Detroit Red Wings GameDay: @ Anaheim

For the Anaheim perspective, see Anaheim Duck Fan, The Battle of California (Gameday here), Ducks Wire,  Girl with a Puck, and On the Pond.

The Wings improved to 7-2-1 in 2008 with last night's 3-0 win over Los Angeles. The game came three nights after a wild one in San Jose, which ended in a 6-3 Detroit win. Two nights before that, on the 17th, the Wings halted a three-game skid by beating the Vancouver Canucks in a shootout, 3-2.  Tonight is the final stop in a three-game road trip and the final game before the All Star Break for the Wings, who will be sending three players and a head coach to Atlanta.

Six Red Wings have 10 or more goals: Henrik Zetterberg (28), Daniel Cleary (19), Tomas Holmstrom (19), Pavel Datsyuk (17), Valtteri Filppula (14), and Jiri Hudler (11).

The team will be without Zetterberg (back) for the second straight game. The forward was injured by a hit late in the game Saturday night and is taking extra precautions, given his history of back problems. However, he has been quick to assure the media that this latest injury is unrelated to the "specific disc problem" which kept him out of 19 games last season: "I think this is more muscular."

He was a voted-in All Star, but withdrew as a result of this latest back issue. Mike Ribeiro of Dallas was named his replacement.

Dallas Drake (knee) is also listed as out.

Aaron Downey and Matt Ellis will remain in the lineup.

Projected lines:

Cleary-Datsyuk-Holmstrom
Hudler-Filppula-Samuelsson
Draper-Franzen-Maltby
Downey-Kopecky-Ellis

Projected pairings:

Lidstrom-Rafalski
Kronwall-Lilja
Lebda-Chelios

There's a chance Babcock will sit Chris Chelios in favor of Derek Meech tonight because it's the second game of a back-to-back, but I wouldn't be surprised if he choses to keep the veteran in the lineup. It is Anaheim, after all.

Dominik Hasek will get the start.

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.

Tonight is an important game for the Wings as they will look to assert their dominance of the Western Conference with a win over the defending Stanley Cup Champions. Their last visit to Anaheim was something of an embarrassment, and the only blight on a otherwise successful four-game road trip. They responded to that game with a nine-game winning streak. They have a chance here at some revenge and to keep the Ducks from returning to their recent winning ways.

Remember, the game starts at 10:00 ET tonight, not 10:30. 

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