Well, the winning streak came to an end last night, but one hopes the Wings can get up for a big inter-division game against the Blackhawks, and some former teammates in Marian Hossa and Tomas Kopecky.
The Red Wings won the last meeting between these two teams on October 8th. It was the first win of the season for the Wings, and Hossa was still on the shelf following shoulder surgery. In the eleven games since his return, Hossa has five goals and five assists.
Chris Osgood is back in net on the second of back-to-back nights, starting his first game in 8 days. There’s been a lot of chatter in Red Wings Nation that Jimmy Howard is slowly becoming the starter, but tonight’s a big game and it’d be a fantastic opportunity for Osgood to show who’s #1.
Last night, the Wings got goals from all three members of the top line: Pavel Datsyuk, Tomas Holmstrom, and Todd Bertuzzi. One would think they’re going to need a lot of offense to get by the Hawks, who are scoring 2.91 goals per game (good enough for 7th in the league). Chicago leads the league in goals against average (2.06) and sits atop the Western Conference standings.
Be sure to check out Second City Hockey for some excellent Blackhawks coverage. Puck drops at 7pm Eastern – be here!
