Game Day Updates: Red Wings vs. Devils

I can’t stop thinking about how much I like the New York Islanders.

Such a cool team. The coolest in the New York market, that’s for sure. By a mile. And the fans? Lovely people. Every single one: smart, good-looking, funny. If you haven’t met an Islanders fan, you simply must venture out and find one. They’ll change your life. Need a ride to the airport? Islanders fan. Short some change for your bus fare? Don’t you worry: an Islanders fan is nearby. Just the other day I was tuning up my lawnmower, and I kid you not, Oleg Kvasha himself came strolling up my driveway and said “hey buddy, I got it.” I wasn’t surprised in the least. Thing runs like a dream now.

They’re sweet, gentle souls who deserve nothing but the best. And what a history! Four straight Stanley Cups. That’s only happened three times and may never happen again. Fantastic achievement. Can you imagine being a defenseman in the early ’80s and seeing a helmetless Clark Gillies roaring down the wing right at you? Those poor people.

And the fishstick jersey? Don’t even get me started. Ahead of its time. Absolutely beautiful. I already have a couple, but I think I’ll order one more. I keep hearing “that’s against the office dress code and you need to stop,” but I know it’s just jealousy.

Isles fans: we’re practically cousins, what with Jimmy D setting the foundations for our most dominant eras. Think about all the greats who have suited up for both franchises: Chris Osgood. Mathieu Schneider. Mike Sillinger. Uwe Krupp. Marek Zidlicky. Darryl Bootland. Dmytro Timashov. I could go on for days.

Since we’re so close, how ’bout a favor? You may have noticed that we beat Philadelphia the other day, and along with your dominant win over Toronto (people are saying they’ve never seen anything like it), really opened up a window for you to climb back into the third seed in the Metro. And that’s free of charge, we were happy to do it. But if you’re looking to say thanks, I don’t know, maybe there’s something you could do for us…

I mean, I guess it wouldn’t hurt if you took it to the Ottawa Senators this afternoon. Use all those new Pete DeBoer tricks and scratch both of our backs in the process. I believe in you. You’ve never let me down, and I know you won’t start now.

Whether it was too little, too late or the start of a streak, the Red Wings are coming off their best performance of the past several months, snapping their home losing skid with a 6-3 win over the Flyers. It gave a despondent fanbase reasons to cheer, with a Larkin hat trick, a five-point effort for Seider and DeBrincat becoming the team’s first 40-goal scorer since Marian Hossa. Still, the timing left a sour taste, as that’s exactly the performance fans have been hoping for in several must-win games of late.

The Red Wings remain three points behind the Senators for the second Wild Card, but climbed up a spot in the standings thanks to a Columbus loss. The odds still say 5% for Detroit and 96% for Ottawa, but… am I crazy to think it’s a little tighter than that? Both teams have three games left. The Senators’ magic number over the Red Wings is three — three more standings points, and they’ll be guaranteed to finish ahead of Detroit, as the Red Wings can only reach 97 points and will not have a tiebreaker.

But what if they don’t? A lot can happen in three games. The Red Wings need to take care of their own business, for sure. But if they win out, and the Senators go 1-2-0? Detroit’s in. They could even go 2-1-0 and jump Ottawa if they lose out in regulation. I get it, the math is the math, and it’s not likely (Boston losing out would also be a path). Plus, Ottawa’s rolling and finally got some of those injured defensemen back. But teams lose three straight games all the time. Weirder things have happened. And we’ve got the Islanders on our side.

How to Watch
Time: 5:00 p.m. EDT
TV: FanDuel Sports Network
Radio: 97.1 The Ticket

Lineup notes: No morning skate for a 5 p.m. start, but Detroit’s likely to roll with the same group, and Gibson is a game-time decision after leaving last game due to reported neck stiffness, Michal Postava will back up Talbot if he can’t go.

Red Wings Projected Lineup
Finnie – Larkin – Raymond
DeBrincat – Copp – Kane
Mazur – Compher – Perron
van Riemsdyk – Kasper – Shine

Edvinsson – Seider
Chiarot – Faulk
Johansson – Bernard-Docker

Gibson
Talbot
(Postava)

Devils Projected Lineup
Meier – Hischier – Mercer
Bratt – J. Hughes – Brown
Hameenaho – Glass – Bjugstad
Cotter – McLaughlin – Halonen

Siegenthaler – Hamilton
Dillon – Nemec
Cholowski – Kovacevic

Allen
Daws

Rooting Guide: Enough said.