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Time: 7:30 PM ET
Place: Little Caesars Arena
TV: FS-D, NHLN
Radio: 97.1 FM The Ticket // 1270 AM
Wild Blog: Hockey Wilderness
Game Preview
The Wings play host to a Wild team on the heels of a back-to-back and very much in the middle of the Western Conference playoff race. The Wild experienced a bit of change earlier this week when they sent Charlie Coyle packing to the Boston Bruins in exchange for Ryan Donato and a conditional fifth-round pick — Donato made his debut on the third line against the New York Rangers last night.
In Wings land, the rumor mill is swirling as Monday’s trade deadline approaches. Gustav Nyquist, Jimmy Howard, Luke Glendening and Nick Jensen have all come up in conversation over the last couple weeks. Will all of them be moved or will Ken Holland decide to stay put? Time will tell, but it’s definitely something to keep an eye on.
The Wild are 2-5-3 over their last 10 games and find themselves clinging to a wild card spot by just one point. Obviously, they’ve done damage to their playoff hopes, but the Wings could really add to this with a win tonight. The Wings have won three of the last five meetings between the two teams.
Lineup Notes
A bit of a weird day at Wings practice on Wednesday that featured some noticeable absences...
Darren Helm missed practice today (hit during Wed. game by puck shot by DeKeyser) but Blashill seemed optimistic Helm will play tomorrow. Justin Abdelkader (flu) doubtful. Red Wings host Minnesota Friday.
— Helene St. James (@HeleneStJames) February 21, 2019
And, it’s worth noting that Ericsson remains in Jeff Blashill’s dog house (or so I like to think)...
#RedWings defense pairs the same:
— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) February 21, 2019
Kronwall-Green
DeKeyser-Jensen
Daley-Hronek
Ericsson rotating in.
For the Wild there are no injury updates to report — Mikko Koivu is out for the season and there is no timetable for Matt Dumba’s return following his surgery in late December.