Detroit Red Wings GameDay: vs. Carolina (16-11-3, 35 Pts) 5:00 ET

Update (4:37 PM): IwoCPO’s liveblog post is up over at Abel to Yzerman. - Matt

Update (4:33 PM): If you’re an out-of-market Wings fan and don’t have NHL Center Ice or if you’re an in-market Hurriances fan and got screwed by FSN South, you can watch it online here. - Matt

Update (4:02 PM): Luke DeCock of the News & Observer reports that the Hurricanes will go with the same lineup they iced last night. That means no Jeff Hamilton, “3 1/2 lines and seven defensemen.” Also, Cam Ward will start. He also says, “[y]ou have to figure they’re on fumes but we’ll see.” - Matt

This afternoon is the only game between these two teams this season. The Hurricanes won the last meeting, on January 10, 2006, 3-2.

Carolina leads the Southeast Division with 35 points, six ahead of the nearest challenger, Atlanta. Since a decent October in which they earned a point in 10 games (7-3-3 ), they’ve had some trouble with consistency. In November, they never won more than two in a row, but they didn’t lose more than twice in a row, either. They finished with a 7-6-0 record in November. In December, they’ve alternated wins and losses, beginning with an 8-1 embarrassment in Buffalo on the 1st. The rebounded with a 4-0 shutout of the Rangers on the 3rd, but lost three days later to a then-below-.500 Tampa Bay squad, 2-1. Last night, they defeated the struggling Montreal Canadiens, 5-1. So, really, the only impressive thing they’ve done so far this month is put the puck past King Henrik four times in New York.

Cory Stillman leads the team in goals with 16 and in points with 34. Matt Cullen is the top assist man, with 24. Rod Brind’Amour is second on the team in points with 32 (14G, 18A), while former Red Wing Ray Whitney is 3rd with 14 goals and 16 assists.

Mike Commodore (broken finger) is listed as doubtful by the North Carolina paper, the News & Observer. Luke DeCock, writing for the paper’s ridiculously-named “Lord Stanley’s Blog,” suggests that Jeff Hamilton, a healthy scratch last night, could return to the lineup so that the Hurricanes can roll four lines.

Cam Ward played last night, but there’s no reason to believe he won’t play again tonight.

For the Carolina perspective, see Canes Country,  Cason Blog,  Hurricane Season,  Sweet Tea, Barbecue and Body Checks, red and black hockey, and Carolina On Ice.

The Wings lead the League with 42 points, three ahead of Ottawa, and lead their division by nine points (over St. Louis). They have won their last five games and are coming off a 5-0 shutout of the Minnesota Wild on Friday night. After tonight, they’ll get on a plane to play another Southern team, the Nashville Predators tomorrow night.

Henrik Zetterberg leads the team in goals and points with 21 and 40, while Pavel Datsyuk leads in assists with 23.

Kris Draper (knee) and Kirk Maltby (back) remain out, which means Aaron Downey and Matt Ellis will remain in the lineup. Helene St. James reports that Draper did not skate yesterday after suffering a set-back in the recovery process. Kirk  Maltby is going to see the back specialist again for further testing tomorrow.

Dominik Hasek will get his third-straight start. Over the past two games, he’s posted a 1.00 GAA and a .971 save-percentage.

For more of the Wings perspective, see  Snapshots, Gorilla Crouch, Abel to Yzerman, HockeyTownTodd, Gloveside, Behind the Jersey, No Pun Intended, Red Wings Nation, and Winging It In Motown. IwoCPO already has a preview of sorts.

This is a must-win for the Wings, who need the momentum going into Nashville tomorrow night. I’d also like to see them win because I can’t stand the thought of them losing to the Hurricanes, which are easily my most-hated team of the Eastern Conference and a close second to Anaheim as most-hated overall. It doesn’t look like the Habs did much to tire Carolina out last night, so the Wings are going to need to be sharp tonight if they want to slow them down. They’ve been so business-like and efficient lately that I’m confident they’ll bring their “A” game tonight and hopefully that’ll result in some revenge for the loss in 2006.