Well, we’ve reached the Olympic break, and not a moment too soon. The Red Wings will face the Ottawa Senators in their final matchup, as they deal with their first four-game losing streak of the season.
The Red Wings come off the shootout loss to San Jose that highlighted some of the frustrations Detroit has dealt with all year: defensive breakdowns, scoring struggles, and a goaltender who struggles in the shootout. There’s some question (as of writing this at noon ET) whether Nicklas Kronwall will be back tonight.
Ottawa comes in with the Northeast Division lead at 74 points having beaten the Capitals 6-5 on Thursday night in overtime. They’re on a tear, winning 13 out of 14, with Daniel Alfredsson picking up 17 points in that stretch.
It’s effectively a warmup game for Team Sweden, with five or six players (Johann Franzen, Tomas Holmstrom, Nicklas Lidstrom, Henrik Zetterberg, Daniel Alfredsson, and perhaps Kronwall) playing tonight. Faceoff is set for 7:00 pm. The game is on Fox Sports Detroit and CBC. Comment away below.
