5p ET, Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Uniondale, New York
TV: Fox Sports Detroit Plus
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Islanders Blog: Lighthouse Hockey
Yesterday was a good time. The Red Wings came, saw, and conquered on a very score-happy team in the Tampa Bay Lightning. Petr Mrazek pitched his second shutout of the season, and Justin Abdelkader continued his dominance, scoring his 23rd goal of the season.
Today, the Wings face a slumping New York Islanders who are coming off of a 3-2 loss against Anaheim. They’ve had a very rocky road ever since the trade deadline, much like the Red Wings have. Nevertheless, the Red Wings cannot afford to come in and be the “slump-busters” today. After a win like they had yesterday, it’s best to use that momentum and keep it going. NYI’s woes lie in their inability to keep the puck out of their own net, again, much like Detroit. Our power play wasn’t good at all yesterday, as they couldn’t manage to get a goal with the man advantage. NYI’s PK unit is a bit suspect, and has been for most of the season. This would be a great opportunity to light them up with a shaky situation in goal.
Detroit’s magic number is at 10 right now, and they’re in a good position to make Tampa Bay start sweating it out for 2nd place in the Atlantic. Let’s get that win, yo.
The Expected Lineups (Subject to Change)
Forwards
| Gustav Nyquist | Henrik Zetterberg | Justin Abdelkader |
| Darren Helm | Pavel Datsyuk | Tomas Tatar |
| Stephan Weiss | Joakim Andersson | Teemu Pulkkinen |
| Drew Miller | Luke Glendening | Tomas Jurco |
Defensemen
| Niklas Kronwall | Jonathan Ericsson |
| Kyle Quincey | Danny DeKeyser |
| Brendan Smith | Marek Zidlicky |
Goaltenders
| Jimmy Howard (charting) |
| Petr Mrazek (starting) |
Scratches: Daniel Cleary & Jakub Kindl
Injuries: Riley Sheahan (upper body), Jonas Gustavsson (I forgot), & Johan Franzen (concussion)
Forwards
| Anders Lee | John Tavares | Josh Bailey |
| Nikolay Kulemin | Frans Nielsen | Kyle Okposo |
| Tyler Kennedy | Brock Nelson | Ryan Strome |
| Matt Martin | Casey Cizikas | Cal Clutterbuck |
Defensemen
| Nick Leddy | Johnny Boychuk |
| Brian Strait | Travis Hamonic |
| Thomas Hickey | Lubomir Visnovsky |
Goaltenders
| Jaroslav Halak (Starting) |
| Michal Neuvirth |
| ISLANDERS | THE MATCH-UP | RED WINGS |
| 44-27-5 (93 pts; 3rd in Metropolitan) | Record | 40-22-12 (92 pts; 3rd in Atlantic) |
| 2.93 (4th in NHL) | Goals Per Game | 2.88 (6th in NHL) |
| 2.72 (20th) | Goals Against Per Game | 2.60 (16th) |
| 18.0% (18th) | Power Play % | 24.2% (2nd) |
| 77.6% (26th) | Penalty Kill % | 81.5% (16th) |
| John Tavares (34 goals) | Goal Leader | Tomas Tatar (26 goals) |
| John Tavares (74 points) | Points Leader | Henrik Zetterberg (61 points) |
- The Red Wings are 48-46-6-2 (W-L-T-OTL) all-time in the regular season against the New York Islanders.
- Last 10 Games: NYI 2-6-2, Detroit 4-5-1 /
- Petr Mrazek is 1-2-0 with a .923 SV% and a 1.89 GAA against the Islanders./
