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The Wings confirmed for the diggers that Kronwall would be sitting, as expected, and also that Nielsen won’t be able to go tonight after missing the third period last night with an upper body injury. Here’s Teddy confirming:
Kronwall (upper body) and Nielsen ;upper body) out tonight...Smith and Jurco in
— Ted Kulfan (@tkulfan) February 4, 2017
Lines are kind of a guess right now with the 2C out. We’re figuring Helm and Sheahan will get moved up with Jurco slotting in on the fourth. If we get updated info, we’ll update.
Red Wings Expected Lineup
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Gustav Nyquist | Henrik Zetterberg | Anthony Mantha |
| Tomas Tatar | Darren Helm | Dylan Larkin |
| Andreas Athanasiou | Riley Sheahan | Thomas Vanek |
| Tomas Jurco | Luke Glendening | Justin Abdelkader |
| Left Defense | Right Defense |
|---|---|
| Danny DeKeyser | Mike Green |
| Jonathan Ericsson | Xavier Ouellet |
| Brenden Smith | Nick Jensen |
| Goalie |
|---|
| Petr Mrazek |
Power Play Units:
Larkin-Sheahan-Vanek-Zetterberg-Green
Tatar-Helm-Abdelkader-Kronwall-Neilsen
Injuries: Franzen (concussion), Vitale (concussion), Ott (shoulder), Howard (MCL Sprain)
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 |
Power Play Units:
Arvidsson-Johansen-Neal-Ekholm-Forsberg
Wilson-Fisher-Jarnkrok-Ellis-Subban
Injuries: Roman Josi (Upper Body), Miikka Salomaki (Upper Body)
Keys to the Game:
Come out swinging
How many times do we have to beat this dead horse this year? A lot. Detroit’s inability to consistently come out strong and the sound of the bell has caused it lots of problems. Nashville has a very solid defensive core, and they will be looking to do the things that have stymied Detroit most games this season: skate hard on the forecheck, and clog up the neutral zone. Detroit will need crisp passes from its blue line and smooth skating from the forwards to evade the defensive pressure.
Get Pekka Rinne moving laterally
Pekka Rinne is a huge player at 6’5”. I remember Todd Bertuzzi talking once about a shootout goal he scored against another massive goalie, Mike Smith. Bert spoke to the importance of getting Mike Smith to move laterally to create daylight in the net. Detroit will have to do the same against Rinne. Look for the Wings to send the puck down low behind the net for wraparound attempts and cross-ice passes to shuffle Rinne out of position.
Fun Facts!
-The all-time record is in Detroit’s favor! (63-42-4) Good on us!
-On March 5th, 2014, the Red Wings traded Calle Jarnkrok and Patrick Eaves to the Predators for David Legwand. The most productive player of that trade is currently Dallas’s first line winger, Patrick Eaves. Life takes strange turns.
-Despite torrid rumors over the past few weeks, the giant prehistoric skull the Predators skate out of at the start of every home game is, in fact, a fake.