The Avalanche head into Detroit tonight as they open up a brief, back-to-back road swing. The last time these two teams met was just before the new year and the Wings came away with a 4-2 road win.
If the Avalanche can come up big tonight and get a W against the top team in the league, it will be their fourth consecutive road victory. If the Avalanche are going to get it done, they're going to have to do it on the back of a goaltender who hasn't started a game in nearly a month.
Goaltending
Peter Budaj gets the call in net as Jose Theodore did not make the trip with the team. He is still undergoing testing but the preliminary results indicate it's nothing serious. I won't believe it until I see him back in the lineup but I digress.
Budaj stepped in for the third period of Wednesday's game against the Blackhawks and didn't fare too well. He gave up 2 goals on 4 shots and almost looked like he had a sinister plan of letting in one more goal so he could get credit for the W. If the thought has crossed his mind, I'm sure he asked himself WWNFD and decided against it.
Tyler Weiman has been recalled to back him up on the night. Heck, Weiman has a 1.00 save percentage so why not start him? It's obvious he'd be a shoo-in to get a shutout, right? Stats don't lie people!
Dominik Hasek will be in net at the other end so have your score cards ready to rate his swan dives. I kid, I kid.
Injuries
Well, aside from the previously mentioned Theodore, there are no new injuries to account for. In fact, the team has activated Kurt Sauer as he is apparently not getting dizzy while skating these days. Gotta stop turning those tight loops, Kurt.
Game time
The puck drops at 7:38 ET time and here in lovely, frigid Canada it is nationally televised on TSN in glorious HD. Of course, that means I'll be subject to the un-glorious Pierre McGuire. At least James Duthie's antics on the panel help even things out a bit.
Related Links
Terry Frei on Theodore Stepping Up
Tapeleg Isn't Done With the Attendance Coverage Yet
MLive.com Gameday Report
On the Wings Blog Gameday Report
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