Morning Skate: Deja Blue (Jackets)

by Casey Richey on Nov 28, 2010 6:00 AM CST in Game Preview

Seeing as how the Wings JUST played the Blue Jackets on Friday evening, this is going to be a rather short (as far as content) post and mainly serve to let you get your scoring and player predictions in. Let's get to it then.

Of course, the biggest news out of Detroit is that Mike Modano will miss considerable time after suffering a cut tendon in his wrist. Various reports have the injury in the 2-3 month range and it's a very unfortunate thing to see for a guy like Modano. Modano had surgery on the wrist on Saturday morning but the recovery time is something that will be important to watch. Wrist injuries can prove to be a big hindrance for hockey players so a full recovery is necessary to getting him back in the line-up.

So what does it all mean for the Wings heading into today's game and going forward? Take the jump.

With Modano out, the third line needs a new center. In the above linked Khan article, Justin Abdelkader is slated to take Modano's spot and be joined by Dan Cleary and Jiri Hudler. This means Todd Bertuzzi goes back up to the second line as well. I like this plan as Abdelkader has been great this season and maybe by playing alongside Abby and Cleary, Hudler will start to do a little more dirty work. We don't need Hudler to do all the dirty work, just to be willing to do it would help. Thoughts on the new line combo?
Hudler will also fill Modano's spot at the point on the power play unit. Hudler's a good passer but to be honest, I don't like putting him on the power play at the point. Why not put Jonathan Ericsson at the point? At the 2008 AHL skills competition, Ericsson recorded a 100.1 MPH slap shot. He's shown at various times in the NHL that he's got a rocket when he gets a lane to shoot so why not give him the chance to play back there?
This means neither Drew Miller nor Patrick Eaves will have to sit and they'll join Darren Helm on the fourth line. They've been great when they're together and I like that they're all in the line-up now. They're all really high energy guys and I like what they can provide in the limited amount of time they get.
How does Modano's injury affect his future in Detroit? The first thing I thought of when I read the amount of time that he'll be out is Jason Williams last year. Of course, Modano is infinitely better than Willy so it's more of the "what's his role when he's healthy?" type of thing. Granted, Modano should have a spot when he gets back and we have no idea what other injuries might occur in that time. But if the Wings continue to roll at a high pace, does Babcock disrupt it? We'll have to wait and see on that I guess.
Kris Draper should be returning to the line-up soon and with Modano gone he may get more playing time than originally expected as a result of the injury.
Stat I like: Wings are 9-1-2 at home this season. Make it 10, mkay?
Player of the game prediction: Johan Franzen. He's heating up a bit lately, if he gets going then look out.
Score prediction: 3-2 Detroit. I think Detroit does the usual lazy Sunday game thing for a bit and then kicks it into gear late.

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4-2 Detroit, with James Howard player of the game

Random Ramblings from a Somewhat Scattered Mind

"It is a mistake to try to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time." --Sir Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965)

by Baroque on Nov 28, 2010 6:13 AM CST reply actions

4-1 Detroit

Lidstrom as Player of the Game

by Elfuego51 on Nov 28, 2010 8:25 AM CST reply actions

5-3 Detroit

Zetterberg is the player of the game

by Darthferrer on Nov 28, 2010 8:39 AM CST reply actions

3-2 Wings

player of the game…Dats

LETS GO RED WINGS!

2011 will be the year....better be....

Troy Tulowitzki: "When people think of the Rockies, I want them to think of a winning organization."

by TuLoRocks2008 on Nov 28, 2010 8:48 AM CST reply actions

5-1 Detroit

Cleary Player of the Game.

by holmstrom96 on Nov 28, 2010 8:58 AM CST reply actions

how about 2-1 red wings, lets go with filppula

by HockeyGuy9125 on Nov 28, 2010 9:22 AM CST reply actions

4-1 Jackets.
GO JACKETS

by cbjfan14 on Nov 28, 2010 9:31 AM CST reply actions

new lines

I will keep an extra close eye on the third line, in one hand everywhere the Abdelkader goes that line starts playing well, and everywhere Hudler goes that line struggles. Today we will see what happens when an unstoppable force collides with an immovable object. I want to see the energy that Abdelkader brings to this line motivate Hudler to play harder. I also think that Abdelkader will do most of the forechecking. Hudler can play back more and pick off passes through the neutral zone, and be in better position defensively when the puck enters the zone.

by Darthferrer on Nov 28, 2010 10:03 AM CST reply actions

4-2 Wings

Rafalski POG

Blatant Twitter Promotion, rarely updated, occasionally funny

by rock n rye on Nov 28, 2010 10:55 AM CST reply actions

3-1 Columbus, Bertuzzi

Wings at home on Sunday afternoon? Against the league’s best road team? Sounds like the recipe for an uninspired game and ultimately a loss. The only hope would be in the fact that, historically, everytime Columbus gets in the Wings’ rear-view mirror, we manage to put a little distance there.

by Brion on Nov 28, 2010 10:57 AM CST reply actions

3-2 WIngs

Rafalski

I celebrate Festivus!!!

by bharatwaj5 on Nov 28, 2010 11:10 AM CST via mobile reply actions

Hello from C-Bus

Hello from C-Bus. I hope this game is as fun to watch as the last game between the jackets and Wings. I was at that game and it was very fun to watch. End to end hockey. I also wanted to give props to Wings fans to made the trip to Nationwide. They, for the most part, were kind and were not there to simply heckle Blue Jackets fans. That was probably one of the best Blue jackets v Red Wings games i have seen. Both goalies were unbelievable. Howard made some amazing stops. Hopefully this game is fun to watch and a win for the Jackets! Let the road winning streak continue! Go Jackets!

by cbjfan14 on Nov 28, 2010 11:14 AM CST reply actions

we'll agree to disagree on those last few sentences ;)

Glad you had a good time at the game tho, it should be another beauty today!

by kylegroombridge on Nov 28, 2010 11:16 AM CST up reply actions

Welcome

Glad to have you around and happy to hear that our fellow Wings fans repped us proud at the Nationwide. I could imagine that would have been a very entertaining game to watch live, as the scoreboard doesn’t tell the whole story when both goalies play that well.

by J.J. from Kansas on Nov 28, 2010 11:36 AM CST up reply actions

Everyone rest assured, the Wings WILL win!

I’m going to the game today and I’ve only been to 1 loss in the 16 games I’ve gone to in my life.. I really should go to more ;)

So my prediction is 4-1 Wings!
POTG: Mule

by kylegroombridge on Nov 28, 2010 11:14 AM CST reply actions

Hopefully you jinxed it. :)

by cbjfan14 on Nov 28, 2010 11:15 AM CST up reply actions

haha i have a feeling there are some BJ fan's that say the same for the jackets

so they even out.. no jinxing here. haha

by kylegroombridge on Nov 28, 2010 11:17 AM CST reply actions

4-1 Wings

Lidstrom

by LeftWingLocked on Nov 28, 2010 11:19 AM CST reply actions

Last game before a West Coast trip

I think the Wings are going to be slow out of the gate and it’s going to cost them. Columbus wins 3-2 when the Wings’ comeback falls just a little short. Player of the game is going to be Justin Abdelkader.

by Amerinadian on Nov 28, 2010 11:26 AM CST reply actions

4-2 Wings

Filppula as the hot hand.

by J.J. from Kansas on Nov 28, 2010 11:33 AM CST reply actions

Correction

4-1 Wings

by J.J. from Kansas on Nov 28, 2010 11:34 AM CST up reply actions

Aww, shouldn’t have corrected it. You would’ve been the winner.

by NMJ on Nov 29, 2010 3:42 PM CST up reply actions

Off-topic

What do you guys think of Chris Stewart, the Avs leading scorer breaking his hand in a fight during a 7-4 Colorado rout of Minnesota?

That’s exactly what was running through my head when Datsyuk went with Perry in the first game of the season.

by J.J. from Kansas on Nov 28, 2010 11:39 AM CST reply actions

Don Cherry is right about one thing

Stars should be the stars, let the fighters do the fighting. The team suffers too much when a big scorer hurts himself in a fight.

by Brion on Nov 28, 2010 11:41 AM CST up reply actions

but what about Iginla?

Watching Avalanche games, I think that’s pretty much Stewart’s role: score and fight when necessary. He has some kind of mean streak, but I also can see the risk factor of taking out a huge part of Colorado’s top line.

Datsyuk vs. Perry, I think is an exception. If Datsyuk got injured, we’d’ve been decrying Perry for deciding to pick a fight with him (instead of, say, Bertuzzi) instead of blaming Datsyuk for even getting into a fight in the first place. Thankfully, Perry made a fool of himself.

by uvgt2bkdnme on Nov 28, 2010 1:00 PM CST up reply actions