Game 5 Morning Skate: Bruins at Red Wings

3:00p ET, TD Garden

Boston, MA

TV: NBC

Radio: 97.1 The Ticket

Bruin Blog: Stanley Cup of Chowder

When it comes to today's game, I think Graham said it best in his Game 4 recap:

Could be the last one of the season. Could be the start of something awesome. Could just be delaying the inevitable. No matter what, it's been a fun ride this year.

It has been a fun ride this year, but it's not time to eulogize this team just yet. Do we all know deep down where this series and this season is most likely headed?

Sure we do.

But do we suppress that deep down feeling just because we want to believe that just maybe there's a chance the Red Wings not only live to see another day, but thrive to see another week and maybe more?

Absolutely.

It's not probable, but there's a chance. This is a Red Wings team that has scrapped and clawed it's way into the postseason. This is a Red Wings team that was left for dead after the Olympic break. This is a Red Wings team that has seen 400+ man games lost and enough groin injuries for a lifetime. This Red Wings team has overcome the odds before, so why not one more time?

It just seems fitting that if this underdog team is going to win anything, they're going to do it with the odds stacked against them… just like they did in the regular season. And, just like in the regular season, it's going to have to be the same cast of characters that stepped up and got us to the dance. That means guys like Gustav Nyquist, Tomas Tatar, Riley Sheahan and -- love them or hate them -- Johan Franzen, Luke Glendening and David Legwand are going to have to find a way to help the Red Wings win.

The Bruins aren't infalible. Last season they blew a 3-1 series lead and needed a last minute miracle to beat the Maple Leafs in Game 7. Years ago they blew a 3-0 series lead and lost to the Flyers. Have they learned from those mistakes? Absolutely. Are they a much better team this season than in the past? Absolutely. But does that mean this game and series is over? Absolutely not.

The Red Wings need to show up, play their game, and live to see another day.

Survive.

The Expected Lineup

Forwards

Henrik Zetterberg	Pavel Datsyuk	Justin Abdelkader
Tomas Tatar	Riley Sheahan	Gustav Nyquist
Johan Franzen	Darren Helm	Daniel Alfredsson
Drew Miller	Luke Glendening	David Legwand

Defensemen

Niklas Kronwall	Brendan Smith
Kyle Quincey	Danny DeKeyser
Xavier Ouellet	Jakub Kindl

Goaltenders

Jonas Gustavsson (starting)

Jake Patterson

Scratches: Jimmy Howard, Tomas Jurco, Todd Bertuzzi, Joakim Andersson & Brian Lashoff

Injuries: Jonathan Ericsson (finger), Daniel Cleary (knee), Stephen Weiss (groin) & Mikael Samuelsson (upper body)

Opponent Outlook

Forwards

Milan Lucic	David Krejci	Jarome Iginla
Brad Marchand	Patrice Bergeron	Reilly Smith
Justin Florek	Carl Soderberg	Loui Eriksson
Jordan Caron	Gregory Campbell	Shawn Thornton

Defensemen

Zdeno Chara	Dougie Hamilton
Johnny Boychuk	Matt Bartkowski
Kevan Miller	Torey Krug

Goaltenders

Tuukka Rask (starting)

Chad Johnson

Scratches: Andrej Meszaros & Corey Potter

Injuries: Chris Kelly (upper body), Daniel Paille (concussion)

Bullets of Knowledge

• The Red Wings are 7-8 all-time in Game 5's under Mike Babcock. They're 1-2 when trailing 3-1 in a series.

• Boston is 5-6 all-time in Game 5's under Claude Julien. They're 1-3 when leading 3-1 in a series.

Prediction: Survival.