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Looks like Tyler Bertuzzi drew the short straw in practice and will be the one to sit tonight for the returning Tomas Vanek.
Line Combinations
Forwards
|
Gustav Nyquist |
Henrik Zetterberg |
Anthony Mantha |
|
Dylan Larkin |
Frans Nielsen |
Thomas Vanek |
|
Tomas Tatar |
Riley Sheahan |
Justin Abdelkader |
|
Steve Ott |
Luke Glendening |
Drew Miller |
Defensemen
|
Danny DeKeyser |
Mike Green |
|
Jonathan Ericsson |
Alexey Marchenko |
|
Niklas Kronwall |
Ryan Sproul |
Goaltenders
|
Jimmy Howard |
|
Petr Mrazek |
Power Play units:
- Nyquist-Zetterberg-Vanek, Green-Sproul
- Tatar-Nielsen-Mantha, Kronwall-Larkin
Flames Line Combinations
Forwards
|
Sam Bennett |
Sean Monahan |
Troy Brouwer |
|
Matthew Tkachuk |
Mikael Backlund |
Michael Frolik |
|
Matt Stajan |
Linden Vey |
Alex Chiasson |
|
Michael Ferland |
Freddie Hamilton |
Garnet Hathaway |
Defensemen
|
Mark Giordano |
Dougie Hamilton |
|
T.J. Brodie |
Dennis Wideman |
|
Brett Kulak |
Deryk Engelland |
Goaltenders
|
Brian Elliott |
|
Chad Johnson |
Power Play units:
- Bennett-Monahan-Vey, Wideman-Brodie
- Tkachuk-Backlund-Brouwer, Giordano-Hamilton
Keys to the Game:
Get Aggressive on Special Teams
Calgary has the worst power play in the NHL right now and the second worst penalty kill. The Red Wings have been boring, passive, slow and predictable on special teams so far this season. This is the perfect game for the Wings to figure some things out on their mediocre at best power play. More importantly, it is an opportunity for the Wings to be aggressive with the Flames while on the penalty kill and potentially force some quality shorthanded opportunities. If only they had the speed of Helm and Athanasiou for this one.
Quick Transitions
Detroit has been at their best this season when they are able to transition quickly from defense to offense and play with speed through the neutral zone. Of course, most of their problems this year offensively has come with their inability to actually do anything with the puck once they get it into the offensive zone. If the Wings can force Calgary to play a fast paced game their speed, even without Helm and Athanasiou, will open up opportunities for them. The Wings are much more dangerous right now off the rush then they are when they setup in the offensive zone and they need to start using that more.
Finish, Finish, Finish
Stop me if you have heard this one before, the Red Wings have got to figure out a way to finish their scoring chances. It was the main story the other night in Washington and it has been a big problem for this team over the last few seasons. No matter what happens with the team going forward, until they figure out ways to consistently get pucks on and into the net they are not going to be able to consistently win hockey games. Tonight is a perfect opportunity for them to figure some things out because, like I have said numerous times now, the Flames have had issues keeping the puck out of their own net.