Red Wings @ Sharks: Gameday Updates, Lineups, Keys to the Game

Late game means late morning practice for the Wings means late game day updates from WiiM. Fortunately, nothing crazy came up in the Wings’ morning skate, like a freakish Helm-Ericsson collision that now binds the two skaters into one on the ice (wouldn’t that be crazy?)

Nielsen is skating but doesn’t expect to be back until at least Thursday, and Howard has been confirmed in the starter’s net. Jones is the confirmed starter for the Sharks tonight.

Three Keys to the Game:

Buzz the Tower. The Sharks of a few years ago were a super slow team. Like Wings-with-Cleary-and-Bert-in-the-twilight-of-their-careers slow. But they’ve improved! Now San Jose can claim to be in the “Not Particularly Fast” echelon of teams. Larkin and AA’s lines may be the best weapons tonight against San Jose to establish zone control.

It’s All in the Reflexes. Brent Burns shoots the puck. A lot. He’s third in the league this season for shots. That’s crazy from a defenseman. The Wings will need to get in the shooting lanes, drop to block shots at the right time, and Howie will need to be on his marks to silence San Jose’s blue line cannon.

Make it Up As You Go Along. Just not on defense. Systematic defense will be important, but the Wings are not usually going to get the matchups they want as the away team, so improvisation will be important, particularly on Blashill’s part. The chess match aspect of the game between coaches will be extra important because, let’s be honest, we’re all staying up late to watch this one. It’s probably going to be a 2-1 affair one way or the other.

Detroit Red Wings

Bertuzzi - Zetterberg - Nyquist
Frk - Larkin - Mantha
Abdelkader - Athanasiou - Svechnikov
Booth - Glendening - Helm

Ericsson - Daley
DeKeyser - Jensen
Kronwall - Green

Howard
Coreau

San Jose Sharks

Kane - Pavelski - Donskoi
Hertl - Couture - Boedker
Meier - Tierney - Labanc
Goodrow - Fehr - Sorenson

Ryan - Burns
Vlasic - Braun
Dillon - Demelo

Jones
Dell

LGRW!