WGD: GAME 53: RED WINGS VS. BLUE JACKETS

7 years ago

Oh no, the Red Wings are doing it again. They’re trying to make us believers again and I think it’s working. 2016-17 has been a rollercoaster of emotions and now the Red Wings are trying to climb out of the basement and give Joe Louis Arena one last playoff game.

Here’s a look at the Red Wings’ rollercoaster:

Games 1-8: 6-2-0 (.750 P%)
Games 9-19: 2-8-1 (.227 P%)
Games 20-27: 5-1-2 (.750 P%)
Games 28-38: 3-6-2 (.364 P%)
Games 39-50: 4-4-4 (.500 P%)
Games 51-52: 2-0-0 (1.000 P%)

Tonight will be the second of three meetings between the Red Wings and Blue Jackets and it couldn’t come at a better time for the Red Wings. Columbus won the first meeting and it was their fifth of what ended up becoming an impressive 16-game winning streak. However since that winning streak, the Blue Jackets have gone 6-8-1 since, including being losers of four of their last six. The Blue Jackets have gone relatively cold and Detroit is coming in on a high.

THE RED WINGS

Detroit Red Wings Lines courtesy of DailyFaceoff

The Red Wings will be without Frans Nielsen or Niklas Kronwall for at least two more games, so the lineup will be the same as Saturday. Steve Ott (shoulder) was activated from IR yesterday but won’t play tonight, so Tomas Jurco will skate with Luke Glendening and Justin Abdelkader again.

Brendan Smith played 16:26 TOI while firing two shots with two hits, three blocks and two penalty minutes in his return to the lineup on Saturday. Fellow blueliner Mike Green fired home his 10th goal of the season, in what ended up being the game-winning goal.

Green is one of seven defensemen with double-digit goals and 10 is tied with Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Justin Faulk for fifth in the league.

Henrik Zetterberg picked up an assist on the Green goal, to give him two goals and five assists (seven points) in his last five games. The captain is trying to will his team back to the playoffs it appears.

THE BLUE JACKETS

Columbus Blue Jackets Lines courtesy of DailyFaceoff

The Blue Jackets did not have a morning skate today, so it remains unclear if they will make any lineup changes from their last game. Forward Josh Anderson missed that game with an illness, but should draw back into the lineup tonight. The Blue Jackets have been running with roughly the same lineup all season-long, so the only regular that they’ll be without is David Savard, who is still out with a back injury.

The Blue Jackets continue to be led in goals and points by Cam Atkinson, who is enjoying the best year of his career. The Blue Jackets’ blueline is being carried by their top-pair of Seth Jones and Zach Werenski. Werenski, a potential candidate for Rookie of the Year, is a Michigan native and grew up playing games at Joe Louis Arena and he wrote a letter thanking “The Joe” today.

BETWEEN THE PIPES

Petr Mrazek will be between the pipes for the Red Wings. Mrazek was superb in the Red Wings’ win on Saturday. He turned aside all 42 shots that he faced to earn his first shutout of the year. Mrazek won both games of the back-to-back and has turned aside 74 of the last 78 shots that he faced (.948 SV%). I’ve been saying all along that the Red Wings need to live and die with Mrazek and hopefully Saturday’s shutout will re-ignite his confidence and carry him down the stretch.

Sergei Bobrovsky will likely start in the Blue Jackets’ crease. Bobrovsky has had a really strong season, but has struggled mightily in recent outings. He has lost four in a row while allowing four goals in each game and posting an ugly .864 SV%. Hopefully for the Red Wings’ sake, his struggles will continue for at least one more game.

THE LAST TIME…

WHERE TO WATCH

Puck drop is at 7:30pm 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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#lgrw ?