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WGD: Game 78: Red Wings vs. Devils

Mar 29, 2019, 11:13 EDT

After their 5-4 overtime victory against the Buffalo Sabres last night, the Red Wings boarded their team plane and made straight for Detroit. Tonight, they are back at LCA to host the New Jersey Devils.

This last stretch of games may feel like the Tankathon Wars, but the Wings still have to play Pittsburgh twice and Boston once before wrapping up their season against the Buffalo Sabres. Tonight, though, it’s all about New Jersey, who is currently just below Detroit in the standings. If the Devils win, they jump over the Red Wings. If history is any indication, though, the Wings will widen the gap in the standings tonight. They’ve beat the Devils twice already this year, both games by a single goal.

THE RED WINGS

LW	C	RW
Tyler Bertuzzi Rating: 73.3#58 LW	Dylan Larkin Rating: 77.6#32 C	Anthony Mantha Rating: 75.4#37 RW
Taro Hirose	Andreas Athanasiou Rating: 78.7#24 C	Luke Glendening Rating: 70.1#114 RW
Darren Helm Rating: 70.3#154 LW	Frans Nielsen Rating: 71.8#113 C	Ryan Kuffner
Matt Puempel Rating: 71.8#89 LW	Christoffer Ehn Rating: 69.8#164 C	Luke Witkowski Rating: 67.2#131 RW

Defensive Pairings
Niklas Kronwall Rating: 71.4#95 LD	Filip Hronek Rating: 71.6#72 RD
Dan DeKeyser Rating: 71.7#88 LD	Madison Bowey Rating: 69.1#99 RD
Jonathan Ericsson Rating: 68.2#127 LD	Dylan McIlrath Rating: 73.0#52 RD

This roster gets weirder and weirder as it appears Jonathan Ericsson may be out and Frans Nielsen is a little shaken up. The team recalled Martin Frk and Jake Chelios on an emergency basis to join them in Detroit.

Larkin is coming off a big 2-goal game last night, where he became the Red Wings first 30-goal scorer in a decade. Tyler Bertuzzi also contributed two goals and Anthony Mantha added two assist. Finally, Taro Hirose continued his point streak as he assisted on Bertuzzi’s overtime winner. His performance so far has certainly been interesting (and maybe a little lucky), but it’s hella fun to watch.

All eyes will also be on Andreas Athanasiou tonight as he eyes his 30th goal of the year. It would be nice to get two of those in the same season, especially after the season the Red Wings had.

THE DEVILS

LW	C	RW
Blake Coleman Rating: 72.7#89 LW	Travis Zajac Rating: 72.1#101 C	Stefan Noesen Rating: 70.6#103 RW
Kenny Agostino Rating: 71.9#88 LW	Nico Hischier Rating: 76.3#43 C	Kyle Palmieri Rating: 76.9#24 RW
Miles Wood Rating: 73.4#55 LW	Pavel Zacha Rating: 71.7#114 C	Joey Anderson Rating: 71.7#85 RW
Drew Stafford Rating: 69.2#133 LW	Kevin Rooney Rating: 72.1#104 C	Michael McLeod Rating: 72.3#75 RW

Defensive Pairings
Andy Greene Rating: 71.3#97 LD	Damon Severson Rating: 72.2#60 RD
Will Butcher Rating: 74.5#34 LD	Steven Santini Rating: 69.0#100 RD
Mirco Mueller Rating: 70.7#109 LD	Connor Carrick Rating: 70.8#88 RD

The Devils aren’t as banged up as the Red Wings are, but they are still missing two key pieces to their roster in Sami Vatanen and reigning Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall. It’s kind of scary how empty their lineup looks without those two. Nico Hischier is, of course, the player to watch here. He’s trailing Kyle Palmieri in the team’s point race by 5. Palmieri has 50.

Here’s a fun fact: the Devils don’t currently have a 30-goal scorer. Palmieri is at 27, so he’s in the hunt, but it’s possible that this team’s offense is worse than Detroit’s.

BETWEEN THE PIPES

Jonathan Bernier vs. Mackenzie Blackwood

Since Howie played last night in Buffalo, expect Jonathan Bernier to get the nod tonight. He’s been great lately, so if he can keep it together, I’m pretty confident in a Red Wings win.

For the Devils, Blackwood will likely start. He’s 8-9-0 through 20 games this season with a surprisingly strong .917 save percentage.