Red Wings at Senators — Gameday Updates, Lineups and Keys to the Game

Gameday Updates

Optional morning skate.

Still no update on DeKeyser as of this writing.

Lineups

Red Wings

Forwards

Tyler Bertuzzi — Dylan Larkin — Anthony Mantha
Andreas Athanasiou — Valtteri Filppula — Luke Glendening
Darren Helm — Frans Nielsen — Taro Hirose
Justin Abdelkader — Jacob de la Rose — Evgeny Svechnikov

Defense

Danny DeKeyser (Out?) — Filip Hronek
Patrik Nemeth — Mike Green
Dennis Cholowski — Trevor Daley

Goalies

Jonathan Bernier
Jimmy Howard

Senators

Forwards

Brady Tkachuk — Jean-Gabriel Pageau — Connor Brown
Vladislav Namestnikov — Colin White — Anthony Duclair
Tyler Ennis — Chris Tierney — Bobby Ryan
Nick Paul — Artem Anisimov — Scott Sabourin

Defense

Thomas Chabot — Nikita Zaitsev
Erik Brannstrom — Ron Hainsey
Mark Borowiecki — Dylan DeMelo

Goalies

Anders Nilsson
Craig Anderson

Keys to the Game

Build off Powerplay Momentum

Both of the Red Wings goals came via the man advantage last night — Anthony Mantha and Dennis Cholowski — and that was certainly a refreshing sight considering they entered the contest at just a 9.5% conversion rate (26th). Special teams will play a deciding factor in this one as the Sens own the league’s worst powerplay at 4.0%. Calling up Evgeny Svechnikov should add some depth to the second unit and if the Wings want to snap this five-game slide, success on the added opportunities might just be the way.

Finish Strong

Last night’s loss was probably the worst of the season for the Wings after carrying a two-goal lead into the final 20 minutes, only to drop the contest 5-2. This is a team searching for answers in the early part of the season and it hasn’t been the goaltending that’s let them down per say, but defensive zone break downs. With a group of young players up and down the lineup, they will need to show more drive in the 3rd period the next time the situation arises or else the losses will continue to pile up.

Simplify the Game

Even though the Wings played a solid two periods last night, there were signs that they got just a little too cute in the offensive zone. Speed is their biggest asset and they need to use it more wisely to their advantage when getting pucks deep into the opposing zone. Don’t make the dangerous, high-risk pass near the blueline, but get the puck in deep and use your speed to gain positioning around the opponent’s net.