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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He has some good keys for the Coyotes, though the second one (physicality) has become a little bit outdated over the past 2-3 seasons.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

Update (12:37 PM): Bruce MacLeod has more details on Lebda’s injury, noting that, despite the fact that the defenseman participated in all three practices this week, the training staff prescribed rest.

An MRI was done on the wrist, but apparently no significant problem was found.

MacLeod says Lebda’s status for Friday and Saturday’s Colorado and Boston games will be determined tomorrow.

Helene St. James has some quotes from Lebda himself. - Matt

Update (12:20 PM): The Hockeytown Blog’s Ryan Doherty reports that  Brett Lebda is out tonight with a wrist injury that he suffered during the first period of the Anaheim game.

Brett finished the game with 13:00 in TOI, so the injury can’t be too serious, but the team can afford to be cautious with him. He told Doherty that he’s day-to-day, leaving in question his status for Friday’s game against the Avalanche.

Derek Meech will take Lebda’s place in the lineup and should see time with Chris Chelios.

Doherty also indirectly confirms the return of Dallas Drake and Henrik Zetterberg by reporting Aaron Downey and Matt Ellis as healthy scratches. - Matt

Update (11:28 AM): It’s worth noting that Phoenix’s game in Columbus last night wasn’t your run-of-the-mill road win. The Coyotes came back from two deficits and scored three third period goals to pull out a 4-2 decision over a pretty solid Blue Jackets team.

Early on, there’s little doubt they’ll be pumped from vaulting into the 8th spot with the win, but they may start to run out of gas just as the game hits the third period, during which the Wings play their best defensive hockey. - Matt

Update (10:35 AM): As hot as Peter Mueller has been, Radim Vrbata has been hotter: he produced a hat trick last Thursday and netted one more goal last night to bring his total to four in two games. Expect him to receive some special shutdown attention tonight. - Matt

Update (10:30 AM): Officials for tonight:

Referees: Dave Jackson (8) and Tom Kowal (32)
Linesmen: Greg Devorski (54) and Scott Driscoll (68)

Via NHL Media. - Matt

Update (9:23 AM): OklahomaWingNut has posted his GDT at Kukla’s Forums.

Also, an AHL note: the Coyotes sent Tyler Redenbach to the Griffins on loan. - Matt

Tonight is the fourth and final game between these two teams this season. The Wings lead the series 3-0 with wins October 20th (5-2), December 1st (3-2), and December 29th (4-2).

The Coyotes are 9-3-1 in 2008, with their only losses coming to Edmonton (5-2, 10. Jan), Minnesota (4-1, 13. Jan), Columbus (4-3, 17. Jan), and Chicago (2-1 SO, 19. Jan). They began the month of January with four consecutive wins before they hit a patch of alternating wins and losses. Since the shootout loss to the Blackhawks on the 19th, they have won three in a row, including games against the Sabres (6-2), Predators (4-3 OT), and Blue Jackets (4-2). With the win over Columbus, which came last night, the Coyotes improved to 6-6-2 against the Central Division.

Phoenix is fourth in the Pacific Division, ahead of only Los Angeles. Their 27 wins and 56 points is good for the 8th spot in the West, though two other teams also have  56 points with fewer wins.

Shane Doan leads the Coyotes with 48 points, but Radim Vrbata is the leading goal-scorer with 22. Rookie Peter Mueller has five goals in his last five games, bringing his total to 15. Doan (16), Vrbata and Mueller are three of the five 10-or-more goal-scorers on the team; Steven Reinprecht (12), and Fredrik Sjostrom (10) are the others.

Dan Carcillo (knee) is the only Coyote listed as out.

Ilya Bryzgalov will get the start for Phoenix.

For the Coyotes’ perspective, see Coyotes Corner,  Hip Shot Blog, One Fan’s Perspective (and this guest post at Behind the Jersey) and True Coyote Love.

In Coyotes news not related to the game, they are sponsoring PGA Tour golfer Jeff Quinney for a year. Bizarre.

The Wings are 8-2-1 in January, with two blocks of four wins sandwiching a three-game skid. They began the month with a pair of wins over Dallas (4-1, 3-0) and a win each over Chicago (3-1) and Colorado (1-0).  They then lost in a shootout to Minnesota  (6-5) on the 10th and proceeded to lose their next two games, beginning with a 3-2 decision in Ottawa. Three nights later, they dropped one to the Thrashers, 5-1. Beginning with a 3-2 shootout win over Vancouver on the 17th, however, the Wings pulled out of that skid and continued on with three consecutive road wins: San Jose (6-3), LA (3-0) and Anaheim (2-1).

Detroit is atop the Central Division, the West, and the League with a 37-10-4 record and 78 points.

Henrik Zetterberg is the team’s leading goal-scorer (28) and point-getter (61). Pavel Datsyuk is not far behind in points, with 58. Six Red Wings have 10-or-more goals: Dan Cleary (19), Tomas Holmstrom (19), Pavel Datsyuk (17), Valtteri Filppula (15) and Jiri Hudler (11). Hudler has not scored in five games, however, and is among the coldest of the Wings’ scoring forwards. Datsyuk is goalless in his last seven, making him the offensive forward most due for a breakout game.

The Wings should be healthy tonight, with Henrik Zetterberg (back) slated to return after missing two games. Dallas Drake (knee) is also scheduled to dress for the first time in five. Aaron Downey and Matt Ellis will both be healthy scratches.

Dan Cleary apparently won’t miss any more time after sustaining a nasty black eye in a fight with Chris Pronger in the first period against the Ducks on Wednesday. The swelling forced him to miss the game, but it has since gone down.

Bruce MaCleod provided the following lines from practice yesterday:

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

I suspect things will look somewhat different tonight:

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

Projected pairings:

Lidstrom-Rafalski
Kronwall-Lilja
Lebda-Chelios

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

Chris Osgood is scheduled to start. That’s a good move by Babcock, who is no doubt looking to restore his goaltender’s confidence after the shellacking he suffered in the All Star Game on Sunday.

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.

Tonight’s a key game for the Wings as they look to pick up where they left off before the Break. They are well-rested and should be ready to face a hot Phoenix team in what could be a preview of the first round of the playoffs. The Coyotes are no longer pushovers and should make things interesting, though they won’t be all that fresh, having played in Columbus last night. If the Wings bring their “A” game, Phoenix will be hard-pressed to pull out another road win.

GameDay: @ Anaheim (27-18-6, 60 Pts) 10:00 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on January 23, 2008
in 2007-2008, Ducks and GameDay
. 7 Comments

Update (8:05 PM): HockeyTownTodd has his usual pre-game numbers posted. - Matt

Update (3:44 PM): Ryan Doherty of The Hockeytown Blog confirms that Chris Chelios will be in the lineup tonight. He also confirms that Dallas Drake (knee) will sit out for the fifth straight game, and that Dominik Hasek will start. - Matt

Update (2:16 PM): Two things from the comments:

First, thanks to mc keeper for pointing out something I hadn’t noticed because I opted not to watch the game and didn’t think to check: Derek Meech played last night in LA. That means Chris Chelios will dress tonight instead. Smart move by Babcock there, to put the veteran in against the tougher team rather than the rookie.

Second, thanks to Earl Sleek of The Battle of California for providing some projected lines and pairings:

Bertuzzi-Getzlaf-Perry
Kunitz-Weight-Bochenski
Moen-Carter-R.Niedermayer
May-Marchant-Sutherby

S.Niedermayer-Beauchemin
Pronger-O’Donnell
Schneider-Huskins

He also notes that this will be Giguere’s first game against the Wings since the playoffs. I’d forgotten that.

I should also mention that this will be Mathieu Schneider’s first game against his old team since he left this past summer. He was out with a broken left ankle for both of the first two meetings between the Wings and Ducks this season. - Matt

Tonight is the third of four games between the Detroit Red Wings and the Anaheim Ducks. The season series is tied 1-1, with the Wings winning 3-2 in a shootout on October 3rd, and the Ducks winning 6-3 on October 15th. The final game will be played on February 10th in Detroit.

The Ducks are 8-1-1 in 2008, with their only losses coming to Phoenix and Dallas. The loss to the Stars on Sunday snapped a six-game winning streak in which the Ducks won four at home against Nashville, Toronto, San Jose and Dallas. They then won a game in Nashville and Minnesota before heading to Texas, where they fell to second in the Pacific Division as a result of the Stars’ win.

Ryan Getzlaf leads the Ducks in points with 57, 38 of which are assists. Corey Perry is the leading goalscorer, with 26. Four other Ducks have 10 or more goals: Getzlaf (19), Chris Pronger (10), Chris Kunitz (15), and Todd Bertuzzi (11).

Scott Niedermayer has two goals and nine assists since returning from semi-retirement mid-way through the season. The Ducks are 12-3-2 in the 17 games since his return on December 16th. I suppose that is the rationale behind the NHL’s decision to name him an All Star as an injury replacement for Sergei Zubov instead of a someone with more candidates under his belt.

The Ducks will be without defensive specialist Sammy Pahlsson (abdomen) and  George Parros (knee), who now looks less like a 70s throwback character and more like a musketeer in his team photo.

JS Giguere should get the start for the Ducks.

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

The Wings improved to 7-2-1 in 2008 with last night’s 3-0 win over Los Angeles. The game came three nights after a wild one in San Jose, which ended in a 6-3 Detroit win. Two nights before that, on the 17th, the Wings halted a three-game skid by beating the Vancouver Canucks in a shootout, 3-2.  Tonight is the final stop in a three-game road trip and the final game before the All Star Break for the Wings, who will be sending three players and a head coach to Atlanta.

Six Red Wings have 10 or more goals: Henrik Zetterberg (28), Daniel Cleary (19), Tomas Holmstrom (19), Pavel Datsyuk (17), Valtteri Filppula (14), and Jiri Hudler (11).

The team will be without Zetterberg (back) for the second straight game. The forward was injured by a hit late in the game Saturday night and is taking extra precautions, given his history of back problems. However, he has been quick to assure the media that this latest injury is unrelated to the “specific disc problem” which kept him out of 19 games last season: “I think this is more muscular.”

He was a voted-in All Star, but withdrew as a result of this latest back issue. Mike Ribeiro of Dallas was named his replacement.

Dallas Drake (knee) is also listed as out.

Aaron Downey and Matt Ellis will remain in the lineup.

Projected lines:

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

Projected pairings:

Lidstrom-Rafalski
Kronwall-Lilja
Lebda-Chelios

There’s a chance Babcock will sit Chris Chelios in favor of Derek Meech tonight because it’s the second game of a back-to-back, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he choses to keep the veteran in the lineup. It is Anaheim, after all.

Dominik Hasek will get the start.

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.

Tonight is an important game for the Wings as they will look to assert their dominance of the Western Conference with a win over the defending Stanley Cup Champions. Their last visit to Anaheim was something of an embarrassment and the only blight on a otherwise successful four-game road trip. They responded to that game with a nine game winning streak. They have a chance here at some revenge and to keep the Ducks from returning to their recent winning ways.

Remember, the game starts at 10:00 ET tonight, not 10:30.

GameDay: @ San Jose (25-14-7, 57 Pts) 10:30 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on January 19, 2008
in 2007-2008, GameDay and Sharks
. 8 Comments

Update (6:55 PM): HockeyTownTodd has a suggestion: keep an eye on Jeremy Roenick tonight. Why? Six of his nine goals this season are game-winners. - Matt

Update (6:43 PM): Well, it looks like the goalie rotation has ended. Ansar Khan reports that Mike Babcock will go with the “hot hand,” Dominik Hasek, instead of Chris Osgood tonight.

I think Osgood’s getting the shaft a bit here given that his “poor” performances in his last two starts were due more to the Wings’ not playing in front of him than actual bad play. However, Hasek was in net when the Wings pulled out of their skid and looked good enough to get the nod in San Jose.

Apparently, Osgood will start in LA.

Khan also reports that the Eurotwins and Tomas Holmstrom will be together in warmups and perhaps throughout the game. Dallas Drake is out for the third straight game and Aaron Downey will take his place. - Matt

Update (3:15 PM): It has nothing to do with the game tonight, but Sharkspage’s PJ Swenson has posted a great interview with James Mirtle. Be sure to give it a read, if you have a chance. Wings fans will like James’ comments on the team near the end. - Matt

Tonight is the third of four games between the Detroit Red Wings and the San Jose Sharks. The Wings lead the season series 2-0 with wins October 18th (4-2) and October 26th (5-1). The Sharks will make the trip to Detroit for the final meeting on February 29th.

San Jose is 3-2-2 in 2008. They started off the year with a 3-2 overtime loss to Calgary, but rebounded with three consecutive wins. They started with a 3-2 decision over Columbus on the 5th, continued with a 3-1 win over Vancouver on the 10th, and finished the stretch by putting away the Leafs, 3-2. Since then, however, they have dropped three straight, including two in regulation. A road overtime loss to Anaheim the night after the win over Toronto kicked off the skid, which continued with games dropped in Phoenix and at home to Dallas on Tuesday and Thursday.

Tonight’s game is the second of a four-game homestand for the Sharks, who are 9-10-4 in HP Pavilion this season.

The Sharks are three points behind Anaheim for the lead in the Pacific Division and currently hold the fourth playoff spot in the West.

Milan Michalek leads the team in goals with 16, but has only 28 points to Joe Thornton’s 56. Thornton (15) and Steve Bernier (11) are the only other Sharks with 10 or more goals. Three players, Joe Pavelski, Jeremy Roenick, and Torrey Mitchell, have nine. Jonathan Cheechoo has just 6 goals and 13 assists.

Ryane Clowe  (ankle) and Kyle McLaren (knee) are both on the IR for San Jose.

Evgeni Nabokov should get the start for the Sharks. He has a 2.10 GAA and .914 save-percentage this season, but posted a 4.49 GAA and .860 save-percentage over the two games against the Wings.

For the Sharks’ side of things, be sure to stop by Fear the Fin,  A San Jose Sharks Blog,  Sharks Hockey Odyssey,  Sharkspage,  San Jose Sharks, and Two for Elbowing.

The Wings pulled out of a three-game nosedive on Thursday with a 3-2 shootout win over Vancouver. The game, while not perfect by any means, was a marked improvement over their performances in their three prior contests. The obvious negative was the fact that they blew a two-goal lead, as pointed out by HockeyTownTodd, but the team’s overall effort was such that the score could very well have been 6-2. Without Roberto Luongo’s stellar play or the fact that at least three Red Wing shots went off the crossbar or post, the game never would have gone into extra time. The blown lead is of course worrisome, but is just more evidence that the team still has some things to work on to get back to 100% form.

The lack of power play scoring is another area in which they need to see improvement, of course. I thought they did a better job of creating chances on the power play Thursday night than they have been doing lately, so we can only hope that they keep working at it and break out of that particular slump soon.

Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg have been in a bit of a slump themselves and have combined for just one goal since the Wings’ loss to Minnesota.  They were somewhat more effective Thursday night, however, and are due for a big game. Expect Babcock to keep them together at even strength in hopes that they’ll spark each other out of this downswing.

No hard news on any roster changes, though the Freep does list Dallas Drake (knee) as questionable for tonight. If he can’t go, expect to see Aaron Downey for the third-straight game.

As for the lines, here are my projections:

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

And my projected defensive pairings:

Lidstrom-Kronwall
Lilja-Rafalski
Lebda-Chelios

As Todd suggested in the post linked to above, these pairings, incongruous as they may be, are probably an attempt by Babcock to acclimate the blueline to different combinations in preparation for the playoffs. He has been doing much the same thing with the forwards all season.

As per the goaltender rotation policy, Chris Osgood 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 usual pre-game numbers posted and OklahomaWingNut has his usual excellent GDT at Kukla’s Korner Forums. Be sure to stop by the A2Y chat room for the liveblog tonight.

Tonight is an important game for the Wings as they would like to start off their road trip on the right foot. The Sharks are struggling lately, but they are looking at this game as a measuring stick and will no doubt be on top of their game. The Wings, on the other hand, will be looking to build on what they started Thursday night and will hopefully elevate their play rather than revert to that which led to their three-game skid.

As with Vancouver and Roberto Luongo, the Wings will be facing a slumping-yet-All-Star-caliber goaltender in the person of Evgeni Nabokov. If they put up 49 shots again tonight, let’s hope more than two of them make it into the net.

GameDay: vs. Vancouver (25-17-4, 54 Pts) 7:30 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on January 17, 2008
in 2007-2008, Canucks and GameDay
. 0 Comments

Tonight is the third of four meetings between these two Western Conference teams. The Wings lead the series 2-0 with 3-2 wins October 24th and October 28th. The Canucks will play the host in the fourth and final game, on February 23rd.

Vancouver is 3-3-0 thus far in 2008, with wins over the Rangers and Islanders starting out the year. They followed that with a pair of losses beginning with a 3-1 decision in San Jose on the 10th and continuing the next night at home with the Coyotes winning 4-3. On Sunday, they went to a shootout in St. Louis and pulled out a 4-3 win. They then lost to the Blue Jackets 3-2 on Tuesday. They have not won in regulation since January 3rd at Madison Square Gardens. Tonight’s game is the last stop in a tour of three Central Division cities.

Henrik Sedin leads the Canucks in points with 48, but his brother Daniel leads the team in goals with 22. Three other Canucks have 10 or more goals: Markus Naslund (15), Ryan Kesler (12), and Tyler Pyatt (11).

Vancouver will be without Kevin Bieksa (cut calf) and Brendan Morrison (wrist) and may be without Mattias Ohlund (neck).

Roberto Luongo will get the start for the Canucks. Luongo has posted 6 shutouts, a 2.04 GAA and a .927 save-percentage through 38 games this season.

For the Canucks’ side of things, see Canucks and Beyond,  Canucks Fangirl, The Canucks Genome Project Blog, Canucks Hockey Blog,  Orland Kurtenblog,  Stick in Rink,  Waiting for Stanley, and  Yet Another Canucks Blog.

The Wings are 4-2-1 in 2008, with losses coming in each of their last three games. The skid began with a 6-5 shootout loss to Minnesota a week ago and continued with a 3-2 decision in Ottawa on Saturday. They failed to pull out a win on Tuesday, falling instead to Atlanta, 5-1. They will be looking to avoid going into a three-game road trip on a losing streak.

The team’s offensive leaders, Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, have combined for just one goal over the three-game skid, though they have put together six points.

It looks like Dallas Drake (swollen knee)  will be out for the second game. Aaron Downey should be in the lineup again, as a result.

Bruce MacLeod’s projected lines are as follows:

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

He also provides projected defensive pairings:

Lidstrom-Rafalski
Kronwall-Lilja
Lebda-Chelios

Hopefully Babcock will stick with those. I noticed that he had Lidstrom paired with Kronwall and Rafalski paired with Lilja against Atlanta, for the first and second periods at least. I stopped keeping track after that. Needless to say, it didn’t go all that well.

Dominik Hasek will get the start tonight. He faced Atlanta on Tuesday after Chris Osgood was pulled and made seven saves.

For more of the Wings’ perspective, stop by 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 usual numbers posted at HTT and OklahomaWingNut has an excellent GDT posted at Kukla’s Korner Forums.

This is a big game for the Wings. They could really use a win here as they prepare to go fly to California for a three-game trip that includes back-to-back contests in LA and Anaheim next week.  The Canucks have not had an easy transition to the new year and should be vulnerable to a Red Wings team looking to get back on its feet.

The most encouraging thing the claim by the Vancouver Province that Roberto Luongo is off his game, as it has been three hot goalies that have caused the Wings fits during this skid. The fact that the Canucks’ offense isn’t humming along should also be a good sign, as the Wings’ defense has struggled during the loss streak as well.

Still, those things cannot be taken for granted and you can bet the Wings know it. The question is whether they’ll be able to put that knowledge into action and bring the level of play that’s been missing since their too-close 1-0 win over Colorado  last week. The noticeable drop in their game began against a Northwest Division team, deepened against another, and will hopefully end tonight against a third.

GameDay: vs. Atlanta (22-22-2, 46 Pts) 7:30 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on January 15, 2008
in 2007-2008, GameDay and Thrashers
. 3 Comments

Update (7:35 PM): Be sure to stop by the chat room at Abel to Yzerman for the new-style liveblog. - Matt

Update (3:36 PM): Some pre-game interviews courtesy of Red Wings TV:

- Matt
The Detroit Red Wings and the Atlanta Thrashers face off for the first and only time tonight at Joe Louis Arena. The teams have split their last two meetings, with the Wings winning 6-5 in overtime on December 31st, 2003, and the Thrashers winning  7-6 on December 13th, 2005.

The Thrashers are 3-2-1 in 2008, with wins over Carolina, Buffalo, and Pittsburgh. Their 3-2 shootout win over the Penguins halted a two-game skid in which they lost to Florida (3-2 SO) and Philadelphia (4-1). Prior to that, wins over Buffalo (5-2) and Carolina (5-4) sandwiched a 4-3 loss in a second game against the Hurricanes. Atlanta is second in the Southeast Division and 10th in the East, two points back of Boston.

Ilya Kovalchuk leads both the Thrashers and the League with 37 goals. His 62 points and 25 assists are also team bests. Marian Hossa (16), former Red Wing Slava Kozlov (12), and Todd White (10) are the only other Thrashers with 10-or-more goals. Hossa and rookie defenseman Tobias Enstrom both have 23 assists. Lately, Kozlov has been moved from the wing to second-line center for the Trashers.

The Thrashers will be without Brad Larsen (groin), Steve McCarthy (strained ribcage) and Jim Slater (groin). Eric Perrin will return to the lineup and “will skate with Bobby Holik and Pasquel Dupuis.”

Kari Lehtonen will get the start for Atlanta.

For the Thrashers’ perspective, see Blueland Roar, Do The Trashers Have Large Talons? (pre-game comments here), Talking Trash, and Thrash Talk.

The Wings fell to 4-1-1 in 2008 with a 3-2 loss in Ottawa Saturday night. It was one of the more disappointing games of the season, as they underachieved for about 40 minutes and through they made it a game in the third, the Senators pulled out the win. Of course, it probably didn’t help that Henrik Zetterberg was likely playing with flu symptoms, as pointed out by HockeyTownTodd yesterday.

The game followed a frustrating 6-5 shootout loss to Minnesota on Thursday. It was one of those rare nights where the defense let the opposition take over the game and as a result the Wings were lucky to escape with a point.

This slide began with the team’s too-tightly-contested 1-0 win over Colorado on the 8th. Prior to that, they had put on strong performances in games against Chicago (3-1) and Dallas (3-0, 4-1).

Despite the two losses, they retain their first place lead in the Central Division, Western Conference, and League with a 33-9-4 record and 70 points.

Henrik Zetterberg leads the team in goals (37) and points (55). Pavel Datsyuk is second with 55 points and 38 assists. Nick Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski are 1-2 in League-wide defenseman scoring with 41 and 38 points, respectively.

Aside from Zetterberg, the Wings have five players with 10 or more goals: Datsyuk (17), Tomas Holmstrom (17), Daniel Cleary (16), Valtteri Filppula (14), and Jiri Hudler (11). Rafalski and Johan Franzen both have 8 and should crack 10 relatively soon.

Hudler snapped a 7-game goal-less streak with the tying goal Saturday night. He seems to score in bursts, so keep an eye on him over the next couple games.

The team will be without forward Dallas Drake, who injured his knee in a collision with Ottawa’s Dany Heatley on Saturday. Though the team is calling the injury minor, he has missed two practices because of it. Aaron Downey will dress tonight instead and will skate with Tomas Kopecky and Kirk Maltby. That should help the team be a little more physical, which has been something of a problem lately.

Matt Ellis is a healthy scratch for the fourth straight game.

Here are the lines from practice, as recorded by Bruce MacLeod:

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

In another piece, MacLeod reports that the Wings are putting Franzen in the middle in order to test him against another big center, Bobby Holik. The move is in preparation for next week’s trip to California, in which they’ll face oversized forwards such as Joe Thornton and Ryan Getzlaf.

The defensive pairings should look like this:

Lidstrom-Rafalski
Kronwall-Lilja
Lebda-Chelios

Hopefully Babcock will stick with that look and not resort to this.

As per the goalie rotation, Chris Osgood will get the nod tonight for the Wings. As pointed out by Ansar Khan, Osgood is 7-1-0-0 in his career versus the Thrashers.

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 some numbers over at HTT and OklahomaWingNut has a GDT at Kukla’s Korner Forums.

Tonight is an important game for the Wings as they look to pull out of the dive they’ve been in over the last week or so and get back on track as they near a big road trip. You can bet the Trashers, who are looking to climb the standings, will play hard and that Ilya Kovalchuk will make things interesting more often than not. Hopefully the Wings will be prepared for that. A return to the dominant play of earlier this month would be nice, as would a return to their formerly dangerous power play.

GameDay: @ Ottawa (28-10-4, 60 Pts) 7:00 ET

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

Update (1:19 PM): AOL Fanhouse’s Greg Wyshynski interviewed Christy Hammond of Behind the Jersey, IwoCPO of Abel to Yzerman, HockeyTownTodd, Jeremy Milks of Black Aces, Sherry of Scarlett Ice, Erin Nicks of The Universal Cynic and yours truly for the game today. Be sure to check it out. - Matt

Update (1:05 PM): According to Bruce MacLeod, Henrik Zetterberg did not practice today due to the flu. Mike Babcock told him that he is under the impression that Hank will play, but there’s obviously a possibility that he won’t.

The lines at practice looked like this:

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

As Babcock told MacLeod, the Wings have played without Zetterberg before, but this could have come at a better time. Hopefully he’ll be well enough to play! - Matt

Update (11:58 AM): George Malik has a good round-up of pre-game hype over at Snapshots. - Matt

Update (10:04 AM): Also be sure to stop by the forums at Kukla’s Korner, where OklahomaWingNut has put together a great GDT. Based on the lines he provides from the Senators’ practice yesterday, it looks like Alfredsson, Spezza, and Healtey could be together tonight.

I should have started linking to those a long time ago. - Matt

Update (9:59 AM): The New York Times‘ Slap Shot blog will be liveblogging the game tonight. - Matt

Tonight is the only game between these two League powerhouses this season. The Senators won the last meeting, 3-2 on December 12th, 2006.

This is the Wings’ first trip to Ottawa since a 3-2  (very early OtW post there) overtime win on October 11th, 2003, when their roster was stocked with players like Brett Hull, Ray Whitney, Darren McCarty, Boyd Devereaux, Derian Hatcher, and Mathieu Dandenault, not to mention Brendan Shanahan, Steve Yzerman, and Jiri Fischer. It’s hard to believe it’s been that long.

The second-place Senators are 3-1-0 in 2008, with their only loss since the New Year coming to Washington on the 1st. Since then, they’ve earned wins over Buffalo (2x) and Tampa Bay. Their most recent game was their second win over the Sabres, a 3-2 shootout decision on Thursday. They are in the middle of a three-game homestand.

Daniel Alfredsson leads the Sens in points with 56 points, 26 of which are goals. Dany Heatley is second with 55 points and 25 goals. Their center, Jason Spezza, has 15 goals and 37 assists for 52 points. Obviously, the players that make up the so-called CASH line are the ones to watch in Ottawa. The only question is whether or not they’ll play together tonight.

Mike Fisher is the only other Senator with 10 or more goals at 15.

The Senators will be without Patrick Eaves (shoulder).

Ray Emery will get the start for Ottawa.

For more of the Senators’ side of things, see Scarlett Ice,  Sens Army Blog, Senators Row,  Black Aces,  Five For Smiting, and Got Sens. The guys from Sens Army Blog wrote a guest post on the team for Christy Hammond’s Behind the Jersey.

The Wings fell to 4-0-1 in 2008 with a 6-5 shootout loss to Minnesota on Thursday.  It was one of their weaker defensive efforts this season and they were fortunate to escape with a point. On Tuesday, they won a close game with Colorado, 1-0, and on Sunday, they overcame their struggles with Chicago by posting a 3-1 win. Prior to that, they got two wins over the Stars under their belt, beginning with a 4-1 performance on the 2nd and continuing with a 3-0 shutout on Saturday.

The team is fully healthy and it doesn’t look like there will be any lineup changes for tonight. So, Aaron Downey and Matt Ellis will sit out for the third consecutive game.

It’s safe to assume that the lines will start out something like they were in practice yesterday, as recorded by Bruce MacLeod:

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

Expect some mixing as the game goes on. The Senators have the last change and that’s going to make it somewhat difficult for Babcock to get the exact matchup he wants on Alfredsson, Spezza, and Heatley. However, with centers like Datsyuk, Zetterberg, and Draper, he has some options.

Ansar Khan suggests Babcock may split up Nick Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski, as is his practice on the road. In that case, Lidstrom would play with Niklas Kronwall, and Rafalski would play with Andreas Lilja. Chris Chelios and Brett Lebda should constitute the third pairing in any case.

Dominik Hasek will face his one-time team tonight for the first time since he left Ottawa. He should have something to prove.

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 some numbers for you already and Christy’s “primer” for Sens Army is here.

Tonight is a huge game for both teams. It’s a real shame that it’s the only time they meet this season, because it’s not going to settle anything. Whatever the result, one game is not enough to show superiority one way or the other. That doesn’t make a loss okay, though!

I’m cautiously optimistic that whatever happened Thursday night was an aberration and that the Wings will be back on their game tonight. It’ll be close, but, in my admittedly biased opinion, I think the Wings are the better team top-to-bottom and if they bring their “A” game, they should come out ahead.

But, like I said yesterday, if their defensive coverage is lacking like it was against Minnesota, they’ll get lit up. Which Red Wings team will we get? We should know within the first few minutes.

GameDay: vs. Minnesota (23-17-2, 48 Pts) 7:30 ET

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

Tonight is the third of four games this season between Minnesota and Detroit. The Wings won both prior contests, beginning with a 5-0 win on December 7th and continuing with a 4-1 decision on the 22nd. The last game of the series will be played on February 5th in Minnesota.

The Wild are 3-3-0 since we saw them last. They followed up their loss to the Wings on the 22nd by getting beaten 8-3 by Dallas. They rebounded the next night with a 3-2 win in Phoenix and a 5-4 overtime win versus the Oilers two nights later. They lost 3-2 to San Jose on New Year’s Eve, but got revenge on Dallas with a 6-3 win on January 3rd. Since then, however, they’ve dropped two in a row, including a 4-1 decision in Nashville. On Monday, they lost 3-1 in Dallas. Tonight’s game is the third of a four-stop road trip that will have the Wild in Chicago tomorrow night.

Marian Gaborik leads the team with 21 goals and 40 points, and was named a Western Conference All Star reserve today. He is the only Minnesota player so honored.

Mikko Koivu is healthy, but will not dress because the team has no room on the roster. Derek Boogaard (back) is out.

Expect Nicklas Backstrom to start tonight for the Wild.

For the Wild perspective, see The State of Hockey News, Wild Puck Banter, Casual Hockey, Puck Wild, In the State of Hockey, and Land of Lakes and Hockey.

The Wings are 7-1-0 since they last faced Minnesota, with their only loss coming New Year’s Eve to St. Louis. They are coming off a tightly-contested 1-0 win over Colorado on Tuesday night. The game came two nights after their first win over the Blackhawks this season, a 3-1 decision in Chicago. The afternoon before, they shut out the Dallas Stars, 3-0.

Valtteri Filppula has not scored in six games, though he has three assists over that span. I’m benching him tonight in favor of Mike Richards on my fantasy team, so that should mean he’ll break out of his slump in spectacular fashion.  Jiri Hudler also has not scored in six, so I would say he’s due, as well.

The team is fully healthy at the moment, though it is possible that Babcock could make an adjustment or two at the 11th or 12th forward level by inserting Matt Ellis and/or Aaron Downey at the expense of Dallas Drake and/or Tomas Kopecky.

Chris Osgood will be the starter tonight. He was named a reserve for the Western Conference All Stars today. Former Red Wing Manny Legace was also named to the team.

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.

The Wings have dominated the Wild in both games this season and ought to be able to do so again, assuming Tuesday’s close game wasn’t a sign of flagging play. Minnesota would obviously like to put on a better show this time around, but if the Wings are on top of their game, it won’t matter.

By the way, the Wild announced today that former Nashville Predators owner Craig Leopold is buying the team. So, one of Gary Bettman’s biggest supporters and top small market apologists is back in the picture. Wonderful.

GameDay: vs. Colorado (22-16-3, 47 Pts) 7:30 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on January 8, 2008
in 2007-2008, Avalanche and GameDay
. 1 Comment

Tonight is the second of four games between the Detroit Red Wings and the Colorado Avalanche this season. In their meeting on December 27th, the Wings skated to a 4-2 win in Denver. The teams will face off twice in February to round out the season series. Tonight’s game is on Versus.

Since losing to the Wings late last month, the Avs have posted a 1-2-1 record. On the 29th, they lost 3-1 to the Kings and two nights later, they lost 4-3 in a shootout to Phoenix. On January 2nd, they dropped a 5-2 decision to the Coyotes and hit a low point.  They rebounded, however, and snapped that skid in their last game with a 2-1 overtime win over the Islanders on Saturday. They are in 8th place in the Conference, just two points ahead of the Blues, who are hosting Columbus tonight.

The Avs are without two of their top stars, Joe Sakic and Ryan Smyth. Sakic has been out since November 30th and underwent hernia surgery on December 28th. He’ll be out another 2-3 months. Smyth broke his ankle during the team’s December 31st loss to Phoenix and will be out eight weeks or so. Colorado is also without Tyler Arnason (wrist) and Kurt Sauer (neck).

Paul Stastny leads the team in points with 44, while Milan Hejduk is second with 30. Marek Svatos is the leading goal scorer, with 16, while Stastny and Hejduk both have 15. Wojtek Wolski is the only other healthhy Colorado player with 10 or more goals.

According to Terry Frei, Jose Theodore will start tonight for Colorado.

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

The Wings are 4-1 since their win in Denver last month.  Their only loss came New Year’s Eve to St. Louis. They beat the Coyotes on December 29th (4-2), the Stars on January 2nd (4-1) and 5th (3-0), and the Blackhawks on the 6th (3-1). They are currently first overall.

Kirk Maltby (back strain) and Tomas Holmstrom (knee bruise) will both return to the lineup tonight at the expense of Matt Ellis and Aaron Downey. According to Bruce MacLeod, Holmstrom skated with Valtteri Filppula and Pavel Datsyuk this morning and Kirk Maltby was on Kris Draper’s wing with Dallas Drake. Mikael Samuelsson has been bumped down to the fourth line with Tomas Kopecky and Johan Franzen, though both he and Franzen should see some power play time to make up for it. Expect the Wings to return to their rotation of Drake, Ellis, Downey, and Kopecky, now that the team is healthy.

The Wings’ top three point-producers, Nick Lidstrom, Pavel Datsyuk, and Henrik Zetterberg, were named Western Conference All Star starters today. Zetterberg leads the team with 26 goals and 54 points. Datsyuk and Lidstrom both have 36 assists, but have put up 52 and 40 total points, respectively.

As per the Wings’ goalie rotation policy, Dominik Hasek will 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.

The Wings have been playing strong hockey lately and there’s little reason to think they’ll stop tonight. The Avs are a bit weaker than they were at the last meeting and they were handled fairly easy then. In the past, that would have me concerned, as the Wings have often played below their potential in such situations, but that hasn’t been much of a problem this season. The main exceptions were their games against Chicago and they overcame that little problem on Sunday. With Maltby and Holmstrom returning to the lineup, the Wings are only stronger and therefore should be in good shape tonight.

One of the storylines tonight will be Chris Chelios’ becoming the second-oldest player in NHL history as he is now one day older than Moe Roberts. He’s got a while to go, however, before he’ll close in on Gordie Howe’s record of 52 years, 6 days. The NHL’s press release on the achievement is after the jump. Continue reading ‘GameDay: vs. Colorado (22-16-3, 47 Pts) 7:30 ET’

GameDay: @ Chicago (19-18-3, 41 Pts) 7:00 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on January 6, 2008
in 2007-2008, Blackhawks and GameDay
. 1 Comment

Update (5:45 PM): Chris Block of Third Man In has a very thorough preview posted. - Matt

Tonight the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks meet for the fifth time this season. The Hawks lead the series 4-0, with wins October 6th (4-3 SO), October 12th (3-2), November 11th (3-2), and November 17th (5-3).  The remaining three games will be played on March 11th, April 2nd, and April 6th.

The Blackhawks have dropped three straight, each of which came on the road during a Pacific Division swing. They began 2008 with a 9-2 loss to LA on the 1st and followed that up with a 4-2 loss to Phoenix two nights later. The next night, the Ducks defeated them 2-1. Following a 5-6-1 December and their troubles thus far in January, the Hawks have fallen to fourth in the Central and are four points out of a playoff spot. Tonight is their third game in four nights.

The Hawks have had a rash of injuries in the last month and a half or so. They lost Jason Williams to a groin injury on November 28th, Martin Havlat to a groin pull on December 22nd, Brent Sopel to a broken finger on December 26th, James Wisniewski to a knee sprain on the 26th, and  Jonathan Toews to a knee sprain on January 1st.

They’ve also been without Kevyn Adams (knee, Nov. 7), Dave Bolland (broken finger, Dec. 23rd), and Ben Eager (concussion, Dec. 23rd). Needless to say, their fall in the standings should come as no surprise given those injuries.

The Chicago Sun-Times, though, says that Sopel could return tonight.

Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp lead the team in points with 39 and 34, respectively. Sharp’s 21 goals leads the team as well, six over Toews’ 15. Kane leads the team in assists with 30, twelve more than Robert Lang’s 18.

Nikolai Khabibulin will be the starter tonight.

For the Hawk side of things, see The Third Man In, Second City Hockey, and The Blackhawk Experience.

The Wings are coming off a 3-0 win over Dallas yesterday afternoon. It was a close game and a bit of a goaltending duel, as both Dominik Hasek and Mike Smith made some spectacular saves. I’d say the Stars had the edge in play most of the game, or at least that’s how it seemed, as they were determined to break their slide and had a lot of jump. The Wings, however, took an early lead off a Brian Rafalski goal and clung to it until Dan Cleary scored a surprise one at 10:08. To their credit, the Stars did not give up and continued to press the attack. They forced the Wings to ice it at 19:32, but a nice faceoff win by Kris Draper, the Wings’ took possession and Johan Franzen potted an empty-netter.

I wouldn’t say the Wings played their “A” game yesterday, but the ice probably played a role in that. They didn’t play poorly, however, and the Stars, even given a boost by the return of Sergei Zubov and the confident goaltending of Smith, couldn’t find a way past Dominik Hasek. With the Stars’ bending the Wings’ defense all game, Dom was the reason it didn’t break.

The roster will remain the same as it was in Dallas. Tomas Holmstrom (knee bruise) and Kirk Maltby (back strain) won’t be back until Tuesday. Homer is apparently ready to go, but the team is taking extra precautions, which has the Swede “snarly,” just like Mike Babock likes him. Because Derek Meech is in Grand Rapids for two weeks, Chris Chelios will play the second game of a back-to-back for the first time this season.

Chris Osgood will get the start 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.

The Blackhawks have, needless to say, owned the Wings this season. Since they last faced-off, however, the Hawks’ injury troubles have made them seem less dangerous. Still, they’re in prime position to build on a close game with Anaheim with a win over a tired Red Wings team tonight. I don’t know what to expect from this game, but if the Hawks and their seven minor leaguers, still well up with youthful exuberance when they see the Winged Wheel, it may turn out like the other four games.

However, the Wings will have the benefit of a rested Chris Osgood between the pipes tonight and that should help off-set the skaters’ fatigue.

GameDay: @ Dallas (23-15-4, 50 Pts) 2:00 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on January 5, 2008
in 2007-2008, GameDay and Stars
. 4 Comments

Update (2:14 PM): Mike Smith is in net for Dallas, by the way. - Matt

Update (1:56 PM): To be fair to Marty Turco, I should also point out Dominik Hasek’s record against Dallas: 8-10-1-1.  - Matt

Update (12:15 PM): Mark Stepneski has some pre-game comments over at Andrew’s Dallas Stars Page NHL Blog. - Matt

The Wings and the Stars face-off for the second time this season this afternoon. They last met on Wednesday in Detroit in a game the Wings won, 4-1. The remaining two games are scheduled for February 17th and March 13th.

The Stars have dropped three straight and have been outscored 11-4 in that span. The loss to the Wings was just the second of those three, as they were knocked out by the Minnesota Wild, 6-3, the next night. Although they will be playing their third game in four nights, the Stars will be highly motivated to stop this slide, much like the Blues were on December 20th.

Since Wednesday, Dallas has fallen from first in the Pacific and second in the Conference to second in the Division and 4th in the West.

According to Mike Heika, the status of Sergei Zubov (hand) is uncertain. The defenseman has missed the last two games, but practiced yesterday and apparently kept it simple. He’s listed as questionable by the Dallas Morning News, though the notes section there says he’s a game-time decision.

Jussi Jokinen (knee), Jere Lehtinen (hernia), and Phillippe Boucher (shoulder) remain out.

Heika also notes that Dave Tippett switched up the forwards some in practice yesterday in an obvious attempt to generate some more offense.

As for the starting goaltender, that remains a bit of a mystery as Marty Turco has had two rough outings in a row, but saw the most time in practice yesterday. He was pulled after allowing three goals on four shots Thursday night and has beaten the Wings just once in his career. I’d say conventional wisdom would put Mike Smith in net today, but if Tippett wants to force Turco to overcome his demons, we’ll see #35.

For the Dallas side of things, see  Andrew’s Stars Page,  Razor with an Edge (official),  Stars Blog (Dallas Morning News), and Stars Scene.

The Wings have been idle since Wednesday and so are well-rested as they head into this brief road trip.  After the game today, they’ll head to Chicago to face the Blackhawks for the fifth time this season. Hopefully they won’t be caught looking ahead to that game when they have a motivated Stars team to deal with first. They’ll be looking to improve their 24-1-1 record against non-Central teams.

It looks like neither of the currently injured players will be returning today. Tomas Holmstrom (knee bruise) hopes to make it back  tomorrow, but it seems Mike Babcock has Homer’s return pegged for Tuesday. The same goes for Kirk Maltby (back strain), who isn’t as adamant about wanting to return this weekend.

Dominik Hasek will start this afternoon. Chris Osgood will get the nod tomorrow.

For more of the Wings’ side of things, see Snapshots, Abel to Yzerman, HockeyTownTodd, Behind the Jersey, No Pun Intended,