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Game Day Updates
No sign of Ryan Getzlaf (lower body) on the ice for the full morning skate. And Isac Lundestrom is centering Andrew Cogliano and Kiefer Sherwood. Could be the 18-year-old's NHL debut. At 18, I think I was blowing off an English class and hanging w/friends at a pizza joint.
— Eric Stephens (@icemancometh) October 8, 2018
Outside of that and confirmation that John Gibson was the first goalie off the ice for Anaheim, it’s been radio silence from Los Angeles Part II.
Trevor Daley is still going to miss tonight’s game, meaning Joe Hicketts will be in. We expect Jimmy Howard to start tonight after resting last night against the Kings, and think the switch on Blashill’s line blender has been left alone for right now. We’ll update with any new info we get leading up to gametime though.
Key Matchups
1. Wings speed vs. Ducks power
It’s really no secret anymore, the Red Wings aren’t what they used to be. They’re continuing to make the transition from the slow style of the past 5-7 years to the game that requires speed and quickness to bring you productivity. With all of this young talent, the Red Wings have become a decently fast team. For the Ducks, not much is new. They still hold on to the tough, grind you out style that could win you games 15 years ago. If the Ducks are able to beat down on the Red Wings, especially on the kids, this could be a long game late into the night thanks to it being on the West Coast.
2. Ducks “Big 4” vs. the Red Wings young D
The “Big 4” for the Ducks are the same as they were a year ago (only now four because no Corey Perry). Silfverberg, Getzlaf, Rakell and Henrique. They combined for 33% of all Ducks points last year and 35% of all of their goals. They’re off to a red-hot start once again, combining for 11 of the 18 Ducks points this year. With a lot of the Red Wings veteran D-men out hurt, the kids on the blue line will have to step up and be ready to face a barrage of offense from these four.
3. Ducks offense vs. Jimmy Howard
Howie looked great in the season opener and was pretty much the reason the Wings even got a point out of it. With the night off last night, Howard gets a tough Ducks offense tonight. Even without Corey Perry, the Ducks always seem to find a way to have a powerful offense and the “Big 4” will be peppering shots on Howard all night long. The 34-year-old net-minder will have to be on his game if the Wings want to take this one in Anaheim.