Edmonton Oilers (4-7-2) @ Detroit Red Wings (8-3-1)
These guys again? As TP:60 - Episode Amazon pointed out, it seems like we only play the Oilers, Coyotes, and Flames these days. Can't really complain though -- and karma will probably slap me in the face for this -- but the Wings need to get as many points as we can early on and playing Edmonton is a pretty easy way of getting those points. On Tuesday, the mighty Oil Kids from Edmonton were lambasted 7-1 by the Carolina Hurricanes. Taylor Hall was benched in the third period. If I had any money, I'd bet that Hall will have a fire tonight to avenge his benching. Too bad he'll probably be playing against the greatest defenseman of all-time, Nick Lidstrom. And while I'm probably already on the bad side of karma -- in for a penny, in for a pound, right? -- I might as well say that I'm expecting the Wings to give Edmonton a good, old fashioned ass-kicking tonight. Somewhere along the lines of 8-2 works for me. It just seems right considering the line-juggling, the few days rest, and a successful road trip last week. Plus, maybe some of the Oilers' players won't even make it to the rink tonight, eh? I hear the forecast in Detroit is muggy with a chance of murder (NOTE: if you read the article in the previous link...also read this too. Hollis is right.).
THE EXPECTED LINE-UP
Pavel Datsyuk - Henrik Zetterberg - Tomas Holmstrom
Johan Franzen - Valtteri Filppula - Jiri Hudler
Todd Bertuzzi - Mike Modano - Danny Cleary
Justin Abdelkader - Darren Helm - Drew Miller
Nicklas Lidstrom - Brad Stuart
Niklas Kronwall - Ruslan Salei
Johnathon Ericsson - Brian Rafalski
Jimmy Howard (starting)
Joey MacDonald
In the press box: Patrick Eaves (healthy scratch), Jakub Kindl (healthy scratch) and Chris Osgood (groin)
On LTIR: Kris Draper (groin)
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
- I really hope that Babcock gets 12 pieces of paper, writes down each of the forwards' names, and puts them all in Ozzie's helmet (not like he needs it tonight anyway). Seriously, I love this line juggling fetish he's got going on right now. Give me Abby/Hank/Pavel. I want Franzen/Modano/Filppula. Maybe a little Hank/Hudler/Homer. Triple H style. They could The Cerebral Assassin Line and pedigree Khabibulin into next week.
- Mikael Samuelsson sucks. Everyone who said they would trade Hudler for him...FRIENDSHIP OVER! Just kidding...but seriously. I despise Mikael Samuelsson
- Jiri Hudler. People want to trade you. You really need to find the back of the net. Tonight is the night! I can feel it. It's going to happen. Do it, Happy. Score a goal. Seriously...Do it...Do it........................Do it.
BRENDAN SMITH
Grand Rapids had a matinee game yesterday. Thomas McCollum registered his first career shutout, but the Griffins lost 1-0 in a shootout. In the shootout, the Griffs were down 2-1 and Smith was their last shooter. Unfortunately, he clanked his shot off the left post to end the game. A disappointing result, no doubt, but the fact that Smith -- a defenseman -- is out there in the shootout speaks volumes of his ability and how much the coaching staff trusts and believes in him.
AROUND THE LEAGUE
I took some time last night to watch some non-Red Wings hockey. Center Ice was showing the Blues/Blue Jackets game in HD and, since I live in Boston, I had the Bruins/Pens game in HD on NESN as well. I wanted to see what this St. Louis team was all about. Turns out I picked a dud of a game to watch. It was already 2-0 when I turned the game on and I tuned in just as Halak made a ridiculous save on a two-on-one. Sadly for the Blues, their defense imploded after the save and Rick Nash was left wide open in the slot for an easy one-timer goal. Long story short: Welcome back to Earth, St. Louis. The Blues will probably be solid the rest of the year, but I'm not expecting them to go 9-1-2 every 12 games. Halak is only seeing 26 shots a game and Oshie is now out with a broke ankle. As far as the Bs/Pens game? In the words of Nelson Muntz: HAHA! Pittsbrugh was up 4-2 after two periods of play and the Bruins just took it to them in the third and won 7-4. I like this Bs team. They're fun to watch (...on mute without hearing Jack Edwards' voice). Horton has been a great addition to this team and Lucic has been playing extremely well to start the year. Krejci is the glue of this team though. He needs to come back soon from his concussion. Long term he is a big piece of their puzzle. I wouldn't mind a Boston vs. Detroit match-up sometime in June (yeah...I said it).
I took some time last night to watch some non-Red Wings hockey. Center Ice was showing the Blues/Blue Jackets game in HD and, since I live in Boston, I had the Bruins/Pens game in HD on NESN as well. I wanted to see what this St. Louis team was all about. Turns out I picked a dud of a game to watch. It was already 2-0 when I turned the game on and I tuned in just as Halak made a ridiculous save on a two-on-one. Sadly for the Blues, their defense imploded after the save and Rick Nash was left wide open in the slot for an easy one-timer goal. Long story short: Welcome back to Earth, St. Louis. The Blues will probably be solid the rest of the year, but I'm not expecting them to go 9-1-2 every 12 games. Halak is only seeing 26 shots a game and Oshie is now out with a broke ankle. As far as the Bs/Pens game? In the words of Nelson Muntz: HAHA! Pittsbrugh was up 4-2 after two periods of play and the Bruins just took it to them in the third and won 7-4. I like this Bs team. They're fun to watch (...on mute without hearing Jack Edwards' voice). Horton has been a great addition to this team and Lucic has been playing extremely well to start the year. Krejci is the glue of this team though. He needs to come back soon from his concussion. Long term he is a big piece of their puzzle. I wouldn't mind a Boston vs. Detroit match-up sometime in June (yeah...I said it).
Let's Go Red Wings.
No comments:
Post a Comment