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WGD: Game 70: Red Wings vs. Canadiens

Mar 12, 2019, 13:44 EDT

The Red Wings Atlantic Division road trip is almost over. After a disappointing stop in Floriday where they lost both games, the team is making a pit stop in Montreal before returning home.

The only problem is… The Wings suck against the Canadiens. They haven’t beaten the Habs since a 2-1 overtime victory on March 21, 2017. In the eight games since that win, the Wings are 0-7-1 vs. the Habs and have been out-scored 45-17. It seems that every time these two teams meet, the Habs have the Wings number and just crush them. This year alone, the Wings have been out-scored 18-6 against the Canadiens.

They need to find a way to break down these walls that the Habs have built around them.

THE RED WINGS

LW	C	RW
TYLER BERTUZZI Rating: 73.5#57 LW	ANDREAS ATHANASIOU Rating: 76.0#39 C	ANTHONY MANTHA Rating: 75.3#37 RW
THOMAS VANEK Rating: 72.3#83 LW	FRANS NIELSEN Rating: 72.1#98 C	FILIP ZADINA
JUSTIN ABDELKADER Rating: 69.5#137 LW	LUKE GLENDENING Rating: 69.7#166 C	DARREN HELM Rating: 71.0#141 RW
CHRISTOFFER EHN Rating: 70.4#127 LW	JACOB DE LA ROSE Rating: 68.3#181 C	MICHAEL RASMUSSEN Rating: 70.7#149 RW

DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS
DAN DEKEYSER Rating: 71.7#86 LD	FILIP HRONEK Rating: 72.7#59 RD
JONATHAN ERICSSON Rating: 68.3#128 LD	TREVOR DALEY Rating: 69.2#123 RD
NIKLAS KRONWALL Rating: 72.1#77 LD	MADISON BOWEY Rating: 68.8#98 RD

With the news that Dylan Larkin is out for at least the next 5-7 days, the first line will likely remain unchanged, even though I would love to see Filip Zadina get a game up there.

Madison Bowey draws back into the lineup tonight after a couple of particularly terrible games from Ericsson/Daley. It looks like Luke Witkowski will come back out of the lineup.

The other interesting piece is Evgeny Svechnikov is with the team on this road trip and skated this morning during their morning session. It’s a positive sign for the young winger who’s struggled to get consistent playing time in the NHL. He’ll likely get a few games in before the season’s done.

THE CANADIENS

LW	C	RW
TOMAS TATAR Rating: 76.7#24 LW	PHILLIP DANAULT Rating: 75.8#44 C	BRENDAN GALLAGHER Rating: 79.8#14 RW
PAUL BYRON Rating: 75.1#49 LW	MAX DOMI Rating: 75.9#43 C	ANDREW SHAW Rating: 74.4#44 RW
JONATHAN DROUIN Rating: 77.0#35 LW	JESPERI KOTKANIEMI Rating: 74.3#59 C	JOEL ARMIA Rating: 73.8#52 RW
ARTTURI LEHKONEN Rating: 73.1#68 LW	NATE THOMPSON Rating: 68.3#180 C	DALE WEISE Rating: 70.0#111 RW

DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS
VICTOR METE Rating: 73.7#50 LD	SHEA WEBER Rating: 79.6#11 RD
JORDIE BENN Rating: 73.0#63 LD	JEFF PETRY Rating: 77.5#21 RD
BRETT KULAK Rating: 72.7#67 LD	CHRISTIAN FOLIN Rating: 71.4#80 RD

The last time these two teams played, Max Domi had five points and Andrew Shaw had a hat trick. We can’t let that line run wild again. I would expect Abdelkader-Glendening-Helm to be paired against them while the top line takes the top line.

The Canadiens are just outside of the playoff picture right now. Columbus’ loss last night was huge for them. With a win over the Red Wings tonight, they can reclaim their Wild Card spot.

This team has been surprising this year. Who thought swapping out Pacioretty for Tatar was all that was needed?

BETWEEN THE PIPES

Jonathan Bernier vs. Carey Price

Bernier, who played a great game against Tampa, will start for Detroit tonight.

And the Wings will have to shoot against one of the best in the game in Carey Price. Price has been fantastic this year and is a huge reason the Habs are where they are in the standings.