Posts filed under “GameDay”

Game Day Notes: vs. Nashville

Posted by on . No comments

… This is the sixth and final game between the Wings and Predators this season. It’s also the most important. The series stands at 3-2-0 in the Wings’ favor. Last month, this happened. But last time, the Wings had no late heroics, losing 3-2 in Nashville.

… Since then, the Predators have gone 4-4-1. They’ve lost pairs in a row twice, which will be the pattern the Wings will look to enforce again tonight: they lost their Tuesday matchup with the Blues after winning the prior two games.

… Since they’ve been idle all week, they haven’t had a chance to take advantage of the Wings’ falling on their faces Wednesday in Columbus. They’re just one point back of Detroit now and can take fourth with a win in regulation or extra time thanks to the ROW tie-breaker. This game has major implications for the final standings.

… Nashville would have to win out all in regulation or overtime to catch the Blues. Oh, and they’d need the Blues to lose each of their four remaining games in regulation.

… They clinched a playoff spot with the Ducks’ 3-1 win over the Sharks on Wednesday.

… Alexander Radulov has one goal and two assists since coming back from the KHL via a special dispensation from both Leagues. The Predators are 2-2-0 with their early/late Christmas present.

… Of note: Paul Gaustad was 65% in the circle last time we saw the Predators: 100% against Abdelkader and Helm (3/3), 57% against Hank (4/7) and 33% against Emmerton (1/3). Franzen beat him in their one matchup. Zetterberg was an awful 32% that night, while Helm and Emmerton led the team at 75% and 67%, respectively (not counting Cleary’s 2-for-2).

… The official site points out that Patric Hornqvist has put up seven goals and three assists in 12 games.

… Conveniently for the Predators, they’ve gotten healthy just in time for this game.

… Pekka Rinne will be the starter for the Predators.

… The Wings ended a skid at six games with a win Saturday over the Hurricanes. They kept at it with an emphatic win over the Blue Jackets Monday night. Then they fell off the wagon in Columbus Wednesday and lost to the worst team in hockey.

… Still, that pair of wins put them in fourth and was enough to keep them there with the week the Predators had. It also put them in the playoffs for the 21st straight year. But instead of going into this game with a three-point cushion, they risk falling behind. Should have stayed on the wagon.

… With the Blues’ shootout loss to the Hawks last night, the Central is not quite sewn up yet. Though they’d have to lose out (with no more than one point earned) and the Wings would have to win out to take it from them.

… It was, of course, an optional skate today, which either means too many guys are too banged up to hold a standard skate, even given the high stakes tonight, or they’re in denial about needing to fix anything. I’m not sure which is worse, quite frankly. I know which is more disappointing, but the other may be more worrying.

… Out of the skate, such as it was, however, came the news that still-not-meshing Kyle Quincey will be out. Babcock says it’s not him, it’s me, or something. Jakub Kindl will be in instead.

… And Gustav Nyquist will be in as well. He showed up at the morning skate, though I suspect it was less optional for him than the others. Here’s hoping he gets some decent ice time tonight.

… Jan Mursak’s the healthy scratch on the forward side.

… Babcock’s going with Jimmy Howard, which is the right decision if Jimmy’s actually all the way better. If Bedard and the medical staff cleared him, that’s a good sign. Ty Conklin will be the backup.

… This is as big as it gets in the regular season. The Wings seriously need home ice advantage if they can get it for any length of time and a win tonight is the first best step in getting it. The Predators are no joke, but the Wings don’t have to be either. If the team that showed up Monday makes it to the rink again tonight, it should be an epic battle leaning in their favor.

Otherwise… well, ask the Blackhawks how things went on Sunday.

Game Day Notes: vs. Columbus

Posted by on . No comments

… This is the fifth of six games between the Wings and Jackets this season. The series stands at 3-1-0 in Detroit’s favor. The final meeting with Columbus will come on Wednesday.

… The Jackets are coming off a 6-3 loss to the Oilers yesterday and will now finish the season as the worst team in the League, no matter what they do. They’re 24-44-7, with 55 points.

… They do have this positive to carry into the game: they beat the Hurricanes 5-1 the other night and severely crippled that team’s playoff hopes. They have another chance to play spoiler this week if they can disrupt the Wings’ hopes to maintain their position in the standings.

… However, the loss yesterday was not at all uplifting: they had a 1-0 and then a 2-1 lead, before giving up four straight goals in the second period. So that was ugly. They got within 5-3, but then gave up an ENG to seal the deal.

… They’ll be without Derek McKenzie, Curtis Sanford, Fedor Tyutin, James Wisniewski, Mark Methot, Radek Martinek and Kristian Huselius. So a lot of guys.

… Steve Mason should be the starter. He was yanked yesterday after giving up five second-period goals. But he’s been playing better lately, winning nine of fifteen.

… The Wings cut short a six-game winless skid Saturday night with a 5-4 win over Carolina.

… The win kept them in fourth place, but they’ve since fallen to fifth thanks to the Predators’ emphatic win over Chicago last night. They’re now a point back of the Preds with 7 games left and a game in hand.

… Bill Roose points out that the Wings can secure a playoff spot with a win tonight. They can also do it if they get a point and the Kings and Sharks lose in regulation.

… The lineup will be the same as Saturday.

… Jonathan Ericsson is close, as is Franzen.

… Ty Conklin will start again, with Jordan Pearce backing up. Jimmy Howard is looking at a Friday return.

… The Wings got back in the saddle Saturday night and need to maintain their seat in this one, despite the Jackets’ potential for playing spoiler as a team with nothing to lose.

Game Day Notes: vs. Carolina

Posted by on . No comments

… This is the only meeting between the Wings and Hurricanes this season.

… The Canes are 11th in the East, with a 30-30-15 record. They’re 7 points back of 8th place with 7 games left.

… They’re coming off a 5-1 loss to the Blue Jackets last night in a game that cut off a winning streak at four. That loss puts a dent in their playoffs hopes, which were slim already.

… Eric Staal has been racking up points—44 points in 36 game and 6 in his last 4s—but was pointless last night.

… Andreas Nodl and Jaroslav Spacek were out last night. Nodl was injured on this charge by Zach Bogosian.

… Cam Ward should get the start tonight. He played last night and gave up five goals on 26 shots.

… The Wings are winless in their last six games. They hit the high point of the skid in their last game, a closely-fought 2-1 overtime loss to the Rangers on Wednesday.

… That overtime loss gave the point they needed to take back fourth place from the Predators. The have a chance to pull ahead to a three point lead on the Preds tonight with a win themselves and a Nashville loss to Winnepeg.

… Good injury news: Jakub Kindl will be back tonight, taking Doug Janik’s place in the lineup.

… Better injury news: Nick Lidstrom will take warm-ups and be a game-time decision. Brendan Smith will be the odd-man out if Nick can go.

… The skate was optional, but Johan Franzen took part, so that’s positive news. Even if he apparently doesn’t look close yet.

… Ty Conklin gets the start with Jordan Pearce backing him up. Jimmy Howard was at the skate and should be close.

… The Hurricanes shot themselves in the foot last night against the Blue Jackets and they know it. They’ll be desperate tonight, knowing that they have zero margin for error on top of having to hope for a miracle. The Wings need to bring the effort they had Wednesday night to the rink and take advantage of being slightly less shorthanded.

The skid needs to end now.

Game Day Notes: @ New York (Rangers)

Posted by on . No comments

… This is the one and only meeting between the Wings and the Rangers this season.

… The Rangers are leading the Eastern Conference by 10 points 1 point with 97 and are winners of three of their last eight. Which apparently qualifies them as “red-hot” if you’re a Detroit News headline writer.

… They’re coming off a 4-2 win over the Devils the other night. The game featured fights right off the bat. Probably won’t be any of that tonight.

… The win clinched a playoff spot for the Rangers.

… Looks like it was an optional skate for the Rangers today. Makes sense for this time of year.

… Looks like Artem Anisimov may return tonight after going down with a shoulder injury on the 15th. He’s got 14 goals and 33 points through 69 games.

… The Rangers will be without Michael Sauer and Steve Eminger.

… Henrik Lundqvist should get the start for the Rangers. He’s having a Vezina-type season, with 8 shutouts, a .934 save-percentage and a 1.89 GAA.

… The Wings are 0-4-1 in their last five and are coming off a 5-3 loss to the Capitals on Monday.

… They’re fifth in the West with 92 points, just two above Chicago now.

… They too had an optional skate today. Which would make a lot more sense if they weren’t in a skid and falling in the standings. But I guess even the guys not out of the lineup have plenty of bumps and bruises to rest, so whatever.

… There won’t be any injury returns tonight, though it sounds like Nick, Kindl and Ericsson are close.

… Franzen, meanwhile, is still not sure where he stands.

… Ty Conklin cleared waivers and will get the start. Jordan Pearce will back him up. In some good news, it sounds like Jimmy might have been the backup if Conklin had been claimed.

… The Wings are going up against a formidable team with a very good goalie. They’re shorthanded and on the road. But they need to find a way to win. They lucked out that the Preds lost last night, but with the Hawks’ win, they can’t afford to let this skid go on any longer.

Game Day Notes: vs. Washington

Posted by on . No comments

… This is the second of two meetings between the Wings and Caps this season. The first was a battle of undefeated teams back in October and ended with a 7-1 Washington win.

… The Capitals aren’t undefeated any more, having gone 29-30-6 since that game. At 78 points, they’re in 8th place in the East, just five points back of third place thanks to the division leader privilege (Florida leads with 83). They’re further back from the 7th place team than they are from a home-ice spot. Crazy.

… They played last night in Chicago in the third stop of a five-game road swing that had them in Winnepeg on Friday. They lost to both the Hawks and Jets, but managed to win the road stretch opener against the Islanders last Tuesday. But they had to go to a shootout to do it. That win capped a four-game streak for them, so their recent record isn’t bad.

… The loss to the Hawks was bad news for their playoff hopes, but they got a lucky break with the Hurricanes beating the team just below them in the standings, the Jets. But it’s a potential sign of their ability to step it up when facing a definite must-win situation.

… They had an optional skate after getting in late last night. Hardly anybody took the option.

… The Caps are without Tom Poti, Nicklas Backstrom and Tomas Vokoun.

… No word on the starter for the Caps. Neuvirth started last night.

… The Wings are coming off a brutal road stretch where they went 0-3-1, starting with a one-off trip to Nashville and continuing with three games in California. They managed to force overtime on Saturday and took a point against the Sharks, but other than that, there was very little positive in the past four games.

… They’ll be looking to retake fourth place tonight after losing it with the Predators’ 3-1 win over the Ducks yesterday. They’re currently losing the ROW tie breaker at 92 points.

… They’ll be without Johan Franzen, out still with a back injury, and Darren Helm, who went down with a leg injury Saturday night. Gustav Nyquist was recalled to fill in for Helm, and he’ll apparently skate with Pavel Datsyuk and Todd Bertuzzi.

… Nick Lidstrom remains out as well, but he skated today after taking the weekend off. That’s a promising sign, even if Babcock’s not optimistic.

… Jimmy Howard gets the start, and will be backed up by Jordan Pearce as Joey MacDonald’s still out.

… The Wings need points tonight. The Caps are fighting for a playoff spot, but the Wings need to consider themselves to be fighting for one too: the best one they can get. The Predators did their part last night. The Wings need to do theirs here.

Game Day Notes: @ San Jose

Posted by on . No comments

Update (3:01 PM): Franzen’s confirmed out. Pavel skated with Cleary and Bertuzzi. - Matt

Family in town, so real quick:

… This is the fourth and final game beween the Wings and the Sharks. The series stands at 2-1-0 in San Jose’s favor. They won the first two, but the Wings took the last meeting 3-2 last month.

… The Sharks are 2-3-3 in March, but won their last: 2-1 against Nashville in a shootout.

… They’re 35-25-10 and one point out of the playoffs at 80. They’re chasing Colorado and have three games on the Avs.

… The Sharks are down just one guy, Tommy Wingels.

… Antti Niemi’s the presumptive starter.

… The Wings will look to improve their 2-5-0 record in March.

… They’ve lost their last three, starting with a 3-2 decision to the Predators and continuing with losses to LA and Anaheim.

… This stretch and their 3-7-1 record since February 19th have put them 8 points back of the ridiculously consistent Blues in the Central and in fourth place in the Conference. They’re virtually to the point now where they’re fighting for the last home ice spot with Nashville. The Preds are one point back.

… The Wings will benefit from the return of Pavel Datsyuk, who’s missed 11 games. He last played against San Jose.

… They’ll be missing Johan Franzen, however, who went down with back spasms yesterday.

… Nick Lidstrom’s not with the team in San Jose, having returned to Detroit to take time away from the ice to give his ankle more rest.

… They’re also without the option of Joey MacDonald as backup, as he has back spasms too. Jordan Pearce will back Jimmy Howard up.

… The Wings have had an awful trip so far. They need to do what they can to redeem it by putting in a better effort tonight. The Sharks are desperate for points and will be formidable, but the Wings have reason to match that desperation, with the Predators breathing down their neck. In theory, it should be a closely-matched, hard-fought game.

Game Day Notes: @ Los Angeles

Posted by on . No comments

Update (4:34 PM): Sounds like Nick’s a little further from returning than we thought. - Matt

Update (2:30 PM): Khan with some details from the skate:

- Matt

… This is the fourth and final meeting between the Wings and Kings this season, with the series standing at 3-0-0 Detroit. The Wings have outscored LA 16-6 in their meetings so far, thanks largely to their 8-2 win on December 17th. The most recent meeting took place on Friday, with the Wings coming back to win 4-3 late.

… The Kings fit a game in between this one and Friday’s, beating the Blackhawks 3-2 in a shootout\. That win put them within a couple points of the 8th seed with 76 (to Colorado’s 78).

… That was their fourth win in six games as they’re making a push for that spot.

… The Kings played 14 of their past 18 away from home, so they may have a boost being at home for once.

… Jeff Carter has four goals and one assist in 8 games since joining the Kings last month. Two of those goals came in the past two games.

… The Kings are short just Simon Gagne.

… Jonathan Quick is the presumed starter for the Kings.

… The Wings are coming off a pair of games I missed because I was Up North this weekend. One of them was the comeback win over the Kings on Friday previously mentioned. The other was a 3-2 loss to division rival Nashville on Saturday.

… They now sit six points back of the Blues, who are 9-1-0 in their last 10. The good news is the Wings have a game in hand on them. The bad news is the Predators are just two back of them. Points every night are crucial.

… They’ll get some help on the injury front tonight, with Jimmy Howard returning. Nick Lidstrom, Pavel Datsyuk, Jonathan Ericsson, Jakub Kindl and Todd Bertuzzi remain out, however. Nick and Pavel are out at least two more games, while Bertuzzi’s looking at tomorrow night’s game in Anaheim. Kindl’s out for the trip, however, and Ericsson’s not close.

… Gustav Nyquist will be in tonight after playing three times in three nights over the weekend. Young legs.

… This is where I list the starter for the Wings, but I already did that.

… I also already said that points are critical for the Wings right now, but it bears repeating: points are critical for the Wings right now. If they don’t get points, they’re looking at fourth or fifth place. Neither is particularly attractive. If they can catch the Blues and take first, they’ll get whatever team ends up in 8th, whether that be the hot team that stole it or whichever group slid backwards into it. That can be a blessing or a curse, depending. But I’d rather that than a Central Division battle.

They face off against a desperate team tonight, but need to beat that desperation with some of their own.