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8:00 EST, Bridgestone Arena
Nashville, TN
TV: FSD
Radio: 97.1 FM The Ticket // 1270 AM CBS Sports Radio
Predators Blog: On the Forecheck
That was something last night! A win. Howdy doody. I was beginning to forget the feel. Let’s have more of that. The Wings hit the road for a tilt tonight against the Preds, who were definitely Detroit’s biggest rival back in the West and everybody knew it and it was equally important to both teams, according to Preds fans circa 2012. Back to backs are always tough, tougher than most give them credit for, so hopefully the Wings have some magic left in the bottle to pull off another win after Danny DeKeyser’s late goal last night against the Isles.
Unfortunately, the Predators have been resting since Thursday night, when they beat the Edmonton Oilers 2-0 thanks to some strong work by their top line of former Blue Jacket Ryan Johansen, former Capital Filip Forsberg, and former Swedish Champion Viktor Arvidsson. Pekka Rinne was in net for the shutout on Thursday, so expect to see him again tonight.
Expect the Wings to ice the same squad, with two notable exceptions. Since Petr Mrazek tended goal for last night’s win, Jared Coreau will get the go-ahead for tonight. Also, coming back from a sprained knee is Brendan Smith. He hasn’t played since January 4th in a loss against the Ducks. Fortunately, there is absolutely 100% no controversy about who he will be replacing in the lineup. None whatsoever. Moving on...
There's also a question about Frans Nielsen, who didn't play the third period last night with an upper body injury. Blashill said he wouod test it out today and see if he could go tonight.
The Predators have not been the dynamite team they were expected to be at the beginning of the season, but make no mistake, they are still a quality club and have clawed their way back into the 3rd playoff seed for the Central Division. They look like a team that is slowly putting itself together and becoming more and more intimidating. To win this one the Wings will have to take the confidence from last night’s W and play to an even higher level.
Red Wings Expected Lineup
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Gustav Nyquist | Henrik Zetterberg | Anthony Mantha |
| Tomas Tatar | Frans Nielsen | Dylan Larkin |
| Andreas Athanasiou | Darren Helm | Thomas Vanek |
| Riley Sheahan | Luke Glendening | Justin Abdelkader |
| Left Defense | Right Defense |
|---|---|
| Danny DeKeyser | Mike Green |
| Jonathan Ericsson | Xavier Ouellet |
| Brenden Smith | Nick Jensen |
| Goalie |
|---|
| Jared Coreau |
Predators Expected Lineup
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Filip Forsberg | Ryan Johansen | Viktor Arvidsson |
| Austin Watson | Mike Fisher | Craig Smith |
| Colin Wilson | Calle Jarnkrok | James Neal |
| Cody McLeod | Colton Sissons | Harry Zolnierczyk |
| Left Defense | Right Defense |
|---|---|
| Mattias Ekholm | P.K. Subban |
| Matt Irwin | Ryan Ellis |
| Anthony Bitetto | Yannick Weber |
| Goalie |
|---|
| Pekka Rinne |
| Red Wings | The Matchup | Predators |
|---|---|---|
| 21-21-9 (6th, Atlantic) | Record | 25-18-8 (3rd, Central) |
| 2.4 (24th) | Goals Per Game | 2.7 (13th) |
| 3.0 (24th) | Goals Against Per Game | 2.6 (9th) |
| 11.4% (30th) | Power Play % | 18.1% (19th) |
| 80.8% (20th) | Penalty Kill % | 82.8% (11th) |
| Larkin, Mantha, Tatar, Vanek (12) | Goals Leader | James Neal (17) |
| Henrik Zetterberg (35) | Points Leader | Ryan Johansen (38) |
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Game Day Prediction Contest
Would you like to predict the outcome of the game and potentially become internet famous? Well you're in luck, because here's your opportunity. Here's how it works.
Make your game predictions on the winning team, final score, and who the Wings player of the game will be. Enter the required information into the form below using the formats indicated in the questions. If you don't use those formats, your answers will be disregarded. All submissions are timestamped and will be accepted only until the official game start time. All other submissions after that will be disregarded. Only one submission per person, please. POTG will be determined by the collective of WiiM writers.
Each correct winning team prediction is worth 1 point. Each correct player of the game prediction is worth 2 points. Each correct final score prediction is worth 5 points. If you get all three correct you'll receive 15 points.