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Gameday Updates
The Wild made a roster move prior to last night’s win over the New York Rangers...
J.T. Brown called up from Iowa #MNWild
— Brian Murphy (@murphPPress) February 21, 2019
Expect Brown to factor into the lineup again tonight for the road team.
#RedWings Bernier in starter’s net during optional morning skate. #MNWild at @LCArena_Detroit tonight. pic.twitter.com/DvhbnL5iyS
— Dana Wakiji (@Dwakiji) February 22, 2019
Jimmy Howard has the flu, per Blashill. Harri Sateri will be called up from Grand Rapids to back up Bernier tonight.
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) February 22, 2019
Projected Lines
Wakiji also tweeted that Abdelkader took part in the optional morning skate and appeared fine. We’re making a lineup assumption he’s back in because of this:
Coach Blashill says Christoffer Ehn will be sent down to Grand Rapids.
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) February 22, 2019
Forwards
Tyler Bertuzzi — Dylan Larkin — Gustav Nyquist
Thomas Vanek — Frans Nielsen — Anthony Mantha
Darren Helm — Luke Glendening — Andreas Athanasiou
Justin Abdelkader — Jacob de la Rose — Michael Rasmussen
Defense
Niklas Kronwall — Mike Green
Danny DeKeyser — Nick Jensen DEFINITELY NOT NICK JENSEN
Trevor Daley — Filip Hronek
Goalies
Jonathan Bernier
Jimmy Howard
And, on the other end of the bench, the Wild will be rolling out these lines...
Forwards
Jordan Greenway — Eric Staal — Jason Zucker
Zach Parise — Mikael Granlund — Pontus Aberg
Ryan Donato — Joel Eriksson Ek — Luke Kunin
J.T. Brown — Eric Fehr — Marcus Foligno
Defense
Ryan Suter — Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin — Greg Pateryn
Brad Hunt — Anthony Bitetto
Goalies
Devan Dubnyk
Alex Stalock
Keys to the Game
Don’t Be Passive
On Wednesday night the Wings looked the part of a team that had absolutely nothing to play for awaiting the season to come to an end. They fell behind 4-1 to the Chicago Blackhawks before eventually tying the game late in the third period to force overtime.
For two periods, the Wings just couldn’t get anything going. And, while the box score reflected a sway in shots on goal for the home team, 31-20, they just didn’t seem to bring the same drive we’ve seen from them previously this season.
The Wild are 2-5-3 in their last 10 games and finally shook the monkey off their back last night, snapping a five-game winless streak on the road in New York. The Wings have an opportunity to dampen the spirits of the Wild tonight as they cling to a wildcard spot by one point over the Colorado Avalanche.
Build Off the Momentum
Sure, the Wings were getting kicked around for two periods in their own building the other night, but they managed three goals in the final period to force overtime. Build off it.
The young stars showed up when the team needed them most — Athanasiou netted two goals, Larkin contributed three points and Mantha finished with a season-high four assists.
As long as Jeff Blashill doesn’t get too creative with his line juggling, the Wings could build off that strong third period and start putting together solid hockey down the stretch.