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GameDay: @ Dallas (36-21-5, 77 Pts) 3:30 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on February 17, 2008
in 2007-2008, GameDay and Stars
. 7 Comments

Update (1:34 PM): NHL.com’s John McGourty looks at the match-up here.

Rob Shick (16) and Justin St. Pierre (45) will officiate the game. Tim Nowak (77) and Tony Sericolo (84) will man the lines. - Matt

The Detroit Red Wings and the Dallas Stars, the two top teams in the West, meet this afternoon on NBC in the Game of the Week. The Wings won both of the previous meetings, beginning with a 4-1 decision on January 2nd and continuing with a 3-0 shutout on January 5th.  The fourth and final meeting will take place on March 13th in Detroit.

The Stars are 7-1-0 in February, with their only loss coming on the 14th in Phoenix. The loss snapped a seven-game winning streak that went back to January and included wins over Vancouver (2x), Edmonton, Calgary,  Minnesota, St. Louis, and Phoenix. The night after their loss to the Coyotes, they put down the Ducks in Anaheim, 4-2. They are kicking off a three-game homestand this afternoon.

Dallas leads the Pacific Division with 77 points. Anaheim and San Jose have 71 and 70 respectively. They are ten points behind the Wings for the League lead and are four points ahead of Ottawa for second place overall.

Mike Ribeiro leads the team in assists (43) and points (67), but his 24 goals are tied with Brendan Morrow. Six other Stars have 10 or more goals: Niklas Hagman (20), Mike Modano (16), Jussi Jokinen (14), Antti Miettinen (12), Jeff Halpern (10), and Steve Ott (10).

The Stars will be without Sergei Zubov (groin/foot) and Phillippe Boucher (shoulder).

Mark Fistric (face laceration) is scheduled to play.

The starter has not been announced, but it looks like Marty Turco is a good bet.

For the Stars’ perspective, see Andrew’s Stars Page (preview here),  Razor with an Edge (official),  Stars Blog (Dallas Morning News), and Stars Scene.

The Wings fell to 3-4-1 in the month of February with their fifth straight loss Friday night. In what was supposed to be a recovery game, they got shellacked at home by the Columbus Blue Jackets, 5-1. Rather than gradual improvement, the team’s play has seemingly fallen off more with every game they’ve played lately. As recently as a week ago, they looked like they could pull out a win. With bad losses to Nashville and Columbus, however, this team has never looked less like the dominant force it has been most of the season.

Today’s game kicks off a five-game stretch of road games, though they will return home following tomorrow night’s game in Denver. After that, they don’t play again until Friday in Calgary.

Despite their current nose dive, the Wings still lead the League by ten points. If that’s not a mark of their previous dominance, I don’t know what is. Let’s hope they can recover it soon.

Henrik Zetterberg leads the team in goals with 33, but he has not scored in his last four. Nick Lidstrom is now the team leader in assists with 50, but Pavel Datsyuk is not far behind him with 48.

Jiri Hudler is goalless in 13. Valtteri Filppula is goalless in nine. Those two have to get going.

The Wings will be without Niklas Kronwall (clavicle) for the ninth straight game. Derek Meech will continue to fill in for #55.

Brian Rafalski (groin) is expected to sit out for the second game in a row. If he does, Kyle Quincey will fill in.

Dan Cleary (broken jaw) will miss his third straight. It looks like Aaron Downey will dress again.

Projected lines (via Khan):

Franzen-Datsyuk-Holmstrom
Filppula-Zetterberg-Samuelsson
Kopecky-Draper-Maltby
Hudler-Drake-Downey

Projected pairings:

Lidstrom-Chelios
Lebda-Lilja
Quincey-Meech

You can expect some mixing there, as Quincey and Meech will probably see time with more experienced defensemen throughout the night.

Jimmy Howard will start today. By the way, today is the first time this season I’ve been disappointed in Chris Osgood. His comment to George Sipple about his record against Dallas was very out of character for him and something I hope does not become a habit.

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, and Winging It In Motown.

OklahomaWingNut’s GDT is here.

This is obviously a big game for the Wings, who need a win badly. I would love to see the Wings put on a great performance on national TV and make up for last week’s debacle. Can they do it? Sure. Of course. Will they? I don’t know. At this point, I’m with IwoCPO:

But don’t fret.  There’s always Turco.

But that’s not going to be enough.  I’m thinking we’re looking at 6.

I hope we’re wrong, because I’m not looking forward to hearing the same people who called the Wings the most dominant team in hockey start hailing their downfall, as if that’s what a losing streak means.

I want to see the Wings pull out of this skid and doing it while backstopped by Jimmy Howard would make for a great story, even though it may create some controversy.

Can they just flip a switch and win like that?

I hope so.

GameDay: vs. Columbus (26-24-9, 61 Pts) 7:30 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on February 15, 2008
in 2007-2008, Blue Jackets and GameDay
. 3 Comments

Update (4:47 PM): In his latest update, the Columbus Dispatch’s Aaron Portzline delivers a typical below-the-belt shot at Detroit.

My response? Have you been to Toledo lately? I hear they’re painting abandoned buildings to make them look occupied. And they kicked Marines out so that they couldn’t undergo necessary training. How’s that for an image? My point is there are blighted cities in every state and kicking them while they’re down does nothing more than perpetuate that image. It certainly does nothing to contribute to that city’s recovery. Thanks, Mr. Portzline.

Aside from taking easy potshots at the city, Mr. Porztline does provide some actual journalistic content:

No Fedorov tonight, though he may return tomorrow  Sunday in St. Louis.

No Jiri Notovny, either.

Pascal Leclaire will start.

Modin will skate on the top line with David Vyborny and Rick Nash.

Portzline also thinks the rumors of Fedorov’s return to Detroit are “premature,” saying the Jackets will probably wait until just before the deadline to move him. - Matt

Update (1:51 PM): Bethany has her pre-game thoughts posted. I found this comment to be particularly interesting:

Fedorov has had an amazing career and after this season I’m certain that he will call it quits.

I’m not as up to speed on Fedorov as I used to be, but I find it hard to believe that he’d automatically “call it quits” after this season.

Also, check out JacketBuzz for more of the Columbus perspective. - Matt

Update (11:50 AM): Ryan Doherty confirms the defensive pairings listed below (Lidstrom/Chelios, Lebda/Lilja, Quincey/Meech).

He also notes that Sergei Fedorov made the trip with the Jackets and that he is participating in the team’s morning skate.

That doesn’t necessarily mean Fedorov will play tonight, however. It’s probable that he came along with the team just so that he could stay in shape as he continues to recover.  - Matt

Update (11:37 AM): IwoCPO has some more on a possible Fedorov-to-Detroit move at the deadline as USA Today’s Kevin Allen weighs in here. - Matt

Update (10:38 AM): I missed this: Columbus activated Fredrik Modin off the IR Wednesday, so he’ll be in the lineup tonight. He has missed 47 games this season, but scored 22 goals for the Jackets last year and is an offensive threat. - Matt

Tonight is the fourth of eight games between the Detroit Red Wings and the Columbus Blue Jackets this season. Detroit leads the series 2-1 with wins November 9th (4-1) and November 18th (5-4 SO). Columbus won the November 23rd 24th meeting, 3-2 in a shootout. The teams will face-off three times in March and once in April to round out the series.

The Blue Jackets are 1-2-3 in February, with their only win coming in Phoenix on the 7th. The 2-1 decision snapped a four-game skid that began in January. Since then, however, they have lost three in a row, starting with a 2-1 overtime loss in San Jose on the 8th. Two nights later, they played host to the LA Kings and lost 3-2 in a shootout. On Tuesday, they were embarrassed by the Chicago Blackhawks in their own arena, losing 7-2.

Tonight’s game kicks off a five-game road trip for the Jackets, who will make stops in St. Louis, Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal  before returning home for a game against the Sharks on the 27th.

Columbus’ 61 points are good for third in the Central Division and 11th in the Western Conference. They are five points behind Nashville for second place in the Division and four points behind Colorado for the eight seed.

Nikolai Zherdev leads the team with 48 points, 26 of which are assists. Rick Nash is the top goal-scorer with 29. Just Zherdev (22) and Jason Chimera (11) have reached double-digit numbers in goals scored. Former (and perhaps future?) Red Wing Sergei Fedorov has 19 assists and 27 points.

Jan Hejda is unique for the Jackets in that he is +6 through 58 games. The rest of the team is +1 or below.

The Jackets have been hit pretty hard by injuries/sickness lately. The Columbus Dispatch lists Zherdev (knee) and Jiri Notovny (shoulder) as questionabale, while Sergei Fedorov (concussion) and Jared Boll  (bronchitis) are out.

Pascal Leclaire is expected to start tonight, though he has had the flu and isn’t a lock to play.

For the Columbus side of things, see  Better on Ice, The Jacket Times, Army of the Ohio, End of the Bench, Neutral Zone Trap, and Bethany’s Hockey Rants.

The Wings fell to 3-3-1 in February with their fourth straight loss Tuesday night. They began the month with three wins extending a streak to eight games, but the skid began with a 5-3 loss at home to the Kings on the 7th. They lost 3-2 in overtime on the road against the Leafs on the 9th and followed that up with a 3-2 loss to Anaheim the next afternoon. On Tuesday, they dropped a game to the Predators in Nashville, 4-2.

Tonight’s game is the last before a five-game road trip that will take them to Dallas, Denver, Calgary, Vancouver, and Edmonton. They will play San Jose at home on the 29th.

Despite their recent troubles, the Wings maintain a 12-point lead over Dallas and a 14-point lead over Ottawa to hold their place atop the League.

Henrik Zetterberg leads the team in points with 70 and his 33 goals are also a team high. He is goalless in his last three games. Pavel Datsyuk is the top assist man with 48. Five active Red Wings have 10 or more goals: Datsyuk (20), Tomas Holmstrom (20), Valtteri Filppula (15), Johan Franzen (12), and Jiri Hudler (11).

The Wings will be without Niklas Kronwall (clavicle) for the eight straight game. He is hoping to return Sunday in Dallas. Derek Meech will continue to gain NHL experience.

Dan Cleary (broken jaw) will miss his second full game. It looks like Aaron Downey got  the most reps in practice yesterday, so there’s a good chance he’ll dress tonight instead of Matt Ellis.

Brian Rafalski (groin) will sit out. Kyle Quincey has been called up from the AHL to fill in.

Projected lines (via Khan):

Filppula-Datsyuk-Holmstrom
Franzen-Zetterberg-Samuelsson
Hudler-Draper-Kopecky
Maltby-Drake-Downey

Projected pairings:

Lidstrom-Chelios
Lebda-Lilja
Quincey-Meech

That third pairing isn’t as frightening as you might think, as those two have experience together in Grand Rapids. However, we can expect some mixing on the blueline. Babcock seems to be giving Meech more responsibility, so it wouldn’t surprise me if he saw time with Lidstrom and Lilja.

Chris Osgood will get his second-straight start tonight. He was pulled Tuesday night as Babcock tried to send a message to the team. Jimmy Howard will back him up, as Dominik Hasek is out with a sore hip flexor.

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, and Winging It In Motown.

OklahomaWingNut’s GDT is here.

This is a big game for both teams. The Wings are looking to halt a skid before they head out on a road trip this weekend and the Blue Jackets will be looking to rebound from their embarrassing loss Tuesday night. The Jackets have the added motivation of fighting for a playoff spot.

For the Wings, it’s a must-win situation. The last thing they need is to go into Dallas on Sunday while still on a losing streak. If nothing else, they have to elevate their game well above the level at which they’ve been playing lately. They cannot afford to have a slow start as they did Tuesday night, as a highly-motivated Columbus team will make them pay.

With a guy like Rick Nash dressed for the opposition, they’ll have to give Osgood better support this time around.

I will not be watching tonight because I will be at Van Andel Arena watching Darren McCarty’s home debut with the Grand Rapids Griffins.

GameDay: @ Nashville (29-22-6, 64 Pts) 8:00 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on February 12, 2008
in 2007-2008, GameDay and Predators
. 0 Comments

Update (3:45 PM): Bruce MacLeod has projected lines and pairings for both teams posted here. Basically, the top two lines for the Wings should look the same, but the bottom two may see some mixing.

He also confirms that Matt Ellis will dress tonight at the expense of Aaron Downey.  - Matt

Update (11:39 AM): HockeyTownTodd has his pre-game numbers posted. - Matt

Tonight is the fourth of eight games between the Detroit Red Wings and the Nashville Predators this season. The Wings lead the series 2-1 with wins November 7th (3-2 SO) and December 10th (2-1). The Predators won the November 22nd meeting, 3-2. The remaining games will all be played in March.

The Predators are 3-1-1 in February. They began the month with a 3-2 overtime win over Phoenix and continued with a 1-0 win over Carolina. They lost 2-1 in overtime to Tampa Bay on the 7th and lost again two nights later in San Jose, 4-3. They met the Coyotes for the second time this month on Sunday and came out on the winning side of a 6-3 decision. Tonight is the first of a three-game homestand.

Nashville is second in the Central Division with 64 points, 23 behind Detroit. They are currently in 8th place in the West.

J.P. Dumont and Jason Arnott lead the team in points with 50 each. Alexander Radulov is the leading goal-scorer with 21. Dumont (20), Arnoot (19), Martin Erat (16), David Legwand (13), and Radek Bonk (12) are the other Predators with double-digit goal totals.

The Tennessean lists Erat (back) as questionable for tonight. Steve Sullivan (back) and Jordin Tootoo (hip flexor) are out.  Dumont is planning on playing through some breathing pain.

Chris Mason should be in net for the Predators tonight.

For the Predators’ perspective, see Pred-Joe and On the Forecheck.

The Wings fell to 3-2-1 in February with their third-straight loss Sunday. The skid began last Thursday at home against the Kings after they blew a two-goal lead in the third period. It continued with a 3-2 overtime loss to the Maple Leafs in Toronto on Saturday.  On Sunday, they came out on the wrong end of a blown no-goal call and lost 3-2 to the Ducks. The team is two games away from a five-game road trip to cities such as Dallas and Denver, as well as Calgary, Vancouver, and Edmonton.

Despite their current troubles, the Wings remain atop the NHL, with their 87 points giving them an 18-point lead over the second-ranked team, Ottawa.

Henrik Zetterberg leads the team with 33 goals, but he has not scored since the LA game.  He also leads the team in points with 70. Pavel Datsyuk leads the team in  assists with 48. Six active Wings have double-digit goals: Tomas Holmstrom (20), Datsyuk (19), Valtteri Filppula (15), Jiri Hudler (11), Johan Franzen (11), and Brian Rafalski (10).

The Wings will be without Niklas Kronwall (sternoclavicular sprain) for the 7th game. Derek Meech will continue to gain NHL experience.

The team will also be without Dan Cleary (broken jaw) for the second straight game. My guess is we’ll see Matt Ellis in the lineup tonight rather than Aaron Downey.

Projected lines:

Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Holmstrom
Franzen-Filppula-Samuelsson
Drake-Draper-Maltby
Kopecky-Ellis-Hudler

Projected pairings:

Lidstrom-Rafalski
Lebda-Lilja
Meech-Chelios

I noticed Meech got some time with Lilja Sunday afternoon. I wouldn’t be surprised if that continues, as Babcock seems to be gaining confidence in the young defenseman.

With Dominik Hasek day-to-day with an inflammed hip flexor, Chris Osgood will be the starter. Jimmy Howard will back him up.

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, and Winging It In Motown.

OklahomaWingNut’s GDT is here.

Tonight is a big game for the Wings. They have a bit of a slide going and with the tough schedule they have coming up, it could turn into a tailspin if they don’t pull out of it quickly. Friday, the Blue Jackets will be playing for a playoff spot. Sunday, the Wings are in Dallas, the only team that’s anywhere near them in the West. Monday, they’re facing a team that has given them trouble all season, the Avalanche. After that, it’s a three-game Western Canada swing.

Tonight, the Predators will be fighting to maintain their 8th seed. Despite that, they present a good opportunity for the Wings to return to their winning ways. I can’t say that a win tonight is essential, but it’ll only get tougher over the next seven or so games.

GameDay: vs. Anaheim (30-22-7, 67 Pts) 3:30 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on February 10, 2008
in 2007-2008, Ducks and GameDay
. 2 Comments

This afternoon, the Anaheim Ducks and Detroit Red Wings meet for the fourth time this season. Detroit leads the series 2-1 with wins October 3rd (3-2 SO) and January 23rd (2-1). Anaheim won the October 15th meeting, 6-3.

The match-up is the ‘NHL Game of the Week’  and will be televised on NBC.

The Ducks are 3-3-1 since January 23rd. The night after losing to Detroit, they kicked off a nine-game road trip with a 3-1 loss in LA. On January 30th, they were on the losing side of a 5-1 decision in Minnesota. Two nights later, they skated to a 1-0 shootout loss in St. Louis.  Less than 24 hours later, they were shutout by Martin Baron and the Philadelphia Flyers, 3-1.

They turned things around with a 3-0 win over the Islanders on February 5th and continued by beating the Rangers 4-1 on Thursday. On Friday, they extended their winning streak to three games with a 2-1 decision in New Jersey.  The win put them at 14-15-3 on the road this season.

Anaheim’s 67 points is good for third in the Pacific Division, behind San Jose (69) and Dallas (73).  They are currently fifth in the West and would face the Sharks in the first round if the playoffs started today.

Teemu Selanne returned to the ice from semi-retirement  on February 5th. The Ducks are 3-0-0 since then, though he has only two assists over that span. The team’s other late returnee, Scott Niedermayer, has three goals and ten assists through 25 games. Anaheim is 15-7-2 since his December 16th return.

Corey Perry leads the Ducks in goals with 28 and his 48 points are good for second on the team. Ryan Getzlaf has 40 assists and 59 points to lead Anaheim. Aside from Getzlaf and Perry, three other Ducks have ten or more goals: Chris Kunitz (16), Todd Bertuzzi (12), and Chris Pronger (11). Doug Weight has nine goals.

The Ducks will be without shutdown specialist Sami Pahlsson (abdomen), though it sounds like he’s close to making a return. The LA Times reports that forward Travis Moen (flu) practiced yesterday, but it doesn’t look like he’ll be in.

JS Giguere will get the start tonight.

For the Ducks’ perspective, see Anaheim Duck Fan, The Battle of California (Gameday here), Ducks Wire,  Girl with a Puck, and On the Pond.

The Wings are 4-1-1 since January 23rd, but have lost their last two. First, they blew a 3-1 lead to lose 5-3 to the Kings on Thursday. Then, they blew a 2-1 lead to lose 3-2 in overtime in Toronto yesterday. It was a game in which they were fortunate to get a point. Dominik Hasek was not as good as he has been lately, but he was not given much support as the Wings’ defensive coverage was not as it should have been.

On one hand, Nick Lidstrom made a strong case for his MVP candidacy under the blinding Toronto media spotlight, posting a goal and an assist on two nice plays. On the other, his case may have been hurt, as the first Leafs’ goal deflected in off his skate and the game-tying goal came after his poke-check on Mats Sundin failed. Still, he may get a pass because both shots should have been stopped by Hasek.

The team leaders in points, Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk, notched their 69th and 66th respectively. Zetterberg was given a second assist on the Lidstrom goal despite the fact that the order of passing was Zetterberg to Lidstrom to Datsyuk to Lidstrom and goal. Hank made the outlet pass, but Datsyuk and Lidstrom combined to make the play.

The Wings lost a major part of their forward corps during the first period yesterday. Toward the end of a power play, a Mikael Samuelsson one-timer hit Dan Cleary in the face and broke his jaw. Cleary will have to undergo surgery and will be out 6-8 weeks, effectively the remainder of the regular season.

Jiri Hudler sat out the Toronto game as Mike Babcock sent the young forward a message. He may be watching from the luxury box once again as the size and physicality of the Ducks together with his current scoring slump give Babcock an easy excuse to bench him once more.

Aaron Downey should get his second consecutive game in the lineup, and if Hudler sits again, Matt Ellis will dress.

Niklas Kronwall (clavicle) will miss his fifth game. Derek Meech will fill in again.

Projected lines:

Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Holmstrom
Filppula-Franzen-Samuelsson
Drake-Draper-Maltby
Kopecky-Ellis-Downey

I thought that second line played very well following Cleary’s injury. It looks like a good mix. I put Franzen in the middle rather than Filppula because the Wings like him at center against teams with big forwards like Anaheim has.

Projected pairings:

Lidstrom-Rafalski
Lebda-Lilja
Meech-Chelios

Chris Osgood should get the start today.

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, and Winging It In Motown.

Todd has his pre-game numbers posted here.

This is a huge game for both teams. It’s the first time this season that the Wings will meet the fully reconstituted Ducks and the fact that they’ll have to do it without two key players will be a good test of their resiliency. The Ducks, on the other hand, will be looking to see how they  measure  up now that they have all the pieces in place.

The Wings will have to find a way to get out of the funk that has been evident in their game over the past week or so and the Ducks may be just the team to jolt them back to form. If they rise to the challenge as they did on January 23rd, this will be a good game and will live up to the hype. If they don’t, it may get ugly.

They played in front of a national Canadian audience yesterday and underperformed. They have a chance to  make up for it in front of a national US audience today.

GameDay: @ Toronto (22-25-9, 53 Pts) 3:00 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on February 9, 2008
in 2007-2008, GameDay and Leafs
. 5 Comments

Update (3:07 PM): Bruce MacLeod reports that Jiri Hudler (left shoulder) will sit out the game  today. Hudler was hurt during the first period the Kings game, but played through it through the end, though he was limited to just 14 shifts and 9:13 in TOI.

Aaron Downey will dress instead and I assume that  means Dallas Drake will also play. - Matt 

The Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs meet this afternoon for the only time this season. The Wings won the last meeting, 5-1 on December 9th, 2006 in Detroit. It is their first trip to Toronto since December 6th, 2003, when they lost 5-2. Detroit leads the all-time series 274-272-93-0.

Dan Marouelli and Dean Warren will officiate the game. David Brisebois and Greg Devorski will man the lines.

The Maple Leafs are 7-9-1 thus far in 2008, with five of those losses coming together from January 3rd to January 12th. They won their three games from January 15th to January 19th, but are 2-3-1 since. They lost to Washington, St. Louis, and Carolina  (OT) before pulling out a win over the Senators on February 2nd. Three nights later, they lost 8-0 to Florida, but they rebounded from that embarrassment with a 4-2 win over Montreal on the 7th.

The Leafs are last in the Northeast Division with 53 points and are 14th in the East. They are four points from last place in the League.

Toronto will be without Alexei Ponikarovsky (shoulder), Mark Bell (orbital bone), Chad Kilger (personal) and Daryle Boyce (shoulder).

The Globe and Mail reports that Alex Steen (shoulder) will return this afternoon. Bryan McCabe (broken hand) returned to the lineup Thursday. Nik Antropov will be free to return from a three-game suspension.

Mats Sundin leads the team in goals (22), assists (35) and points (57). Antropov (18), Ponikarovsky (13), Matt Stajan (12), Jason Blake (11), and Steen (10) are the other Leafs with double-digit goals. Former Red Wing Boyd Devereaux has seven goals and nine assists. McCable has just four goals and eight assists. Niklas Kronwall’s brother, Staffan, has zero points over ten games and hasn’t played since December 4th.

It looks like Vesa Toskala will get the nod for the Leafs today.

For the Leafs’ perspective, see No Stanley Cups Allowed,  Battle of Ontario,  Bay Street Bullies,  Bitter Leafs Fan Page,  Bring Back Potvin (preview here),  Buds Banter, and Pension Plan Puppets (preview here).

The Wings are 12-3-1 in 2008 thus far. Three of their losses came in a clump in middle of January and snapped a four-game win streak that started the year. After a loss to Atlanta on the 15th, they rattled off eight straight wins, but that stretch ended Thursday night with their 5-3 loss to the Kings.

Detroit is first in the League with 86 points, 15 ahead of the #2 team, Dallas.

Henrik Zetterberg scored his team-leading 32nd and 33rd goals Thursday night. Pavel Datsyuk leads the team with 47 assists and his 65 points are second-best to Zetterberg’s 68. Dan Cleary (20), Tomas Holmstrom (20), Datsyuk (18), Valtteri Filppula (15), Jiri Hudler (11), Brian Rafalski (10), and Johan Franzen (10) are the other Wings with 10 or more goals.

Niklas Kronwall (clavicle) is the only injured Red Wing at the moment. Derek Meech will fill in for the fourth straight game.

Matt Ellis was in the lineup Thursday night at Dallas Drake’s expense. I suspect there’s a chance Babcock will go with Aaron Downey today, which would mean Drake would sit another game.

Projected lines:

Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Holmstrom
Samuelsson-Filppula-Cleary
Franzen-Draper-Maltby
Kopecky-Hudler-Downey

Projected pairings

Lidstrom-Rafalski
Lebda-Lilja
Meech-Chelios

Dominik Hasek will be in net for the Wings.

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, and Winging It In Motown.

Todd has his numbers posted here. OklahomaWingNut’s GDT is here.

This is obviously a big prestige game for both teams. Although the Leafs have struggled greatly this season, a win in the media storm in Toronto on Hockey Day in Canada would be definite boost to the Wings as they head into another big prestige game tomorrow. For the Leafs, a win over the top team in the League would be huge for team morale.

The Wings were embarrassed Thursday night and that should not bode well for Toronto as Detroit will be looking to rebound in a big way.

This is definitely one of those days where I wish I was at home in the Detroit area rather than here in West Michigan where CBC is not offered.

GameDay: vs. Los Angeles (22-30-3, 47 Pts) 7:30 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on February 7, 2008
in 2007-2008, GameDay and Kings
. 1 Comment

Update (5:15 PM): The Kings have placed Rob Blake on the IR. - Matt

Update (2:56 PM): Rudy Kelly of The Battle of California has posted his preview of the game. - Matt

Update (1:21 PM): Via NHL Media: Mike Hasenfratz (30) and Steve Kozari (40) will referee the game tonight, and Scott Cherry (50) and Mike Cvic (88) will  man the lines. - Matt

Update (1:16 PM): A couple GDTs:

- Matt
Tonight the LA Kings and the Detroit Red Wings meet for the fourth and final time this season. Detroit leads the series 3-0, with wins October 14th (4-1), December 19th (6-2), and January 22nd (3-0).

The Kings are 3-1-1 since January 22nd, with their only losses coming to Philadelphia (3-2 OT) on the 29th and  New Jersey (6-3) on February 2nd. They rebounded from their loss to the Wings with a 3-1 win over the Ducks on the 24th and beat the Islanders 3-1 two days after losing to the Flyers. On Tuesday, they defeated the Rangers 4-2. They are four games into an eight-game stretch of road game, seven of which are after the All Star Break.

LA is fifth in the Pacific Division and last in the League. They are two points behind Tampa Bay.

Anze Kopitar leads the Kings with 50 points. His 21 goals are second-best to Dustin Brown’s 24. Three other Kings have 10 or more goals: Cammalleri (15), Alexander Frolov (13), and Patrick O’Sullivan (12).

The Free Press lists Rob Blake (ankle) as out and Kevin Dallman (foot) and Ladislav Nagy (neck) as questionable for tonight. Blake suffered a broken ankle on January 15th, but played through it for six games before going down for two weeks at the start of the month. The Kings put Nagy on the IR on Tuesday while activating forward Mike Cammalleri.

Jason LaBarbera should get the start tonight. If he does, he’ll be backed up by the newly-recalled Dan Cloutier.

For the Kings’ perspective, see The Battle of California,  Inside the Kings,  Hockeywood Tonight,  Purple Crushed Velvet, and  A Queen Among Kings.

The Wings are 5-0-0 since January 22nd with wins over Anaheim, Phoenix, Colorado, Boston, and Minnesota. They have won eight in a row.

Detroit leads the League with a 41-10-4 record through 55 games.

The Wings have three 20 or more goal scorers: Henrik Zetterberg (31), Tomas Holmstrom (20) and Dan Cleary (20). Pavel Datsyuk is not far behind with 18. Johan Franzen joined the 10 or more goals club Tuesday with his 10th of the season. Brian Rafalski (10), Jiri Hudler (11), and Valtteri Filppula (15) round out the Wings’ double-digit scorers. As the Freep points out today, Hudler is goalless in nine and pointless in six.

Niklas Kronwall (shoulder) is the team’s only injured player. Derek Meech will fill in once again.

There should be no changes to the lineup tonight.

Projected lines (via Red Wings Corner):

Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Holmstrom
Hudler-Filppula-Cleary
Kopecky-Franzen-Samuelsson
Drake-Draper-Maltby

As usual, expect some mixing as the game goes on.

Projected pairings:

Lidstrom-Rafalski
Lebda-Lilja
Meech-Chelios

I expect Chris Osgood to get the start tonight.

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, and Winging It In Motown.

Todd has his game-day numbers posted.

This is a key game for the Wings, who must demonstrate that they can maintain concentration even when playing an opponent as low in the standings as the Kings. LA has been strong lately and a win cannot be taken for granted.  If Detroit takes this game seriously, the Kings don’t stand a chance. If the Wings are complacent, however, LA could make a statement.

GameDay: @ Minnesota (30-19-3, 63 Pts) 8:00 ET

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

Update (4:35 PM): Bruce MacLeod confirms the Red Wings’ lines and pairings listed below. He also provides probable forward and defensive units for Minnesota:

Fedoruk-Demitra-Gaborik
Rolston-Belanger-Bouchard
Veilleux-Koivu-Radivojevic
Voros-Sheppard-Parrish

Schultz-Burns
Johnsson-Skoula
Carney-Foster

In a separate post, he has an update on Niklas Kronwall. Nothing new, really, though Mike Babcock told MacLeod,

“Every time you interview Kronner, he’s going to tell you how good he feels. This is going to be longer than he thinks. “

Also, be sure to check out the official Wild preview on the team website.

I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: the Wings ought to have someone writing unique game previews like that rather than rely on AP cookie-cutter previews like this one, which you can find here, here and here among other places. - Matt

Update (1:02 PM): The Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune’s Michael Russo reports that Niklas Backstrom will start tonight. He should be back up by Nolan Schafer, who will cover for a sick Josh Harding.

He says, “Looks to me from watching Detroit skate that Dominik Hasek is in net, but not positive.”

Russo also confirms that Mark Parrish will be out. Matt Foy will dress instead.

Lastly, he notes that Jacque Lemaire made the skate optional today, strictly to see who would opt out. As he points out, the fact that everyone but Parrish, Boogaard and Harding participated in the skate should indicate how seriously the Wild are taking this game. - Matt

The Detroit Red Wings and the Minnesota Wild face off for the fourth time this season tonight in the State of Hockey. The puck drops at 8:00 ET.

The Wings lead the series 2-1-1, with wins December 7th (5-0) and December 22nd (4-1). Minnesota took the January 10th contest, 6-5 in a shootout at Joe Louis Arena.

Gord Dwyer (39) and Steve Kozari (40) will officiate the game tonight. Mike Cvik (88) and Mark Pare (79) will be the linesmen.

Minnesota finished 7-4-1 in January. Their win over the Wings on the 10th kicked off a three-game streak that ended with a shootout loss to Calgary on the 16th. Two nights later, they dropped a game to the Ducks.

Since then, however, they are 4-1-0, including a revenge win over Anaheim on the 30th. They couldn’t get past the Flames on the 22nd, however. They were in Columbus on February 2nd and pulled out a 4-1 win over the Blue Jackets and are now home for their next three.

The Wild are first in the Northwest Division, with a two-point lead over Colorado and a three-point lead over Calgary. As the Division leader, they occupy the third seed in the West, despite having fewer points than the San Jose Sharks.

Minnesota will be without Derek Boogaard (back), Sean Hill (ankle), and Mark Parrish (concussion).

Marian Gaborik leads the Wild with 28 goals and 55 points. Brian Rolston is second in goals scored with 19, while Pierre-Marc Bouchard is second in points with 45, 11 of which are goals.

Three other Minnesota players have scored 10 or more goals: Parrish (13), Eric Belanger (12), and Pavol Demitra (10). Demitra has four assists in his last two games.

It looks as though Niklas Backstrom will be in net tonight for the Wild, though I cannot find actual confirmation on that. It’s possible that Jacque Lemaire will instead go with Josh Harding, who had a very strong outing against the Wings in the January 10th game.

For the Wild perspective, see The State of Hockey News (preview here), Wild Puck Banter, In the State of Hockey, and Land of Lakes and Hockey.

The Wings finished January 9-2-1, with their only losses coming to Minnesota, Ottawa, and Atlanta. They have won their last seven games, including three California contests and two sets of back-to-back matches.  They are coming off a hard-fought win over a physical Boston team in a game that came the night after a depleted Colorado squad tried riding over them rough-shod. In both games, the Wings adjusted to the style of play and came out on top.

Detroit sits atop the Central Division, Western Conference and National Hockey League with  40 wins and 84 points, 16 points ahead of the second-place team overall, Ottawa.

The team will be without defenseman Niklas Kronwall (shoulder) for the third game in a row. Rookie Derek Meech will fill in once more.

Henrik Zetterberg leads the team in goals with 31 and tied with Pavel Datsyuk for the points lead with 65. Datsyuk cracked a nine-game goalless streak  with his 18th of the season Saturday in Boston.

Five other Red Wings have 10 or more goals: Tomas Holmstrom (20), Dan Cleary (19), Valtteri Filppula (15), Jiri Hudler (11), and Brian Rafalski (10). Kris Draper and Johan Franzen both have nine, while Mikael Samuelsson has eight.

Projected lines (based on Monday’s practice units):

Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Holmstrom
Hudler-Filppula-Cleary
Kopecky-Franzen-Samuelsson
Drake-Draper-Maltby

Projected pairings:

Lidstrom-Rafalski
Lebda-Lilja
Meech-Chelios

Expect to see the second and third pairings mix somewhat as Chris Chelios continues to undertake greater responsibility in the absence of Kronwall.

Dominik Hasek should get the start tonight.

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, and Winging It In Motown.

Todd has his pre-game numbers posted and OklahomaWingNut’s GDT is here.

Minnesota has been strong lately and are certainly looking to prove that they can skate with the best in the league. For them and their fans, this game is huge. If they are going to prove anything, however, they’ll have to do it against a team that is even hotter than they are.

With the exception of LA, the Wings have not just been beating up the League weaklings over their current seven-game winning streak, as their wins over San Jose, Anaheim, Colorado, and Boston indicate. Even the win over the resurgent Phoenix Coyotes cannot be considered a slam dunk. They are humming along at the moment and finding ways to win in spite of various points of adversity. I wouldn’t call this their best stretch of the season, but they are certainly capable of beating you no matter how you play. Just ask the Ducks, Avs, or Bruins.

You can bet that the Wings will be looking to exact revenge for their January 10th home loss to the Wild. They would love nothing more than to return the favor tonight in Minnesota.

GameDay: @ Boston (27-19-5, 59 Pts) 7:00 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on February 2, 2008
in 2007-2008, Bruins and GameDay
. 3 Comments

Update (1:01 PM): Writing at a newly-redesigned Red Wings Corner, Bruce MacLeod reports Dallas Drake will dress tonight after being a healthy scratch against Colorado.

He also says there’s a possibility that Aaron Downey could remain  in the lineup, if Babcock decides the makeup of Boston’s roster demands the presence of an enforcer.  In that case, MacLeod says, either Tomas Kopecky or Kirk Maltby will be scratched. Given Kopecky’s play of late, I’d have to think Maltby would be the odd man out.

It looks like Nick Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski will start out together tonight. That would likely mean Brett Lebda and Chris Chelios would share time with Andreas Lilja. Chelios will also likely be paired with young Derek Meech. - Matt

Update (12:47 PM): The Boston Globe’s Fluto Shinzawa confirms that Marco Sturm will be in the lineup and that Tim Thomas will start tonight.

He also provides projected lines and pairings for the Bruins:

Sturm-Savard-Kessel
Lucic-Metropolit-Kobasew
Axelsson-Krejci-Schaefer
Reich-Nokelainen-Thornton

Chara-Wideman
Stuart-Ward
Ference-Hnidy

Also, Ansar Khan notes that this is the first time the Wings have made the trip to Boston since 2004. They lost 2-1 in overtime on January 10 of that year. - Matt

Tonight is the only meeting this season between the Detroit Red Wings and the Boston Bruins. The Bruins won the last meeting, 6-3, on March 11th, 2007.

The referees tonight will be Mike Hasenfratz (30) and Marc Joanette (25). The linesmen will be  David Brisebois (96) and Pat Dapuzzo (60).

The Bruins are 8-3-1 in 2008, with their losses coming to Carolina, Montreal (twice), and Toronto (SO). They have won their last three, however, beginning with a 4-1 decision over the Islanders on January 24th. They returned from the All Star Break with a 3-1 win over Nashville on the 29th and followed that up with a 4-1 win in Ottawa on the 31st. Tonight is their final game against Western Conference opponents this season, against whom they are 6-3-0.

Boston is third place in the Northeast Division with 59 points, nine behind the leader Ottawa. They currently occupy the seventh seed in the East, but are within a point of the fifth-place team, Pittsburgh. The eighth-place Rangers are just one point behind them.

Marc Savard leads the team with 59 points, 46 of which are assists. Marco Sturm’s 34 points are second-best. Six Bruins have 10 or more goals: Chuck Kobasew (18), Marco Sturm (17), Phil Kessel (14), Savard (13), Glen Metropolit (10), Glen Murrary (10). PJ Axelsson is not far behind with nine.

The Bruins will be without Bobby Allen (back), Glen Murrary (hip flexor strain), Andrew Alberts (post-concussion syndrome), and Patrice Bergeron (concussion, broken nose). Manny Fernandez is also unavailable due to a December 12th knee surgery.  The Freep lists Marco Sturm (illness) as questionable, but the Boston Globe reports that he is expected to play.

Tim Thomas will get the start for the Bruins. He is the league leader in save-percentage at .931.

For the Bruins’ perspective, be sure to stop by The Bear Cave (preview here),  Bruins Blog,  Bruins Nation,  The Bruins Report,  Five For Writing, Ghosts of the Garden,  The Old Bruins Fan,  so.very.obsessed.,  The Spoked B, and  WickedBruinsFan’s Blog.

The Wings improved to 10-2-1 in 2008 with a hard-fought 2-0 win over the Colorado Avalanche last night at Joe Louis Arena.  Despite outshooting the Avs by a wide margin (they finished 35-15), the Wings couldn’t get the puck in the net until 17:40 of the third period. Peter Budaj was a wall.

They caught a break late in the second period when a Milan Hejduk goal was waived off when the official ruled Scott Hannan had interfered with Dominik Hasek. The ref failed to notice that Hannan had been pushed into the Red Wing goaltender by Brett Lebda in a battle for position. Once the goal was waived off, however, it was not reviewable.

Henrik Zetterberg finally got the Wings late in the third with his 30th goal of the season. Coming from behind the net, he tried slamming it in and was helped by the stick of the Colorado defenseman, who redirected the puck up and through Budaj. Kris Draper added an empty net goal at 19:47. It was just his fourth in his last 37 games.

Dominik Hasek earned his 80th career shutout, but did not have to do much as the Colorado game-plan for two periods was something of an offense-less variation on the Anaheim strategy: they tried to use physical play to get under the Wings’ skin and force them to frustration. They were largely unsuccessful. In the third period, their strategy changed and they started to focus more on offensive hockey, finishing with 11 shots in the final twenty minutes.

After seeing how tightly the Avs have played the Wings in their last two games, I have to say that I do not find the prospect of playing them in the first round very attractive. Even as depleted as they were, they very nearly took a point out of that game, and could have easily won, despite being outplayed.

The win gave Detroit 82 points  and extended their league lead over the idle Ottawa Senators to 14 points.

Pavel Datsyuk notched two assists* last night, bringing his total to 46 on the season. He has eight assists in his last five games, but has not scored a goal himself since the Wings’ 1-0 win over Colorado on the 8th. That’s nine goalless games. Tonight’s a great chance for Pavel to snap out of that semi-slump and get some All Star redemption at the same time.

The Wings will be without Niklas Kronwall (sternoclavicular joint sprain) tonight. Derek Meech will get his third straight game in the lineup.

Aaron Downey played last night and because I missed the pre-game coverage and most of the first period, I’m somewhat out of the loop as to why. I assume it had to do with resting Dallas Drake and with having a tough guy in the lineup against Colorado. Drake should be back in tonight.

Projected lines:

Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Holmstrom
Samuelsson-Franzen-Cleary
Hudler-Filppula-Kopecky
Drake-Draper-Maltby

I noticed Babcock mixed things up as the game went on last night, but the above will probably be his starting point.

Projected pairings:

Lidstrom-Lilja
Lebda/Chelios-Rafalski
Chelios-Meech

The pairings seemed pretty fluid last night, so we can definitely expect to see a departure from these.

Chris Osgood will get the start tonight. His his .926 save-percentage is good for second in the League.

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, and Winging It In Motown.

Todd has his pre-game numbers posted and OklahomaWingNut’s GDT is up at Kulka’s Forums.

Tonight will be a good test of the Wings’ patience, as they will have to deal with a very defensively-minded team that is backed up by another strong goaltender. If the Bruins are intent on keeping the pace of the game down, that should suit the Wings, who will be in something of an energy conservation mode after playing last night.

Al Strachan recently wrote a piece in The Hockey News calling the Bruins “boring,” but if this game is anything like most other Original Six match-ups, there should be enough emotion to make it interesting.

*One of which came on Draper’s empty net goal. Return

GameDay: vs. Colorado (27-20-4, 58 Pts) 7:30 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on February 1, 2008
in 2007-2008, Avalanche and GameDay
. 0 Comments

Update (4:32 PM): Joe of Mile High Hockey and Shane Giroux of Colorado Avalanche Talk have their previews posted here and here. - Matt

Tonight is the third of four games between the Detroit Red Wings and the Colorado Avalanche. The Wings lead the series 2-0 with wins December 27 (4-2) and January 8th (1-0). The final game will be played on February 18th in Denver.

The Avalanche are 5-3-1 since losing to the Wings on the 8th.  They lost on the 9th to Washington, but went on to win three in a row against other Southeast Division teams (Carolina, Florida, and Tampa Bay) before an overtime loss to  Chicago on the 18th halted that streak. They beat the Blue Jackets at home on the 20th, but lost their next two, beginning with a 4-0 decision to the Predators and continuing with a 3-2 loss to division rival Minnesota. They returned from the All Star Break with a win, however, notching a 6-3 victory over Chicago on Wednesday to round out a five-game homestand.

With 58 points, Colorado is third in the Northwest Division, but are only three points out of first. Currently they are 7th in the West, but they could easily move up to 3rd, 5th, or 6th, as the teams  in those spots have 61, 60, and 60 points respectively. They could also fall in the standing pretty easily, as there are four teams within two points of them.

The Avs have been without Joe Sakic (groin) since November 30th, but two more recent injuries/health problems have exacted a heavy toll on their offense. Ryan Smyth broke his ankle on December 31st and Paul Stastny’s appendix problem has kept him out since January 15th. Kyle Cumiskey (groin) is the other injured Colorado player.

Kurt Sauer (whiplash) was activated yesterday and should return to the lineup tonight.

Stastny leads the team in points with 49, but Milan Hejduk (37) and Andrew Brunette (35) lead Colorado’s active players. Marek Svatos’ 22 goals is a team high. Nine of those have come since Smyth went down. Five other Avs have 10 or more goals: Hejduk (18), Stastny (17), Wojtek Wolksi (14), Brunette (11), and Smyth (11).

Peter Budaj will get his second start since sitting out 10 games in favor of Jose Theodore. Budaj is 14-8-2 this season, with a 2.68 GAA and an .899 save-percentage.

For the Avs’ perspective, see Colorado Avalanche Talk,  In the Cheap Seats,  Jibblescribbits,  and Mile High Hockey.

The Wings are 5-2-1  since beating the Avs on the 8th. They followed that game with a three-game skid, losing in a shootout to Minnesota 10th and continuing with regulation losses to Ottawa and Atlanta. The pulled out of that dive with a shootout win over Vancouver on the 17th and went on to sweep California, wrapping up that trip with a win over Anaheim in their final game before the All Star Break. They returned to action on Wednesday and earned a comeback win over a scrappy Phoenix team at home.

Detroit stands atop the Central, Western Conference, and League standings with 80 points.

Henrik Zetterberg leads the team in goals and points with 29 and 62. Pavel Datsyuk is not far behind with 61 points, 44 of which are assists. Aside from Zetterberg, five Wings have 10 or more goals: Tomas Holmstrom (20), Dan Cleary (19), Datsyuk (17), Valtteri Filppula (15), and Jiri Hudler (11). I’d say tonight’s a good night for Cleary to crack the 20-goal barrier.

The Wings lost a key part of their defense Wednesday night when Niklas Kronwall went down with a sternoclavicular joint injury. He’ll be out for at least 10 days.

Brett Lebda (wrist) is slated to return to the ice tonight after sitting out the Phoenix game due to an injury sustained in Anaheim.

Derek Meech will play his second game in a row after subbing for Brett Lebda on Wednesday. He’ll give the Wings six defensemen in Kronwall’s absence.

Projected lines:

Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Holmstrom
Samuelsson-Filppula-Cleary
Draper-Franzen-Maltby
Drake-Kopecky-Hudler

Because I was not able to watch the whole game Wednesday night, I don’t know whether Babcock stuck with the same lines with which he started. It’s possible he may go back to that arrangement, which had Franzen centering the second line, Draper skating between Maltby and Drake, and Filppula centering Kopecky and Hudler.

Projected pairings:

Lidstrom-Lilja
Lebda/Chelios-Rafalski
Chelios-Meech

With Kronwall out,  Chelios will take on more responsibility and play more minutes. I can’t see Babcock putting Meech with Lebda very often, though, so there will probably be some rotation that second pairing. If Meech is out there, expect to see Chelios with him.

Dominik Hasek is scheduled to start tonight.

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, and Winging It In Motown. Todd already has his usual numbers posted.

The last time these teams met, the Avalanche played the Wings very tightly, imitating their puck possession style quite well. I don’t see them matching the Wings that closely this time, but despite their injuries, they remain a young and dangerous team. Detroit will have to be sharp and have a better first period than they had Wednesday.

While the rest of the team has had a chance to regain their sealegs if you will, Dominik Hasek has not played since last Wednesday. It will be interesting to see if he can pick up where he left off without any lapses in concentration. If his teammates play tight hockey in front of him, there should be no problem in that regard.

Despite the fact that the old rivalry seems non-existent these days, it’s still the Wings and the Avalanche, and that should mean good hockey, depleted Colorado roster or not.

GameDay: vs. Phoenix (27-21-2, 56 Pts) 7:30 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on January 30, 2008
in 2007-2008, Coyotes and GameDay
. 1 Comment

Update (7:13 PM): HockeyTownTodd has his usual pre-game numbers posted.

Also,  PB of One Fan’s Perspective has posted on the Coyote’s win over Columbus last night and has some comments on the game tonight. - Matt

Update (2:16 PM): Richard Nickerson of Coyotes Corner has posted his preview of the game.

He has some good keys for the Coyotes, though the second one (physicality) has become a little bit outdated over the past 2-3 seasons. This Red Wings squad doesn’t get intimidated by physical play like the team has in the past. Their win over a very physical Ducks team last week is only the most recent demonstration of that change.  - Matt

Update (1:50 PM): George Malik points out that Phoenix “super-pest” and NHL-leader in PIMs Daniel Carcillo returned to the lineup last night and will be dressed tonight.

It’s a shame Aaron Downey won’t be on the Wings’ bench, but I suppose Dallas Drake acts as a bit of a deterrent, as well. - Matt

Update (1:00 PM): Thanks to Sarah for pointing out in the comments the significance of the AHL move mentioned in the  9:23 update below:

… the Redenbach loan was in exchange for the Griffins sending their current enforcer (ed. - Adam Keefe) to San Antonio (Phoenix’s AHL affiliate) because Darren McCarty is expected to join the team, pending NHL clearance.

See Bruce MacLeod’s post on the McCarty situation. - Matt

Update (12:55 PM): A bit of a correction to the 12:37 update: Ansar Khan reports that the MRI results have not yet come back, but Lebda doesn’t consider the injury to be serious. - Matt