys.”

“Zenon”? Seriously? He and Zoltan Mesko should get together and start a club. As for running Chelios, I’d love to see him try.

Portzline also provides the lines for tonight:

Nash — Malhotra — Zherdev
Chimera — Peca — Brule
Murray — MacKenzie — Boll
Lindstrom — Konopka — Pineault

He leaves us with what is apparently an obligatory shot at the city Detroit. You stay classy, Portzline. - Matt

Update ( 1:33 PM): George Malik scouts the Blue Jackets here. - Matt

Update (1:19 PM): Red Wings TV has a video of Abdelkader talking with the media. The network is painfully slow here at school at the moment, so I pass it on without comment, having not watched it. - Matt

Update (12:40 PM): Bruce MacLeod has added more on Abdelkader to his earlier post. He also has some information on other Red Wing prospects.

Of more immediate relevance is the revelation that Maltby has a strained hamstring. No date has been set for his return.

Tomas Holmstrom will not play tonight, but MacLeod says he will “definitely be back in the lineup Sunday.”

Kris Draper will not return before the playoffs.

Brad Stuart told MacLeod that he’s on track to play in Game 1. - Matt

Update (11:56 AM): It looks like right winger Adam Pineault will fill in the TBA spot on the Jackets’ roster. The Dispatch’s Puck-rakers blog reports that Columbus has promoted the Syracuse Crunch forward on an emergency recall. He will be making his NHL debut.

Interesting stat: he is second in the AHL with six shorthanded goals. - Matt

Update (11:38 AM): The injury parade continues: Bruce MacLeod reports that Kirk Maltby is out tonight because of an unspecified injury.

To fill in the empty roster spot, the team has signed former Michigan State standout Justin Abdelkader to a one-game amateur tryout. By accepting, he loses his remaining college eligibility.

Abdelkader, taken 42nd overall in the 2005 entry draft, plays left wing.  My guess is McCarty will take Maltby’s place on the third line and Abdelkader will fill in on the vacated wing on the fourth. The official blog reports that he will wear #8.

The team is trying to sign Abdelkader to a three-year entry level contract and if they are able to do so by Saturday, he will remain with the team throughout the playoffs. With the Griffins’ season all but over, it would make sense to keep the kid around. - Matt

Tonight is the eighth and final game between the Detroit Red Wings and the Columbus Blue Jackets this season. The Wings lead the series 4-3 with wins November 9th (4-1), November 18th (5-4 SO), March 19th (3-1), and March 22nd (4-1). The Jackets won the November 24th (3-2 OT), February 15th (5-1), and March 16th (4-3) meetings.

Columbus posted a 4-6-3 record in March. They are coming off a pair of losses to finish the month, beginning with a 2-0 loss at home to Nashville and continuing with a 5-4 shootout loss in Chicago on Sunday. After tonight, they will finish up their season with a home-and-home series against St. Louis.

The Jackets are currently 13th in the West and were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention by the Wings’ March 30th OT win over Nashville.

Columbus is lead offensively by Rich Nash, who has notched 67 points this season. Nikolai Zherdev is #2 in scoring with 60. Nash’s 38 goals are a team best. Zherdev is the only other Jacket to crack 20 goals with 26.

The Jackets have quite the injury list: Fredrik Modin (concussion), David Vyborny (flu), Ole-Kristian Tollefsen (neck surgery), Dan Fritsche (broken hand), Jiri Notovny (thigh contusion), and Dick Tarnstrom (concussion) are listed as out.

Projected lines (via Columbus Dispatch):

Nash-Malholtra-Zherdev
Chimera-Peca-Brule
Murray-McKenzie-Lindstrom
TBA-Konopka-Boll

Projected pairings:

Hejda-Klesla
Hainsey-Rome
Russell-Wilson

Pascal Leclaire, who has missed the last eighth with a concussion, will start tonight, says the Dispatch.

For the Jackets’ perspective, see Light the Lamp, Better on Ice, The Jacket Times, Army of the Ohio, End of the Bench, Neutral Zone Trap, Bethany’s Hockey Rants, and the Bleacher Report Columbus Blue Jackets page.

The Wings are coming off one of their worst performances of the season last night in Chicago. They were disinterested against a highly-motivated Blackhawks team that kept its very slim playoff hopes alive with a 6-2 home win.

Detroit began the game well enough, but their play started to slip when Chris Chelios lost his head and cross-checked Patrick Kane about 7 times while the Hawks were already on the power play. Kane gave Chelios a startled look before responding with a couple slashes. I didn’t blame him. Chelios just inexplicably went berserk. Chelios was sent off for just one of the cross-checks, while the refs gave young Mr. Kane a pass.

The Hawks scored their first goal just after the end of the ensuing 5-on-3 and never looked back.

Dominik Hasek got the hook after allowing three goals on six shots (only one of which was really his fault). The Wings proceded to leave Chis Osgood out to dry and only managed brief periods of pressure throughout the remainder of the game.

The most exciting it got was an Aaron Downey fight and another Downey altercation that didn’t reach full fight status. His efforts to spark his team failed.

I noticed Kirk Maltby last night more than I have in months, maybe years. He was highly involved in the offense (he scored a goal with a purely individual effort) and had looked to be one of the few men in the Winged Wheel motivated to play hard. Two others were Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, who put forth strong efforts but couldn’t do it all. Maybe a Maltby-Zetterberg-Datsyuk line could have salvaged things!

The officiating seemed a little one-sided, but to place any blame on the officials is merely an excuse for the Wings’ pathetic performance. It wasn’t so bad that it couldn’t have been overcome.

The Hawks deserve a lot of credit for taking advantage of the Wings’ lack of concentration.

For a team with little tangible motivation to overexert themselves at this point in the season, last night probably shouldn’t be that surprising. That does not, however, mean it’s not highly disappointing. These final games are useful for the team to fine-tune their game and head into the playoffs on a streak rather than a skid.

There’s also that little matter of first place overall. Is it too much to ask that they gain a single, solitary point in one of final three games of the season? If last night is any indication, it may be.

Henrik Zetterberg scored his team-leading 42nd goal last night. His 91 points are good for second on the team. Pavel Datsyuk leads with 95 and is second in goals with 31. It’d be nice to see him crack 100 points, but that doesn’t seem likely.

The Wings will be without Kris Draper (groin) tonight. He’s likely out until the playoffs.

Brad Stuart (broken finger) also remains out.

Tomas Holmstrom (groin) may return tonight, but it’s more likely he’ll be back Sunday.

Mikael Samuelsson (groin) may play tonight, but since he hasn’t gone through a full practice since March 27th, that seems unlikely.

Probable lines:

Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Cleary
Filppula-Franzen-Hudler
Maltby-Hartigan-Kopecky
McCarty-Drake-Downey

Probable pairings:

Lidstrom-Rafalski
Kronwall-Chelios
Lebda-Lilja

Dominik Hasek will start tonight. Here’s hoping he’s more solid and has better luck this time around.

For more of the Wings’ perspective, see Snapshots, Abel to Yzerman, HockeyTownTodd, Behind the Jersey, No Pun Intended, yzerman is god, Detroit Hockey, LetsGoWings, Red Wings Brasil, BR Red Wings, and Winging It In Motown.

I’m just going to go ahead and suggest that a win tonight is essential. They have to get back to their A-game somehow and this is a great opportunity to do so. The Jackets are in something of a skid and ought to be vulnerable. The Wings are missing some key personnel, but have more than enough talent to pull out a win.

The last thing they need is to go into the playoffs on a skid and if they lose tonight, it’ll be that much easier to fall prey the Blackhawks for the sixth time this season on Sunday.

GameDay: @ Chicago (38-33-8, 84 Pts) 8:30 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on April 2, 2008
in 2007-2008, Blackhawks and GameDay
. 5 Comments

Update (2:53 PM): Ansar Khan has even more, including evidence of disagreement between Babcock and Holmstrom. He also confirms the lines as given below. - Matt

Update (2:49 PM): Helene St. James has some more on the injury situation.

Basically, Holmstrom is not at 100% and is not likely to be so when the playoff start. The team is counting on him playing through it.

Homer told St. James that he might play tomorrow. We’ll see.

Tests on Kris Draper (groin) revealed nothing, but the team is being cautious. It sounds like he won’t be back until Game 1.

Mikael Samuesson (groin) confirmed he’s out for tonight and likely tomorrow, but apparently left open the possibility of playing Sunday.

St. James also basically confirms the lines provided below by saying the Eurotwins will start the game apart, with Pavel Datsyuk flanked by Dan Cleary and another forward (Filppula?), and Henrik Zetterberg skating between Johan Franzen and someone else (Hudler?). - Matt

Update (2:41 PM): Bruce MacLeod reports that Tomas Holmstrom (abdomen) will not play tonight and probably won’t return tomorrow night, either. He did skate today,  though, so this is not because of a setback. The team still expects him to be able to make the start of the playoffs.

The team can afford to be cautious, particularly given the likely payoff of a healthy #96 in the post-season lineup.

MacLeod also says that Henrik Zetterberg had the (optional) morning skate off, though he will play tonight.

Mikael Samulesson (groin) skated on his own, but did not take part in practice. Still no word on a possible return date for him. It’s looking like he could miss some playoff time.

Brad Stuart (broken finger), other the other hand, is looking like he’ll be back in time to start the playoffs. He practiced today  and MacLeod says he was characterized by Babcock as being a definite lock for Game 1. - Matt

Update (9:52 AM): George Malik scouts the Blackhawks here. - Matt

Update (8:02 AM): Mistake in the intro corrected. Thanks, Justin. - Matt

Tonight is the eighth and final seventh game between the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks this season. The Hawks lead the series 4-2 with wins with wins October 6th (4-3 SO), October 12th (3-2), November 11th (3-2), and November 17th (5-3). The Wings won the last two meetings, 3-1 on January 6th, and 3-1 again on March 11th. The teams meet again on Sunday in Detroit for the final game of the season.

Chicago posted an 8-5-2 record in March, finishing the month with a pair of wins. They were 4-2-1 in the second half of March after a rough start in which they lost four in a row following a three-game winning streak to start.

The Hawks stand in 11th place in the West, five points out of the playoffs with just three games remaining. They can max out at 90 points, which would be enough to sneak into the playoffs if Nashville (89) and Vancouver (88) lose their remaining games (two each). They can pass Edmonton, whose playoff hopes ended last night when they fell in regulation to Calgary. With 86 points and just one remaining game, the Oilers can’t make up the difference.

The Hawks are led in scoring by Patrick Kane, who has posted 66 points in his first NHL season. Patrick Sharp is the second-highest scoring Chicago player with 60 points. His 36 goals are a team high. Former Red Wing Robert Lang has 20 goals and 53 points.

Chicago will be without Martin Havlat (shoulder) and Ben Eager (shoulder). Dave Bollard (sore ankle) and former Red Wing Jason Williams (charley horse) missed practice yesterday, but could play tonight. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that it will be a game-time decision.

The Sun Times also reports that Nikolai Khabibulin will start tonight.

For the Blackhawks side of things, see the excellent The Third Man In.

The Wings went 10-2-1 in March, with their two regulation losses coming together on the 15th and 16th. They began the month 5-0-0, lost two, and finished with a 4-0-1 run.

Detroit sits atop the NHL standings with a 52-20-7 record and 111 points. The San Jose Sharks are just three points back with two games remaining. However, as long as the Wings earn at least one point in one of their three remaining games, they will clinch 1st place overall.

If the playoffs started today, the Wings would face Nashville, who just moved into 8th after beating St. Louis in overtime last night.

The Wings are led offensively by Pavel Datsyuk (94 points) and Henrik Zetterberg (90 points), but the hot hand of late has been Johan Franzen. He has 14 goals and 18 points in his last 13 games, which earned him the NHL’s Third Star for the month of March.

Detroit will be without Kris Draper (groin) tonight. He suffered a recurrence yesterday of a groin injury that kept him out of five games last month.

Mikael Samuelsson (groin) will miss his third consecutive game and does not appear close to returning.

Brad Stuart (broken finger) remains out, but should return for the start of the playoffs next week.

Tomas Holmstrom (abdomen) may return tonight depending on how he feels during the morning skate, but it is more likely he’ll be back tomorrow night against Nashville.

Projected lines (via MacLeod):

Filppula-Datsyuk-Cleary
Hudler-Zetterberg-Franzen
Kopecky-Hartigan-Maltby
Downey-Drake-McCarty

As pointed out by Ansar Khan yesterday, we can probably expect to see the Eurotwins split up when the team is on the road. That makes it more difficult for the opposition to defend against them despite the fact that they have the last change.

Projected pairings:

Lidstrom-Rafalski
Kronwall-Chelios
Lebda-Lilja

Dominik Hasek will start tonight.

This is an important game for the Blackhawks, who need a win to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Wings have to find motivation to play hard tonight, despite the fact that they need just a point in their final three to clinch the top seed. The simple fact that staying sharp before the playoffs means an easier transition to post-season play ought to be motivation enough. As a veteran group, I would hope that there won’t be a problem with concentration and effort tonight.

There may be some bumps in the road, though, with the team’s best faceoff man, Kris Draper (58.6%), out of the lineup. The Hawks have some pretty good faceoff men in Yanic Perrault (64.3%), Jonathan Toews (53.6%) and, yes, Robert Lang (53%).

GameDay: vs. Nashville (39-31-8-86 Pts) 3:00 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on March 30, 2008
in 2007-2008, GameDay and Predators
. 0 Comments

The Detroit Red Wings host the Nashville Predators this afternoon in the eighth and final meeting between the two Central Division teams this regular season. The Wings hold a 4-3 edge over the Preds thus far in the series, with wins November 7th (3-2 SO), December 10th (2-1), March 9 (4-3), and March 20th (6-3). The Predators won November 22nd (3-2), February 12th (4-2) and March 15th (3-1).

The Predators are 7-6-0 in March. They have won their last three, beginning with a 2-1 shootout win over Chicago on the 22nd and continuing with a pair of wins over Columbus on the 25th (3-0) and 28th (2-0). Prior to that, they had lost two in a row, first to Washington, then to Detroit.

Nashville is currently in eighth place with 86 points through 78 games. Ninth-place and idle Vancouver also has 86 point through 78 and would move into 8th place with a Nashville regulation or overtime loss if they are able to beat the Flames tonight.  For the Predators, then, this game is especially important.

The Preds’ remaining schedule consists of two games against St. Louis and a finale in Chicago.

Nashville will be without Darcy Hortichuk (knee), Greg de Vries (rib), David Legwand (foot), Steve Sullivan (back), Martin Gelinas (knee), and Jed Ortmeyer (knee).

Dan Ellis will be in net tonight. He has shutout opponents for the last 170:18.

For the Preds’ side of things, see Pred-Joe and On the Forecheck.

The Wings are 9-2-1 in March. They are coming off a 4-3 overtime loss to St. Louis Friday night at home. They staged a thrid period comeback, but couldn’t hold the Blues off in the extra period. Prior to the loss, they had won four in a row. The two regulation losses came together on the 15th and 16th and halted the five-game winning streak with which they began the month.

Detroit occupies first place overall with 109 points in 78 games and has a five-point lead on the San Jose Sharks, who have also played 78. The Sharks can max out at 112 points and 51 wins. Given that they are red-hot lately, that is not outside the realm of possibility. So, the Wings would need at least three more points, two of which must come from a win (112 points, but 52 wins), in order to clinch. Otherwise, a Red Wings win and a Sharks loss will clinch first place for Detroit.

The Wings will be without Mikael Samuelsson (groin) for the second consecutive game.

Tomas Holmstrom (abdomen, groin) remains out, but could be close to returning. He had a cortisone shot Friday and apparently zipped around practice yesterday wearing a no-contact sweater.

Brad Stuart (broken finger) remains out, but is keeping up his conditioning and should be back for the first round.

Darren McCarty will sit today in favor of Aaron Downey. Mark Hartigan also inexplicably remains in the lineup. Over at A2Y, IwoCPO asks a legitimate question: “Answer me this:  if Babcock’s trying to figure out if McCarty’s able to add something to the playoff mix, why is he out today and Hartigan in?”

Projected lines:

Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Cleary
Hudler-Franzen-Filppula
Kopecky-Draper-Maltby
Drake-Hartigan-Downey

Projected pairings:

Lidstrom-Rafalski
Kronwall-Chelios
Lebda-Lilja

Dominik Hasek will start today after sitting out with the flu. Chris Osgood will back him up.

For more of the Wings’ perspective, see Snapshots, Abel to Yzerman, HockeyTownTodd, Behind the Jersey, No Pun Intended, yzerman is god, Detroit Hockey, LetsGoWings, Red Wings Brasil, BR Red Wings, and Winging It In Motown.

The Predators will go into this game knowing that they need a win to keep their grip on eighth place. The Wings go in knowing they can’t let the foot off the pedal with San Jose looking to finish their 12-0-2 month off with a win. They also know that they can’t demonstrate weakness to a likely first round opponent. A win here will be a key moral victory for both teams, so you can expect solid competition this afternoon.

GameDay: vs. St. Louis (30-34-12, 72 Pts) 7:30 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on March 28, 2008
in 2007-2008, Blues and GameDay
. 0 Comments

Update (1:10 PM): Ansar Khan reports that Mikael Samuelsson (groin) will likely miss the rest of the regular season.

He also says that Tomas Holmstrom will get a cortisone shot today for his abdomen.

Khan confirms the lines listed below, though I think it’s more likely that Mark Hartigan will be the fourth line center rather than Dallas Drake.  - Matt

Update (12:46 PM): Bruce MacLeod reports that Dominik Hasek (flu) will not play tonight, though he participated in part of practice this morning.

Tomas Holmstrom (abdomen) did not skate today, but the test results came back negative. That’s good news because it means he does not have a hernia. It’s possible he can make it back in time for Game 1, though at the moment, a definitive return date has not been set.

MacLeod also says that Dallas Drake (chest) will return tonight. That will give the Wings’ skill players some more insurance against St. Louis thug tactics. - Matt

Tonight is the second game of an extended home-and-home series between the Detroit Red Wings and the St. Louis Blues. The Wings won the first half of the series, 2-1 on Tuesday. This will be the 8th and final game between these two teams this season. The Wings have won four of the seven games already played.

The Blues have been idle since Tuesday. They may see the return of Andy McDonald (foot) tonight. Martin Rucinsky (back) and Jay McKee (foot) are questionable, and Dan Hinote (side) and Mike Johnson (shoulder) are out.

Manny Legace should be in net tonight.

For the, uh, unique perspective of the average Blues fan, see St. Louis Game Time.

The Wings have also been idle since Tuesday.

Darren McCarty (ribs) is scheduled to make his return to the NHL tonight, after being out of the League for almost a year.  It will be his first game as a Red Wing since the 2004 Western Conference Semifinals. With his return, Aaron Downey is a healthy scratch.

Dallas Drake (chest) may return, but he has to be cleared by the team medical staff first.  The Wings will recognize Drake tonight for playing in his 1,000th NHL game on March 11th.

Valtteri Filppula (knee, groin) is apparently ready to go and is probable for tonight.

Mikael Samuelsson (groin) did not complete practice yesterday. No word on his status yet, but the Wings are likely to be cautious with him. So, he’ll probably sit.

Tomas Holmstrom (abdomen) is out.

Brad Stuart (broken finger) also remains out.

Projected lines (via MacLeod):

Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Cleary
Hudler-Franzen-Filppula
Kopecky-Draper-Maltby
Hartigan-Drake-McCarty

Projected pairings:

Lidstrom-Rafalski
Kronwall-Chelios
Lebda-Lilja

Dominik Hasek (flu) did not practice yesterday, but will play tonight if he can skate this morning. Otherwise, Chris Osgood will start and Jimmy Howard will back him up.

For more of the Wings perspective, see Snapshots, Abel to Yzerman, HockeyTownTodd, Behind the Jersey, No Pun Intended, yzerman is god, Detroit Hockey, LetsGoWings, Red Wings Brasil, BR Red Wings, and Winging It In Motown.

Tonight will be interesting. The return of Darren McCarty should have the Joe rocking and should provide an emotional undercurrent that runs the risk of clashing with the Blues’ more pugilistic tendencies. Mac is likely to face a number of opportunities to stand up for his teammates as the Blues are certain to take liberties with the Wings in this their last opportunity to do so.

Here’s hoping that if this game becomes a power play fest, the Wings tear St. Louis apart.

Again, thanks to Christy Hammond of Behind the Jersey, Megan and I will be at the game.

GameDay: @ St. Louis (30-33-12, 72 Pts) 8:30 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on March 25, 2008
in 2007-2008, Blues and GameDay
. 1 Comment

Update (3:07 PM): I missed it before, but Bruce MacLeod’s latest post has projected lines and pairings for the Blues:

Kariya-Tkachuk-Boyes
King-McDonald-Backes
McClement-R. Johnson-Mayers
Stempniak-Perron-Janssen

Jackman-E. Johnson
Brewer-Polak
Woywitka-Walker

MacLeod also suggests Legace will be the starter. - Matt

Update (2:55 PM): George Sipple suggests Holmstrom may just miss another week, which would put him back for the April 2nd game in Chicago. That’s certainly better than missing some of the playoffs. - Matt

Update (2:37 PM): Ted Kulfan reports that the Wings are concerned that Holmstrom may miss the start of the playoffs. That would be a heavy blow, to be sure. - Matt

Update (1:57 PM): Bruce MacLeod reports that Dallas Drake will in fact play tonight.

Also, he says Darren McCarty (ribs) is on track for a Friday debut, and Brad Stuart (broken finger) will rejoin the team tomorrow after his week off and will begin skating again. - Matt

Update (1:51 PM): Ansar Khan has an update on Tomas Holmstrom here. Tomas will have to have and MRI and ultrasound tomorrow to check on the status of his abdomen after his setback yesterday. It doesn’t sound like he’s close to returning.

Valtteri Filppula (sore knee, groin) skated after missing virtually all of practice yesterday. They’re looking at a Friday return for him.

Dallas Drake (bruised chest) wasn’t sure about his status for tonight. If he can’t go, the Wings will be short a forward. In that case, they’d probably just put Derek Meech in rather than call Darren Helm back. - Matt

The Detroit Red Wings are in St. Louis tonight for their seventh meeting with the Blues this season. The series stands tied at three, with the two teams alternating wins: St. Louis won November 13th (4-3), December 20th (3-2), and December 31st (2-0), and the Wings won November 21st (3-0), December 26th  (5-0), and March 5th (4-1). The eighth and final meeting will be played on Friday in Detroit.

The Blues fell to 2-7-2 in the month of March with a 4-3 overtime loss in Chicago on Sunday. Their only wins in March came against LA on the 4th (3-2) and Montreal on the 18th (SO). The win over the Canadiens snapped a six-game losing streak that began with their loss to the Wings on the 5th. They returned to losing two days later with a 3-2 loss in Ottawa on Thursday.

The game in Chicago was the last of a nine-game road trip. Tonight is the Blues’ first home-game since their March 4th win over the Kings.

The Blues’ 72 points are good for 14th place in the West and 28th place overall. They are 14 points out of a playoff spot with seven games left.

Brad Boyes and Paul Kariya lead the Blues in points with 57 each. Keith Tkachuk is not far behind with 53. Boyes’ 38 goals is a team high. Tkachuk (23) is the only other St. Louis player to crack 20 goals. Kariya’s 42 assists lead the team by a 12-point margin over Tkachuk and Andy McDonald.

Andy McDonald (foot) is listed as probable. Martin Rucinsky (back) is doubtful. Jay McKee (foot), Dan Hinote (side), and Mike Johnson (shoulder) are out. (via St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

Manny Legace sat out Sunday’s game with a “lower-body muscle strain,” but practiced yesterday. It looks like he’ll be the starter. He is 6-6-0 versus the Wings in his career.

For more on the Blues, see St. Louis Game Time.

The Wings improved to 8-2-0 in March with a 4-1 win over the Blue Jackets on Saturday. The game extended their current win streak to three games. Prior to that, they lost two in a row. A loss to the Predators (3-1) on the 15th cut short a five-game winning streak. They then lost the next day, 4-3 to Columbus. They returned to winning on the 19th with a 3-1 win over the Jackets. The next night, they doubled up the Predators, 6-3.

Tonight is the last of a three-game stretch of road games for the Wings. It hasn’t been a continuous road trip, however. They returned to Detroit after playing in Columbus on Saturday.

The Wings (50-20-6) have a seven-point lead over San Jose for first place overall.  The red-hot Sharks are in Phoenix tonight facing a team that has lost its last five.

Pavel Datsyuk leads the Wings in points with 90. Henrik Zetterberg is the leader in goals with 40. Johan Franzen is the hot stick, with ten goals in his last ten, bringing his total to 22.

The Wings are scheduled to see the return of Dan Cleary (broken jaw) to the lineup tonight. He has been out since taking a Mikael Samuelsson shot to the face on February 9th in Toronto. Cleary made a significant sacrifice in order to return this quickly. For more on that, see George Malik’s post here.

Valtteri Filppula (sore knee, groin) will not return tonight, though a report over the weekend had left open the possibility. It doesn’t look like he’ll be back Friday, either.

Tomas Holmstrom (abdomen) will not return after suffering a setback yesterday. He may not play Friday.

Brad Stuart (broken finger) remains out.

Darren McCarty could be back for the game Friday.

Projected lines (via MacLeod):

Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Samuelsson
Hudler-Franzen-Cleary
Kopecky-Draper-Maltby
Drake-Hartigan-Downey

Projected pairings:

Lidstrom-Rafalski
Kronwall-Chelios
Lebda-Lilja

Dominik Hasek is out with the flu and did not make the trip to St. Louis. Chris Osgood will start tonight.  Jimmy Howard has been recalled to back him up.

For more of the Wings’ perspective, see  Snapshots, Abel to Yzerman, HockeyTownTodd, Behind the Jersey, No Pun Intended, yzerman is god, Detroit Hockey, LetsGoWings, Red Wings Brasil, BR Red Wings, and Winging It In Motown.

This game will be another test of the Wings’ concentration. The Blues are having a rough month and it would therefore be easy to write them off. However, they remain a talented and dangerous team, one that could easily chose tonight to come out of their tailspin. The fact that the Blues will be playing their first home-game in 22 days will provide extra motivation.

The Wings are going to have to be prepared for rough play, especially if they are in the lead. The Blues had the Blackhawks complaining after their game Sunday, though they denied any wrongdoing. I know who I believe, however. St. Louis’ tendency to get goonish when behind dates at least from their Pronger and Quenneville days and makes them a dangerous team in more ways than one. The Wings’ forwards should especially be on the lookout for St. Louis’ resident donkey, Barrett Jackman.

Wings 4, Blue Jackets 1

Published
by
Matt Saler
on March 23, 2008
in 2007-2008, Blue Jackets and GameDay
. 1 Comment

… Let me begin by saying I was embarrassed for the Blue Jackets last night. I don’t know how many times a Columbus player would just fall to the ice for no apparent reason or blow an easy pass for no apparent reason. The brief stretches that the Jackets looked interested were mostly brought on by Rick Nash and did nothing to make up for the long periods in which they looked like they were playing in an exhibition game.

… On the other side of the ice, the Wings were spectacular in moments, less so in others. The first and third were strong periods, but the second was a virtual yawn fest as the Wings sat back and easily beat back the feeble attempts at a comeback by a Columbus team not taking itself seriously enough to be dangerous for more than a minute at a time.

… The Wings’ first goal felt about 10 seconds late, as Pavel Datsyuk had Fredrik Norrena down and out but chose to pass it back to Nick Lidstrom, who had a clean shot at a virtual empty net. The goal was another example of Pavel’s maddening practice of passing the puck when he has a glorious scoring chance of his own. He frequently makes the right decision in those situations, and this was one such case. If he were a right-handed shooter, he would have had a clear shot at the net, but he isn’t so he didn’t.

… Henrik Zetterberg’s goal was just pathetically easy. A perfect pass from Datsyuk made the Jackets look like a pee-wee squad.

… The Jackets’ goal came off the stick of Rick Nash, who earned it with a performance the whole night that put his teammates to shame. In a perfect world, you’d like to see Hasek stop that shot, but Nash is a bona fide goal scorer and released a rocket.

… Franzen’s certainly got the hot stick. We can only hope it carries through to the playoffs.

… Datsyuk made the Jackets’ defense look like amateurs on his third period shorthanded goal. He stole the puck not once, but twice, en route to his 31st of the season. He was flying all night.

… For some reason it didn’t click with me before, but the Wings’ strategy with the first power play unit seems to be to have the defense carry the puck nearly to the blueline before dropping it off to Pavel Datsyuk, who streaks in after building up speed coming out of the Wings’ zone. They haven’t quite gotten the timing right yet, but it’ll be spectacular when they do.

… Hasek was solid. He didn’t have to face many shots (12), which has to drive him crazy. It was good to see him maintain his concentration, though.

… All in all, a solid win for the Wings, who are in a battle to retain their concentration as they finish the season against the Central.

… In response to the fact that the Wings have now had three consecutive 50-win seasons, Pavel Datsyuk told John Keating:

50 wins very important, more important sixteen wins.

Exactly.  (via Snapshots)

… Tuesday should be an interesting game against the Blues. The Wings should see the return of Dan Cleary and Valtteri Filppula, as well as Dallas Drake, that night, and will be able to begin kicking into playoff mode for real.

GameDay: @ Columbus (33-30-11, 77 Pts) 7:00 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on March 22, 2008
in 2007-2008, Blue Jackets and GameDay
. 0 Comments

Update (5:20 PM): LTL of Light the Lamp has a preview posted. Note to LTL: the Jackets have Lindstrom. The Wings have Lidstrom (no “n”).  - Matt

Update (3:00 PM): Bethany of Bethany’s Hockey Rants has her game day comments posted. - Matt

Update (2:10 PM): Bruce MacLeod reports that Kris Draper will in fact play tonight.

Dallas Drake, on the other hand, will not. He has some sort of chest injury, according to Mike Babcock, though he could be back Tuesday. Draper will take Drake’s slot in the lineup so there won’t be any healthy scratches.

MacLeod also reports that Dan Cleary is expected back Tuesday and there’s a chance Valtteri Filppula could return then as well. Ansar Khan says nothing about Fil, but reports that Tomas Holmstrom is expecting to play Tuesday, too.

Khan also confirms that Dominik Hasek will start.

In another post, MacLeod provides the projected lines and pairings for the Jackets. The lines he gives are the same as below, but here are the pairings, which I did not have earlier:

Hejda-Klesla
Hainsey-Rome
Tollefsen-Tarnstrom

Lastly, a Jackets injury update from Puck-rakers: No David Vyborny (knee) or Kris Russell (groin) tonight, as both are not expected back until the Jackets’ Tuesday game. - Matt

Tonight is the seventh of eight meetings between the Detroit Red Wings and the Columbus Blue Jackets this season and the third in the past week. The series stands tied at three, with the Wings winning November 9th (4-1), November 18th (5-4 SO), and March 19th (3-1), and the Jackets winning November 24th (3-2 OT), February 15th (5-1), and March 16 (4-3). The final game will be played on April 3rd in Detroit.

The game is on FSN Plus tonight, not FSN Detroit. If you don’t know what channel that is, see this list.

The Jackets have not played since losing to the Wings on Wednesday. The loss dropped them to 3-3-2 in March.

They are in 13th place in the West, 7 points behind the 8th seed with only eight games remaining.

Columbus lost two players Wednesday night: Dan Fritsche’s left hand was broken by a shot and Jared Boll suffered a hip pointer when he missed Tomas Holmstrom and hit his teammate Fredrik Modin instead. Fritsche will miss the rest of the season. Boll is 3-4 days from returning to the ice.

The Jackets will also be without Pascal Leclaire, who is still suffering the effects of the concussion a teammate gave him prior to the game on Sunday. Defenseman Kris Russell (groin) could return tonight, apparently. David Vyborny (sprained knee) may participate in the morning skate, but it doesn’t sound like he’ll play.

Lines from practice yesterday (via Puck-Rakers):

Nash — Malhotra — Modin
Chimera — Peca — Brule
Murray — Novotny — Zherdev
Picard — MacKenzie — Lindstrom

With Leclaire still out, Fredrik Norrena will get the start.

For the Jackets’ perspective, see John Arvai at Bleacher Report (Light the Lamp) Better on Ice, The Jacket Times, Army of the Ohio, End of the Bench, Neutral Zone Trap, and Bethany’s Hockey Rants.

The Wings improved to 7-2-0 in March with their 6-3 win over Nashville on Thursday. It was a slightly more competitive game than the score indicates, with the Wings blowing a lead in the third period only to pull away again in the end. In that sense it was a messy win, but probably a confidence building one, as they were able to overcome the Preds’ third period push.

With San Jose’s 2-1 win over Anaheim last night, the Wings’ seven-point lead decreased to five with seven games remaining for both teams.

The Wings could see the return of Kris Draper (groin tear) tonight. He centered the third line this morning, according to Bruce MacLeod.

Dan Cleary will not return today after all, having decided to wait until he has the wires removed from his jaw. He could return as soon as Tuesday, but no later than Friday.

Valtteri Filppula (knee, groin) is out until Friday.

It’s looking like Darren McCarty (ribs) could play Friday as well.

According to Ken Holland, Tomas Holmstrom (abdomen) is getting closer and could be back soon, but not today.

Projected lines (via MacLeod)

Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Samuelsson
Hudler-Franzen-Kopecky
Hartigan-Draper-Maltby
Meech-Helm-Downey

MacLeod reports that Dallas Drake did not take part in the morning skate, which could indicate an injury. However, if Drake was just given the practice off and is able to play, Derek Meech is the likely scratch.

Projected pairings:

Lidstrom-Rafalski
Kronwall-Lilja
Lebda-Chelios

Dominik Hasek will be the starter.

For more of the Wings’ perspective, see Snapshots, Abel to Yzerman, HockeyTownTodd, Behind the Jersey, No Pun Intended, Red Wings Nation, yzerman is god, Detroit Hockey, LetsGoWings, Red Wings Brasil, BR Red Wings, and Winging It In Motown. OklahomaWingNut’s GDT is here.

This is another key game for the Wings, who need to keep winning in order to hold off the red-hot San Jose Sharks. At this point in the season, losing first place overall would be a morale killer, especially given the fact that they’d have to lose to Central Division teams to do it.

The emphasis today needs to be on scoring the first goal and playing a complete game.

Wings 6, Predators 3

Published
by
Matt Saler
on March 21, 2008
in 2007-2008, GameDay and Predators
. 7 Comments

A few thoughts on the game:

… Dominik Hasek had more than a few moments of brilliance last night, but they didn’t completely make up for the bad taste left in my mouth after the Predators’ first and second goals. Both game off bad deflections or bounces, but both could have been avoided through better positioning. On the first, the play was well covered by Kronwall and Lidstrom. Dom just needed to make the save. On the second, it was a broken play, but if he had covered the post better, he would have stopped the shot.

At a number of other points in the game, Hasek looked great. But those two goals are something of a concern.

… I’m still not sure how Dan Ellis missed Niklas Kronwall’s shot on the Wings’ first, and based on the fact that he looked down at his glove in disbelief, I don’t think he knows how he missed it either.

… I think Chris Chelios was the last player on the ice to know his shot went in the net on the Wings’ second. Pulling Ellis at that point was an odd move.

… It was good to see Brian Rafalski make Dan Hamhuis pay for his bone-headed up-the-gut clear for the Wings’ third.

… The second period ended with the Predators really looking like little children, eh? How Mason avoided an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for shooting the puck at Hasek, I don’t know. At least they gave that classless piece of donkey refuse Dan Hamhuis two minutes for his big man attack on Henrik Zetterberg.

… The first five minutes of the third period made me sad. That is all.

… Johan Franzen, where did that come from? Please do that again and again in the playoffs.

… Henrik Zetterberg’s pass to Pavel Datsyuk to set up the breakaway that led to the Wings’ 5th goal was a thing of beauty. Datstyuk breakaways don’t happen often enough.

… Poor Kirk Maltby couldn’t hit the empty net from 20 feet out, but got to see Datsyuk do it from halfway between the red line and the blueline. Kirk was shaking his head all the way to the bench.

… All in all, I think that game will be good for the Wings. They gave up a lead, but found a way to pull away again despite the determination of a fast and physical opponent. Hasek was able to improve his game as the night went on and hopefully regained confidence after being pulled Sunday. Here’s hoping they can carry on through with a win over Columbus on Saturday.

The win effectively ended the Predators’ playoff hopes, though they aren’t mathematically eliminated yet. The Wings, on the other hand, pulled two points further ahead of the San Jose Sharks, though the latter have a game in hand.

Highlights

DetroitHockey.net