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WGD: Game 33: Red Wings vs. Senators

Dec 14, 2018, 10:17 EST

After a stomping by the Washington Capitals on Tuesday, the Red Wings got a much needed two days of rest. They played seven games in eleven days through the start of December, going 3-3-1. They’ve somehow managed to maintain their .500 hockey against the toughest teams in the league.

Tonight, they get a bit of a break as they face the Ottawa Senators. A mere two points behind the Wings, the Sens aren’t too far out of the picture. Devastated by injury, they are 4-5-1 in their last 10 games and a staggering 3-10-1 on the road.

The Wings have a good shot tonight, but sometimes the worst teams are the most dangerous.

THE RED WINGS

Detroit Red Wings lines via DailyFaceoff

LW	C	RW
GUSTAV NYQUIST Rating: 75.5#34 LW	DYLAN LARKIN Rating: 78.7#29 C	JUSTIN ABDELKADER Rating: 70.2#119 RW
ANDREAS ATHANASIOU Rating: 75.3#50 LW	FRANS NIELSEN Rating: 73.3#72 C	THOMAS VANEK Rating: 71.5#80 RW
TYLER BERTUZZI Rating: 72.7#62 LW	LUKE GLENDENING Rating: 68.9#176 C	MICHAEL RASMUSSEN Rating: 71.1#134 RW
CHRISTOFFER EHN Rating: 71.8#83 LW	JACOB DE LA ROSE Rating: 67.8#186 C	MARTIN FRK Rating: 69.0#108 RW

DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS
NIKLAS KRONWALL Rating: 71.1#98 LD	MIKE GREEN Rating: 74.5#32 RD
DENNIS CHOLOWSKI Rating: 72.2#73 LD	TREVOR DALEY Rating: 69.8#124 RD
JONATHAN ERICSSON Rating: 68.8#133 LD	NICK JENSEN Rating: 70.6#80 RD

The Red Wings have had their own fair share of injury problems, with Anthony Mantha and Darren Helm still out for some time. For those keeping count, that’s two-thirds of the top line. It means that Gustav Nyquist and Justin Abdelkader flank Larkin’s wings.

At least the D-corps is looking more full with Trevor Daley and Jonathan Ericsson back. They at least make the Red Wings blueline look competent.

THE SENATORS

Ottawa Senators lines via DailyFaceoff

LW	C	RW
BRADY TKACHUK Rating: 73.8#46 LW	COLIN WHITE Rating: 71.3#128 C	MARK STONE Rating: 80.2#8 RW
MIKKEL BOEDKER Rating: 72.3#72 LW	CHRIS TIERNEY Rating: 70.5#151 C	DRAKE BATHERSON
RYAN DZINGEL Rating: 72.5#69 LW	ZACK SMITH Rating: 68.5#181 C	MAGNUS PAAJARVI Rating: 69.3#132 RW
MAX MCCORMICK Rating: 68.3#141 LW	NICK PAUL Rating: 72.8#87 C	TOM PYATT Rating: 66.4#190 RW

DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS
THOMAS CHABOT Rating: 70.6#106 LD	BEN HARPUR Rating: 67.0#104 RD
MAXIME LAJOIE Rating: 70.7#10 LD	CODY CECI Rating: 68.3#102 RD
JUSTIN FALK Rating: 66.3#135 LD	ERIK BURGDOERFER Rating: 72.6#47 RD

The Sens have more than two full forwards lines of players on the IR, including leading point-getter Matt Duchene, Jean Gabriel Pageau, Bobby Ryan, and Dylan DeMelo.

As such, there are a lot of names in the above chart that I’ve just never seen before (looking at you Erik Burgdoerfer). Mark Stone has been keeping this team afloat this year with goals and he’s on a line with the always fun to watch Brady Tkachuk.

These Sens are spectacularly bad, but they are incredibly fun to watch. They have let in more goals than any other team, but they rank 7th in goals for with 106.

BETWEEN THE PIPES

Jimmy Howard vs. Craig Anderson

Neither of these are confirmed yet, but I would expect both teams to go with their undisputed starters as they battle each other in the standings. Howard has been keeping the Red Wings season alive and could net them a high pick if the team decides to trade him. Anderson has posted a .907 save percentage behind a horrid defense. The guy faces so many shots – he can’t be expected to save them all.

HOW TO WATCH

Puck drop is at 7:30 P.M. ET and you’ll be able to catch the game on Fox Sports Detroit or TSN5 if you’re tuning in from Canada.

As always, make sure you’re following us on Twitter for all kinds of fun in-game reactions, gifs, and all the other things you’d expect from a hockey blog twitter account.