Red Wings at Hurricanes Gameday Updates, Key Matchups

According to Helene today, Dan Renouf will indeed make his NHL debut in place of Niklas Kronwall. Ansar was the first I saw confirming Mrazek as the starter as well.

And finallly, I think I've got the one thing I'm rooting for more than anything else for the remainder of the season that I think the WIngs themselves are tracking and aiming for:

Hank getting his 1,000th game in the very last game for the Joe would be cool. I don't care if he has to play only three minutes a night to get there, I want to make sure it happens.

Key Matchups

Frozen Water vs. Heat

Let’s face it, the last time the Wings were scheduled to play in PNC, they were a complete no-show. Here’s to hoping we see them play a little harder than in December.

Kids vs. Kids

Carolina is only five points out of a playoff spot with two games in hand on current 8th-seed Boston (though they also need to get past both the Lightning and the Isles as well). They’re going with a decently similar look to the Wings of kids who’ll be the future combined with veterans and will live or die with how that development works. Zetterberg and Staal will be battling like it’s 2009, but I’m kind of interested to see Skinner and Aho against guys like Larkin and Mantha.

The Coaching Effect

Both coaches know they’ve got a lineup that not only has to try to compete today, but will also have to turn around for another game tomorrow. The Canes didn’t also play on Sunday, but watching player usage and also managing their energy levels should be part of a coach’s job for stretches like these and it’ll play into how the next two days turn out.