Red Wings-Blackhawks: Detroit GameDay

The Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks meet tonight for the fifth time this season.

The Hawks lead the series 4-0, with wins October 6th (4-3 SO), October 12th (3-2), November 11th (3-2), and November 17th (5-3). The remaining three games will be played on March 11th, April 2nd, and April 6th.

The puck drops at 7:00 ET. 

 

The 19-18-3 Blackhawks have dropped three straight, all on the road during a Pacific Division swing. They began 2008 with a 9-2 loss to LA on the 1st, and followed that up with a 4-2 loss to Phoenix two nights later. The next night, they fell to the Ducks 2-1.

Following a 5-6-1 December and their early troubles in January, the Hawks have fallen to fourth in the Central and are four points out of a playoff spot. Tonight is their third game in four nights.

The Hawks have had a rash of injuries in the last six weeks. They lost Jason Williams to a groin injury on November 28th, Martin Havlat to a groin pull on December 22nd, Brent Sopel to a broken finger on December 26th, James Wisniewski to a knee sprain on the 26th, and Jonathan Toews to a knee sprain on January 1st.

They’ve also been without Kevyn Adams (knee, Nov. 7), Dave Bolland (broken finger, Dec. 23rd), and Ben Eager (concussion, Dec. 23rd). Needless to say, their fall in the standings should come as no surprise given those injuries.

The Chicago Sun-Times, though, says that Sopel could return tonight.

Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp lead the team in points with 39 and 34, respectively. Sharp’s 21 goals leads the team as well, by six over Toews’ 15. Kane leads the team in assists with 30, twelve more than Robert Lang’s 18.

Nikolai Khabibulin will be the starter in goal tonight.

For the Hawk side of things, see The Third Man In, Second City Hockey, and The Blackhawk Experience.

 

The Wings are coming off a 3-0 win over Dallas on Saturday afternoon. It was a close game and a bit of a goaltending duel, as both Dominik Hasek and Mike Smith made some spectacular saves.

I’d say the Stars had the edge in play most of the game—or at least that’s how it seemed, as they were determined to break their slide and had a lot of jump. The Wings, however, took an early lead off a Brian Rafalski goal and clung to it until Dan Cleary notched a surprise tally at 10:08.

To their credit, the Stars didn't give up and continued to press the attack. They forced the Wings to ice it at 19:32, but a nice face-off win by Kris Draper gave the Wings possession, and Johan Franzen potted an empty-netter.

I wouldn’t say the Wings played their “A” game yesterday, but the ice probably played a role in that. They didn’t play poorly, however, and the Stars, even given a boost by the return of Sergei Zubov and the confident goaltending of Smith, couldn’t find a way past Dominik Hasek.

With the Stars’ bending the Wings’ defense all game, Dom was the reason the team didn’t break.

The roster will remain the same as it was in Dallas. Tomas Holmstrom (knee bruise) and Kirk Maltby (back strain) won’t be back until Tuesday.

Homer is apparently ready to go, but the team is taking extra precautions, which has the Swede “snarly”—just like Mike Babock likes him.

Because Derek Meech is in Grand Rapids for two weeks, Chris Chelios will play the second game of a back-to-back for the first time this season.

Chris Osgood will get the start in net for the Wings.

For more of the Wings’ perspective, see Snapshots, Abel to Yzerman, HockeyTownTodd, Behind the Jersey, No Pun Intended, Red Wings Nation, yzerman is god, Detroit Hockey, LetsGoWings, and Winging It In Motown.

 

The Blackhawks have owned the Wings this season. Since the teams last faced-off, however, the Hawks’ injury troubles have made them less dangerous. Still, they’re in prime position to build on a close game with Anaheim with a win over a tired Red Wings team tonight.

I don’t know what to expect from this game, but if the Hawks and their seven minor-leaguers continue to well up with youthful exuberance when they see the Winged Wheel, it may turn out like the other four games.

Then again, the Wings will have the benefit of a rested Chris Osgood between the pipes tonight, which should help offset the skaters’ fatigue.

(via On the Wings)