Red Wings @ Lightning: Updates, Projected Lineups and Keys to the Game

Updates

With Libor Sulak sent down to clear room for Trevor Daley’s return and Danny DeKeyser now sidelined, Joe Hicketts should factor into the lineup.

Also, as anticipated, the Bolts will get back veteran winger, Ryan Callahan, for tonight’s game after placing Cory Conacher on waivers yesterday...

Projected Lineups

Detroit Red Wings

Forwards

Darren Helm — Dylan Larkin — Gustav Nyquist
Tyler Bertuzzi — Frans Nielsen — Andreas Athanasiou
Michael Rasmussen — Luke Glendening — Justin Abdelkader
Thomas Vanek — Christoffer Ehn — Anthony Mantha

Defense

Niklas Kronwall — Filip Hronek
Dennis Cholowski — Trevor Daley
Joe Hicketts — Nick Jensen

Goalies

Jimmy Howard
Jonathan Bernier

Tampa Bay Lightning

Forwards

Yanni Gourde — Brayden Point — Steven Stamkos
Ondrej Palat — Tyler Johnson — Nikita Kucherov
Alex Killorn — Anthony Cirelli — Mathieu Joseph
Ryan Callahan — Cedric Paquette — J.T. Miller

Defense

Victor Hedman — Dan Girardi
Ryan McDonagh — Anton Stralman
Braydon Coburn — Mikhail Sergachev

Goalies

Andrei Vasilevskiy
Louis Domingue

Keys to the Game

Stoke the Fire

The Wings desperately need the first goal in this game to quiet the home crowd and shake the cobwebs of their last two losses. They’ve been outscored 20-8 in their last three matchups — all against Atlantic Division rivals — and need to get something going offensively. Use your legs and force the Tampa defenders into making mistakes in their own end to open up some scoring opportunities.

Play Aggressive...but, not Over the Line

Aggressive is the name of the game especially on the forecheck. However, don’t over compensate to the point where it lands you in the sin bin. The Wings have surrendered four goals on the man advantage, while allowing 12 opportunities to their opponents over the past three games. The Bolts currently rank sixth in the NHL with a 31.3% success rate on the powerplay, so limiting those chances will be crucial.