WGD: GAME 48: RED WINGS @ BRUINS

The Red Wings are in Boston tonight to take on the Bruins for the second time in a week.

Detroit made  huge comeback to beat the Bruins in a shootout last Wednesday and will be looking for a similar result tonight, except maybe without going down 4-1 in the first period. 

The Red Wings come in having lost two in a row in overtime. Both games the Red Wings should have won and two points they could certainly use. They sit sixth in the Atlantic Division and are five points back of the Maple Leafs for third. I’ve used 93 points as the playoff benchmark because that’s what it took last year, but the Maple Leafs are on-pace for 96 points. In order to get to 96 points, the Red Wings will need to go something like 21-8-6 in their final 35 games—that’s a .686 points percentage and only four teams have had a P% higher than that this season (WSH, CBJ, PIT & MIN). 

Tonight will be the third of four meetings between the Red Wings and Bruins and they’ve split the first two. The Bruins come in on a four-game losing streak, but have played well during that stretch and have just had a hard time finding the back of the net.

The Red Wings are going to be in tough tonight as they get set total on the Bruins without Thomas Vanek or Dylan Larkin. Vanek was hurt in the first period of Sunday’s game and Dylan Larkin reportedly suffered an upper-body late and will miss the next two games. 

With those two out, Tomas Jurco will draw into the lineup for the first time since January 4th and will skate with Riley Sheahan and Justin Abdelkader. Despite being placed on waivers on Sunday, Drew Miller will remain with the team and play on the fourth line tonight. 

The top-6 will remain intact and the blueline will look the same as it was on Sunday. 

The Bruins will get a pair of defensemen back in the lineup tonight. Both Colin Miller and Kevan Miller will play tonight, replacing John-Michael Liles and Joe Morrow. Colin Miller has missed the last six games with a lower-body injury and has six points (3G / 3A) in 34 games, while Kevan Miller has picked up just three assists in 26 games. 

Last week the Red Wings were dominated by Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and Frank Vatrano. Bergeron led the way with three points (1G / 2A) in the firs period, while Vatrano added two goals of his own. The Bergeron line has been dominate all season-long and the Red Wings will need to do a much better job of trying to contain them tonight. 

Jared Coreau will start for the second straight game. Coreau allowed one goal on 19 shots in the overtime loss to the Rangers on Sunday. He has played fairly well since being called up, going 5-1-2 with a 2.79 GAA and .904 SV%. The .904 SV% isn’t ideal, but it’s clear that Jeff Blashill feels more confident with Coreau between the pipes than Petr Mrazek, who played well in his last two outings. 

Tuukka Rask will start for the Bruins. The Finnish netminder left Sunday’s game with a migraine, but was on the ice for the morning skate and has been cleared to be in the crease tonight. Rask has had his struggles in January, going 3-5-1 with a 2.72 GAA and .887 SV% in 10 starts this month. 

Puck drop is at 7:00pm at Joe Louis Arena. You can watch the game on Fox Sports Detroit. If you can’t watch the game you can listen to it on 97.1 FM The Ticket. 

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