Morning Skate: Red Wings vs. Jets — Preview and How to Watch

Time: 7:30 PM ET

Place: Little Caesars Arena

TV: NHLN-US, FS-D, TSN3

Radio: 97.1 FM The Ticket, 1270 AM

Jets Blog: Arctic Ice Hockey

Game Preview

It’s official, the Detroit Red Wings are the worst team in the NHL right now. When was the last time you heard those words uttered in a sentence? Well, you would have to go back to the 1985-86 season when the Wings finished dead last in a 21-team league with a pathetic 40 points (17-57-6 record).

Currently, this squad boasts a record of 1-6-2 through its first nine games and while there is a lot of finger pointing at head coach, Jeff Blashill, it’s safe to say there is a lack of talent up and down this roster — mainly on the back end. I know it’s early people, but my goodness is it hard to be optimistic about this season trending in a better direction than it is right now.

The Wings rank 27th in goals for (20), 31st in goals against (38), 27th in shots/GP (28.0) and T-22nd in shots against/GP (34.1). The lone bright spot might be their special teams — thanks in large part to the addition of Dan Bylsma in the offseason — as they rank 13th in PP% (24.1) and 14th in PK% (80.5) respectively.

At this point, a coaching change might be best (and certainly welcomed by the fanbase it seems), but Ken Holland seems to live and die by the sword that is Blashill.

Nevertheless, the Winnipeg Jets come to town tonight, on the heels of a 4-2 loss on Wednesday to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Jets are 6-3-1 this season — good enough for third overall in the Western Conference — and possess the league’s fourth-best powerplay (32.1%). Limiting the Jets’ chances on the man advantage will be key to the Wings’ success.

Lineup Notes

Lots of shuffling in the days leading up to this matchup as the Wings sent down Christoffer Ehn to Grand Rapids. All of this to welcome a new face to the lineup...

While de la Rose is expected to make his Wings debut, the team will also get back Mike Green for his first game of the season after a long battle with a liver infection. It also doesn’t appear that Danny DeKeyser will be ready to come back until next week (possibly Tuesday) as he deals with a hand injury. And, Blashill is at it again...

The front office appears to not want to send down Rasmussen, so let’s make him a healthy scratch for tonight...*two thumbs up.*