The Red Wings officially “recalled” Drew Miller this morning and by all reports he will indeed be back on the fourth line tonight. No other changes for the Red Wings. Boston made a few changes inserting Jimmy Hayes into the lineup as well as getting their own Millers, Kevin and Colin, back and putting them in for John-Micahel Liles and Joe Morrow.
Line Combinations
Forwards
|
Gustav Nyquist |
Henrik Zetterberg |
Anthony Mantha |
|
Andreas Athanasiou |
Frans Nielsen |
Tomas Tatar |
|
Justin Abdelkader |
Riley Sheahan |
Tomas Jurco |
|
Drew Miller |
Luke Glendening |
Darren Helm |
Defensemen
|
Danny DeKeyser |
Mike Green |
|
Niklas Kronwall |
Nick Jensen |
|
Jonathan Ericsson |
Xavier Ouellet |
Goaltenders
|
Jared Coreau (starting) |
|
Petr Mrazek |
Power Play units:
- Nyquist-Zetterberg-Abdelkader-Nielsen-Green
- Tatar-Athanasiou-Mantha-DeKeyser-Kronwall
Bruins Line Combinations
Forwards
|
Brad Marchand |
Patrice Bergeron |
Frank Vatrano |
|
Tim Schaller |
David Krejci |
David Pastrnak |
|
Ryan Spooner |
Riley Nash |
David Backes |
|
Matt Beleskey |
Dominic Moore |
Jimmy Hayes |
Defensemen
|
Zdeno Chara |
Brandon Carlo |
|
Torey Krug |
Adam McQuaid |
|
Kevin Miller |
Colin Miller |
Goaltenders
|
Tuukka Rask (starting) |
|
Zane McIntyre |
Power Play units:
- Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak-Spooner-Krug
- Vatrano-Kerjci-Backes-Miller-Czarnik
Keys to the Game:
Start Fast
The Red Wings have played some of their best hockey of the season in recent times despite not always getting out to the best starts. That includes the last game they played against the Bruins. Boston is teetering on the edge right now and a fast start by the Red Wings in Boston could push them even closer to free fall.
Do Not Allow Boston to Take Penalties
The Red Wings have the worst power play in the league. Boston has the second-best penalty kill as well as a penchant for scoring shorthanded. It is in the Red Wings best interest to keep this game to even strength as much as possible.
The Tomas’ Absorb the Loss of Vanek and Larkin
The offense struggled the last time they lost Vanek and the game against the Rangers showed that could be the case again. Couple that with the loss of Larkin for at least the next two games and things are getting thin offensively again. With Boston having the last change it is almost assured that they will put the Bergeron line out there against the Zetterberg line whenever they can. Tomas Tatar will be the one to step into Vanek’s spot on the line with Andreas Athanasiou and Frans Nielsen and Tomas Jurco gets the chance to take up Larkin’s spot on a line with Riley Sheahan and Justin Adelkader. If Jurco and Tatar are able to find their game the Wings have too much depth for an aging and struggling Boston.
