WGD: GAME 52: RED WINGS @ PREDATORS

The Red Wings kicked off their Friday-Saturday back-to-back with an exciting 5-4 win over the Islanders and tonight they are in Nashville to take on the Predators. 

In typical Detroit fashion, Friday night did not get off to a good start, but they re-grouped and had a really strong second period. Slow starts have been a huge issue for the Red Wings recently. Dating back to their 5-2 loss in Dallas on January 12th, the Red Wings have allowed their opponent to score in the first 5:30 in seven of 10 games. You simply can’t expect to go down that early that often and win on a regular basis—for what it’s worth, the Red Wings went 4-3-3 over that stretch. 

Tonight’s opponent, the Nashville Predators were expected to be one of the best teams in the Western Conference this season, but stumbled out of the gate. However, they have turned things around recently and come into Saturday having gone 8-2-1 in their last 11 games. During that stretch the Predators have scored 2.73 goals per game, while giving up just 2.18. It will be a stiff test for a Red Wings team that is fighting to stay alive. The light is flickering, but it’s still on. 

If the Red Wings are going to beat the Predators they are going to have to do it without Frans Nielsen, who will miss tonight’s game after suffering an upper-body injury in last night’s contest. This is a huge loss for the Red Wings, because it means that Riley Sheahan has to move up the lineup. Tomas Jurco will draw in, likely on the fourth line. Niklas Kronwall will also come out of the lineup because of a “lower-body injury,” but it’s likely just rest because of the back-to-back. Brendan Smith (knee) has been activated from IR and will make his return to the lineup, a move that forced the Red Wings to waive Alexey Marchenko, who was claimed by the Toronto Maple Leafs today. 

On Friday, Andreas Athanasiou and Thomas Vanek were basically stapled to the bench. Athanasiou played just 7:48, while Vanek came in at 7:40 TOI. Head coach Jeff Blashill said it was his decision to limit their minutes, but expects both of them to play more tonight.

The Red Wings got contributions from 10 different players last night, but it was Anthony Mantha, Henrik Zetterberg and Tomas Tatar who cashed in with multi-point efforts. There was something different about the Red Wings last night, specifically in the second period. The offence was clicking and looked determined, not just going through the motions. I think efforts like that is what a lot of people were expecting to see on a nightly basis and why it’s so surprising to see where they sit in the standings. Regardless, it was only one game and if this 2016-17 season has taught us anything, it’s not to get too excited about any one game or even any winning streak, because this team is likely to disappoint you in the near future. 

During the Predators 11-game run, it has been the play of their top-line that has propelled them to the 8-2-1 record. Ryan Johansen has led the way during that time with nine points (2G / 7A) while Filip Forsberg has paced the team with six goals. The third member of that line is Viktor Arvidsson, who has had a strong campaign. The second-year forward has 13 goals and 19 assists (32 points) in 49 games and leads the Predators with 151 shots (3.08 S/PG). 

Like the Red Wings, Nashville will be getting one of their defenseman back tonight. Roman Josi was activated from IR this afternoon and is expected to suit up for the first time since January 12th, when he suffered a suspected concussion that the Predators have been calling an “upper-body injury.” Josi’s return gives the Predators three really good pairs. Their top pair features former Montreal Canadien P.K Subban, who has seven goals and 11 assists (18 points) in his first 35 games with the Predators. The second has Ryan Ellis, who has elevated his game to new heights this season, especially when they were without Subban and Josi and he and Mattias Ekholm were leaned on heavily. And finally, Josi joins Yannick Weber on the third pair. Josi has had a tough time adjusting to life without Shea Weber, but he’s still recorded 22 points (5G / 17A) in 42 games 

Petr Mrazek will be back between the pipes for the Red Wings. Mrazek didn’t look his best last night, but stopped 32 of 36 shots in the 5-4 win. Mrazek has had a tough season, but reinforcements are on the way. Jimmy Howard was sent to Grand Rapids (AHL) today and is expected to start for the Griffins tonight. Howard was great earlier in the year and if the Red Wings are really planning on getting back to the playoffs, they will need him to rediscover that form. 

Pekka Rinne is expected to get the nod for the Predators. Rinne posted a 31-save shutout over the Oilers on Thursday and has won four of his last five starts while posting a 2.18 GAA and .930 SV%. The Finnish netminder has gone 12-10-4 with a 2.64 GAA and .920 SV% in 26 career starts vs. the Red Wings. 

Puck drop is at 8:00pm at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. 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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