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Nothing much out of Detroit today with the earlier start precluding a morning skate. The team practiced in New Jersey yesterday and Zetterberg took a maintenance day, but Blashill told the press he’d be ready to go today. The official Wings account did have this for us:
Hear from Justin Abdelkader & Jeff Blashill as we get set for today's matchup at Capital One Arena in our @ComericaCares Game Day Preview | #LGRW pic.twitter.com/aYxaoDugjm
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) February 11, 2018
Same deal with the Caps, but I like this quote from Barry Trotz on one of Washington’s kids. Can’t imagine the response if Blashill says it though (J.J. here on this take, BTW)
Trotz on Burakovsky ... https://t.co/kCEpWhoUhB pic.twitter.com/TvES5VpfJL
— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) February 11, 2018
Updated Lineups
Detroit Red Wings
Gustav Nyquist - Henrik Zetterberg - Anthony Mantha
Tomas Tatar - Dylan Larkin - Andreas Athanasiou
Darren Helm - Frans Nielsen – Justin Abdelkader
Tyler Bertuzzi – Luke Glendening - Martin Frk
Jonathan Ericsson – Trevor Daley
Niklas Kronwall – Mike Green
Danny DeKeyser – Nick Jensen
Jimmy Howard
Petr Mrazek
Power Play
PP1 – Athanasiou, Larkin, Bertuzzi, Green, Tatar
PP2 – Nyquist, Zetterberg, Mantha, Frk, Kronwall
Washington Capitals
Alex Ovechkin – Nicklas Backstrom – Tom Wilson
Jakub Vrana – Evgeny Kuznetsov – T.J. Oshie
Brett Connolly – Lars Eller – Alex Chiasson
Chandler Stephenson – Jay Beagle – Devante Smith-Pelly
Christian Djoos – John Carlson
Matt Niskanen – Dimitri Orlov
Brooks Orpik – Madison Bowey
Braden Holtby
Philipp Grubauer
Power Play
PP1 – Oshie, Backstrom, Kuznetsov, Ovechkin, Carlson
PP2 – Connolly, Eller, Vrana, Niskanen, Orlov
Keys to the Game
Keep the Game Even
The Capitals power play may not be as scary as it once was, but any power play unit with Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Evgeny Kuznetsov is dangerous. The Red Wings penalty kill, as shown in the Islanders game, is about as scary as a puppy right now. If the Red Wings want to win today they have to stay out of the box.
Keep the Scoring Going
Lost in the ugliness of that penalty kill in the Islanders game is the fact the Wings scored five goals and looked to be well on their way to a solid victory. Their sights were right on with some really nice set ups and perfect shots. That needs to continue, especially from Martin Frk and Anthony Mantha. It was great to see them both score.
Help Out the Goalie
The Red Wings do not have a stout defense. Everyone knows this at this point. At times they have done a good job of staying within themselves and really playing some impressive team defensive hockey. Then they inevitably turn the puck over right in front of their own net or at the blue line and hang the goalie out to dry. Washington is dangerous enough offensively without getting help from the other team.