Following their first regulation loss in 5 games, the Red Wings look to bounce back with a win inside Nationwide Arena tonight. Even after losing to Ottawa, Detroit has played better hockey as of late, but have come out on the tough end of some overtime games. The Red Wings would like to take the confidence booster from a win tonight as they continue their swing against all Eastern Conference teams to finish out the month. Columbus, however, have back to back wins and will be looking to start a streak in their own building tonight.

 

 

Helm is a game time decision, depending on how he feels after warmups with his lower-body injury. Hicketts and Ehn have recently been called back up from Grand Rapids, with the likelihood they’ll slide back into the roster again. Glendening did not practice yesterday, so his status could be questionable. Howard was the first off the ice as the probable starter.

 

Harrington and Nash out but Nick Foligno is back in the lineup after his 3 game suspension. Joonas Korpisalo is starting, posting a 2.97 GAA and .900 SV% through 16 games this season.

Pierre-Luc Dubois leads the team with 15 points (9-6-15). Former long time Red Wing Gustav Nyquist will face his former team again, coming into the game with 12 points (3-9-12).

Detroit’s inability to keep leads and close out games have resulted in them throwing away extra points. When Detroit competes to their full extent, they can battle with almost any other team in the NHL. It’s when they take their foot of the gas pedal, they collapse, as noticed by the recent OT losses and blown lead Tuesday against the Senators. Columbus is not the deepest team around, Detroit can win this game if they play with a sustainable effort and stay out of the box.

Both teams should be looking to improve their penalty kill. Detroit still sits towards the bottom of the league with a 72.2% kill with Columbus being at 22 at 77.6%. The Blue Jackets have a lackluster power play, but can still make the Wings pay.  The lack of offense has been an issue all year for Detroit, so it will be critical to the game’s outcome if they can capitalize on any power plays they draw, facing a weak killing unit in Columbus to take advantage of.

It’s been a nagging annoyance all season long: Detroit can’t find secondary support. We all know how good the top line is, and the second line has come together quite nicely after the Fabbri trade. Expect the Jackets have quite a few of their own offensive weapons with a decent defensive core, which is something Detroit can’t match at the moment.

The list of injuries does not do the Wings any favors. Losing Nemeth and Dekeyser have put Detroit in some disadvantages, with the recent loss of Green only thinning out their blue line. The bottom six need to start chipping in, most noticeably Nielsen and Erne, who are still pointless past the first quarter of the season. I fully expect the Wings top line to tested tonight, they can’t be carrying each game for Detroit.