Red Wings-Predators: Series Preview

Only three regulars finished in the minuses: Kris Draper (-2), Kirk Maltby (-8), and Dallas Drake (-12).

As a group, the Wings' forwards have 858 games of playoff experience. Much of that is concentrated in the old Grind Line trio of Kris Draper (172), Darren McCarty (157), and Kirk Maltby (137), the last of whom is unlikely to appear in this series due to a hamstring injury.

Tomas Kopecky has appeared in four playoff games, but he will not play in this post-season because of a torn ACL.

Tomas Holmstrom (108) is the only other Red Wing forward with 100 or more playoff games under his belt. His 62 playoff points are a team high for forwards, as are his 32 post-season goals.

The Wings' forwards, though typically thought of as small, are not without large bodies. Johan Franzen, at 6'3", 220lbs, is the biggest man up front. Justin Abdelkader and Aaron Downey are both listed as 6'1", 215 lbs. Mikael Samuelsson (213), Daniel Cleary (210), Darren McCarty (210), Tomas Holmstrom (203), and Mark Hartigan (200) weigh in at 200 or more.

The remaining Red Wing regulars range from 195 (Zetterberg) to 182 lbs (Hudler).

At this point, the Wings' forward units look like this:

Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Holmstrom
Filppula-Franzen-Cleary
Hudler-Draper-Samuelsson
Drake-Hartigan-McCarty

With that lineup, healthy scratches include Aaron Downey, prospect Justin Abdelkader, and call-up Darren Helm.

Defense

Nick Lidstrom led the Wings in defenseman scoring with 70 points, 60 of which were assists.

Brian Rafalski finished with 55 points and 42 assists. His 13 goals were a team high.

Niklas Kronwall (35) and Brad Stuart (23) were the only other Red Wings defensemen to notch 20 or more points. Stuart earned 21 of his 23 while with LA prior to the trade deadline.

The defense accounted for 42 of the Wings' team goals.

Lidstrom narrowly missed besting his teammate Datsyuk's plus-minus with a +40. His regular defense partner Rafalski finished +27. Kronwall and Chris Chelios finished +25 and +11 respectively.

Brett Lebda (-1) and Andreas Lilja (-2) were the only regulars to finish in the minuses.

Brad Stuart's season ended with him at -10, but that's a relic from his days with the Kings. He was +6 with Detroit.

Together, the Wings' defensemen have 646 games of playoff experience. Chris Chelios accounts for 246 of those and Lidstrom accounts for a further 192. Brian Rafalski (192) is the only other Red Wing with triple digit games of playoff experience.

When Chelios suits up tonight, he'll be tying the record for all-time playoff games played, a record currently held by Patrick Roy.

Stuart has seen the ice in 52 playoff games and Lilja has been there for 30. Lebda has 18. Kronwall is on the low end with just six games under his belt.

Chelios has a team-high 144 playoff points and Lidstrom is not far behind with 136. Nick's 39 goals is a team best.

The Wings' big man on the blueline is Andreas Lilja at 220 lbs and 6'3". Brad Stuart isn't far off at 6'2", 213lbs.

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