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WGD: Game 66: Red Wings vs. Avalanche

Mar 5, 2019, 09:14 ESTUpdated: Mar 5, 2019, 16:41 EST

Though this rivalry isn’t what it used to be, both the Red Wings and the Avalanche have something on the line tonight. The Red Wings have lost their last seven games, matching their season-starting seven game skid. If they lose tonight, they’ll have recorded the longest losing streak of the season. They also want to give Filip Zadina his first win in a Red Wings uniform.

For the Avalanche, the stakes are much higher. After a strong start to their season, they are a mere three points out of a Wild Card spot. They need to log a couple of wins if they want to sneak in. They’ve lost their last two games, but are 6-3-1 in their last 10. At this point of the season, every game is a must-win for the Avalanche.

Detroit is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games – Courtesy of Oddshark

Finally, there’s me. I have a bet with my co-host at The 4th Line Podcast, who is an Avs fan. We talk about it towards the end of our latest episode, but suffice it to say that I do not want to watch the 1996 Colorado Avalanche Stanley Cup movie. So, as always, I’m rooting for a Red Wings win.

THE RED WINGS

LW	C	RW
TYLER BERTUZZI Rating: 74.1#45 LW	DYLAN LARKIN Rating: 79.7#21 C	ANTHONY MANTHA Rating: 76.3#30 RW
LUKE GLENDENING Rating: 69.6#131 LW	ANDREAS ATHANASIOU Rating: 75.7#48 C	FILIP ZADINA
DARREN HELM Rating: 71.1#131 LW	FRANS NIELSEN Rating: 72.0#108 C	THOMAS VANEK Rating: 73.0#61 RW
JUSTIN ABDELKADER Rating: 70.0#127 LW	JACOB DE LA ROSE Rating: 68.1#179 C	MICHAEL RASMUSSEN Rating: 70.3#104 RW

DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS
NIKLAS KRONWALL Rating: 71.5#84 LD	MIKE GREEN Rating: 74.5#32 RD
DAN DEKEYSER Rating: 71.3#91 LD	FILIP HRONEK Rating: 72.8#56 RD
JONATHAN ERICSSON Rating: 68.3#128 LD	MADISON BOWEY Rating: 68.1#100 RD

I am ecstatic about the reunion of Tyler Bertuzzi and Larkin/Mantha on the first line. They have been great together when they’ve played together. Don’t forgot about the last time these two teams met. There was some bad blood between Bertuzzi and Matt Calvert. It will be interesting to see if that picks up where it left off.

Zadina is being given every chance to succeed right now as he finds himself on a line centered by the speedy Athanasiou. He’s also on the second power play unit to receive passes from Thomas Vanek, who makes his return to the lineup today after missing a couple of weeks with a hip-flexor injury.

3 Takeaways From Filip Zadina’s 3-Game Debut

On the back-end, Trevor Daley isn’t quite ready to return, so Madison Bowey and Jonathan Ericsson will round out the bottom-pair. Daley is close, though, and it will be interesting to see who comes out when he’s ready.

THE AVALANCHE

LW	C	RW
ALEXANDER KERFOOT Rating: 75.0#37 LW	NATHAN MACKINNON Rating: 86.2#3 C	MIKKO RANTANEN Rating: 80.1#10 RW
GABRIEL LANDESKOG Rating: 78.3#17 LW	TYSON JOST Rating: 71.7#112 C	MATT CALVERT Rating: 70.7#111 RW
DERICK BRASSARD Rating: 71.6#99 LW	CARL SODERBERG Rating: 74.5#59 C	JT COMPHER Rating: 71.9#89 RW
SVEN ANDRIGHETTO Rating: 71.4#102 LW	SHELDON DRIES Rating: 70.9#140 C	COLIN WILSON Rating: 71.5#81 RW

DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS
SAMUEL GIRARD Rating: 74.0#44 LD	ERIK JOHNSON Rating: 73.5#42 RD
IAN COLE Rating: 71.2#93 LD	TYSON BARRIE Rating: 77.8#19 RD
PATRIK NEMETH Rating: 72.1#73 LD	NIKITA ZADOROV Rating: 71.2#92 RD

The Avalanche lines look much different now than they did the last time we saw them. For one, only two-thirds of that electric first line remain as Landeskog has slid down to the 2nd line.

They’ve also added Derick Brassard as a deadline acquisition to try and help boost them into the playoffs. He’s on the Soderberg-centered third line, which will give Detroit’s third line a real run for their money.

On the blue line, the Avalanche look healthy with Girard, Johnson, and Barrie all ready to go. Nikita Zadorov rounds out the bottom-pair, but he’s played like a 2nd pairing guy on occasion and could make things difficult for the Red Wings power play.

BETWEEN THE PIPES

Jimmy Howard vs. Semyon Varlamov

Because it’s a late game tonight, we won’t get goalie confirmation until much later in the day, but these are the likely starters for tonight.

Howard has been struggling as of late, allowing 14 goals in his last four games. It’s been abundantly clear all year that the Red Wings need him on top of his game to win. He’s been a big reason for the last seven game slide.

Varlamov is the undisputed starter for Colorado. He’s got a .911 save percentage on the season and a 2.83 goals against average. It’s not bad, actually, and should be enough to get them into the playoffs if they’re offense shows up.