Updates
The Preds say the skaters should look the same but haven’t announced a goalie yet. Probably Rinne.
Jeff Blashill says he anticipates Luke Glendening being able to play tonight for Red Wings at Nashville.
— Helene St. James (@HeleneStJames) February 13, 2021
Projected Lines
RED WINGS
Based on the Glendening info, it’s just a guess that he moves to 3C, bumping Namestnikov to Helm’s emtpy spot on that line.
Forwards
| Filip Zadina | Dylan Larkin | Mathias Brome |
|---|---|---|
| Givani Smith | Robby Fabbri | Bobby Ryan |
| Vladislav Namestnikov | Luke Glendening | Anthony Mantha |
| Sam Gagner | Frans Nielsen | Adam Erne |
Defensemen
| Christian Djoos | Filip Hronek |
|---|---|
| Marc Staal | Troy Stecher |
| Patrick Nemeth | Jon Merrill |
Goalie
| Tomas Griess |
|---|
| Calvin Pickard |
PREDATORS
Forwards
| Filip Forsberg | Luke Kunin | Viktor Arvidsson |
|---|---|---|
| Calle Jarnkrok | Matt Duchene | Mikael Granlund |
| Nick Cousins | Eric Haula | Eeli Tolvanen |
| Rocco Grimaldi | Colton Sissions | Yakov Trenin |
Defensemen
| Roman Josi | Ryan Ellis |
|---|---|
| Jarred Tinordi | Dante Fabbro |
| Mark Borowiecki | Matt Benning |
Goalie
| Jusse Saros |
|---|
| Pekka Rinne |
Keys to the Game
The keys today are literally the same I wrote for the last game, because frankly all three factored directly into the loss two nights ago.
Special Teams
More and more the team that wins the special team battle wins the game. This is especially true when the two teams playing have two of the worst specialty units in the league. Jeff Blashill continues to proclaim that the long-suffering Red Wings power play is due to execution and not getting enough pucks and players to the net. Fans and analysts suggest the scheme/strategy/setup/whatever you want to call it of the PP unit is to blame. Whomever is right, now would be the perfect opportunity to fix the issue and get a couple PP goals.
Stay Aggressive on the Puck
The last few games they have finally started getting more aggressive on the puck, particularly on the forecheck in the offensive zone, and this has led to turnovers and a couple goals. Nashville is strong on the back end, but their defensemen are different than the ones we saw in Tampa or Florida. They are not as physical as either Florida team, preferring to use their skating and passing to breakout. The Red Wings have a strong core of forechecking forwards who should be able to skate with the Predators defense and hound the puck which should lead to some chances on net, where Nashville has been shaky at times this season.
Finish
For all their woes and issues the Red Wings have been in most of their games this season. Generally, when that is the case and team still only has three wins to its name lost chances can typically be found, and the Wings are no exception. Two or three times a game it seems someone makes a fantastic play to set a player up with an open net only to have them mishit the puck, shoot it into a defender, pass up the shot or simply miss the net entirely. This was on display the first game against Nashville when Nielsen and Mantha both were in alone on the goalie and missed. Early on Mantha was absolutely robbed by Rinne on the doorstep after a beautiful feed across by Larkin. As long as they continue to struggle to get goals from the PP they absolutely cannot keep giving away half a dozen or so quality chances each game and expect to come away with many points.
