WGD: Game 68: Red Wings vs. Lightning
By Cameron Kuom
5 years agoThe Red Wings finally snapped their last eight game losing streak Thursday night against the New York Rangers. It was a thrilling win with lots of emotions, being the first home game since the passing of hockey icon Ted Lindsay. The Wings will need to carry over that momentum if they want to defeat the long time thorn in their side, the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The last time Detroit won against Tampa Bay was *checks notes* game two of the first round in the 2016 playoffs. They have been unable to find an answer for Russian superstar Nikita Kucherov, who seems to be able to score at will against them.
Tampa Bay is also enjoying arguably the best regular season in the salary cap area. Sitting atop of the NHL standings with 106 points, they have a staggering 15 point lead over the next best team. It will be quite the challenge for an injury riddled Red Wings squad.
THE RED WINGS
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
 TYLER BERTUZZI |  ANDREAS ATHANASIOU |  ANTHONY MANTHA |
 THOMAS VANEK |  FRANS NIELSEN |  FILIP ZADINA |
 JUSTIN ABDELKADER |  LUKE GLENDENING |  DARREN HELM |
 CHRISTOFFER EHN |  JACOB DE LA ROSE |  MICHAEL RASMUSSEN |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | |
|---|---|
 DAN DEKEYSER |  FILIP HRONEK |
 NIKLAS KRONWALL |  MADISON BOWEY |
 JONATHAN ERICSSON |  TREVOR DALEY |
Dylan Larkin still remains out with an injury, reported to be a neck strain. So Andreas Athanasiou stays as the center on the top-line, which gives him a golden opportunity to show his signature night on Thursday was no fluke. That top-line as a whole have really found their chemistry and are playing great hockey.
Filip Zadina has really pushed Jeff Blashill’s hand for more ice-time. He has shown excellent progress in his first handful of games at the NHL level. He was dangerous against the Rangers and hopefully that transfers over to Tampa.
THE LIGHTNING
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
 ONDREJ PALAT |  STEVEN STAMKOS |  J.T. MILLER |
 TYLER JOHNSON |  BRAYDEN POINT |  NIKITA KUCHEROV |
 ALEX KILLORN |  ANTHONY CIRELLI |  MATHIEU JOSEPH |
 YANNI GOURDE |  CEDRIC PAQUETTE |  RYAN CALLAHAN |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | |
|---|---|
 VICTOR HEDMAN |  MIKHAIL SERGACHEV |
 RYAN MCDONAGH |  ERIK CERNAK |
 BRAYDON COBURN |  JAN RUTTA |
Yeah…that is some lineup.
The depth of this team is absolutely insane. Good luck trying to stop this offense that boasts Steven Stamkos, Brayden Point, Tyler Johnson, and Kucherov. The defense doesn’t let up either, with Victor Hedman and Ryan McDonagh patrolling the back-end.
This could be a long night folks.
BETWEEN THE PIPES
Jonathan Bernier vs. Louis Domingue
Bernier has had a rough first go in Detroit, and now he is getting thrown to the wolves. This certainly has the potential to damage his confidence even more, as the explosive Tampa offense will be surging all night.
The Wings do get some sort of break with Domingue in the starters net. Well, sorta. Domingue has gone 8-1-0 with a .923 save percentage at home this season, but the alternative would be Vezina trophy candidate Andrei Vasilevskiy. Pick your poison.
HOW TO WATCH
Puck drop is at 7:00 P.M. ET and you’ll be able to watch the game on Fox Sports Detroit.
As always, join us on Twitter for in-game discussion, reactions, and lots and lots of GIFs.
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