After logging a much needed two points against the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday, the Wings take back to the ice this afternoon for the first half of their fourth and final back-to-back in December. They host the Florida Panthers at LCA, looking to build on the momentum of their scoring outburst against the Canes.

The Panthers are in a worse spot statistically than the Red Wings, despite arguably having a better roster on paper. With 32 points, they are sitting tied for second last place in the Eastern Conference. Their three points behind the Red Wings, who are six points out of a wild card spot. It’s getting to be the time of season now where playoff teams set themselves apart. The Wings need to string together some wins, especially against division rivals, if they want to make a real push for the playoffs.

Because it’s an afternoon game, there won’t be a morning skate to determine the lines. I don’t expect them to change, though, despite Blashill throwing them into the blender throughout the game against the Hurricanes.

The most notable change is on the second line, where Athanasiou has been moved to the middle and Rasmussen has been promoted to his wing. Frans Nielsen has been bumped to the third line where he’s playing between Bertuzzi and Glendening. I find it weird that Glendening is on the wing when he’s one of the best faceoff takers the Wings have, but they have far too many bottom-6 centers for all of them to play down the middle. That’s also why Christoffer Ehn is playing on the wing.

On the back end, there really isn’t any perfect combinations. Cholowski and Hronek can’t be paired together, but it hurts to see them paired with Daley and Ericsson. I also wouldn’t want either of them paired with Kronwall. So I’m not really sure what the right answer is. I guess you just have to play them and hope for the best.

The Panthers have a few important players, like Vincent Trochek and Nick Bjugstad, on the injured reserve, but Huberdeau and Barkov, paired with Hoffman, is actually a solid top line. I think where the Panthers roster breaks down is in it’s depth – their bottom-6 is terrible – and it’s defense. Aaron Ekblad has not shown the kind of player he was supposed to be in a while and Keith Yandle is getting too old to carry the team’s defense all the way. After them, the talent level drops significantly.

It’s not a good situation to be in for their goalie.

Jonathan Bernier vs. Roberto Luongo

Since Jimmy Howard it still hurt, look for Jonathan Bernier to get the start. Though Bernier’s season stats have looked pretty poor this year, he’s been playing pretty well as of late, posting .938, .909, and .974 save percentages in his last three outings. The problem for the Red Wings is that they allow so many shots. There’s only so much a goalie can do and, since Howie went down, Bernier really has been doing all he can.

For Florida, expect Luongo to get the nod. Lou has had a rough go with injuries this year, as he always does, but has a .900 save percentage so far which is far below his career average of .919. Luongo is 2-3-1 in his last 5 and has been spotty at best. It’s a good opportunity for the Red Wings to take advantage and build on their momentum from Thursday night.

Today’s game is a matinee and so puck drop is at 2:00 P.M. ET. You’ll be able to watch the game on Fox Sports Detroit or Fox Sports Florida (if you’re tuning in from the Sunshine State).

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