Gameday Updates - Keys to the Game: Detroit Red Wings vs Edmonton Oilers
Jimmy Howard vs. Jonas Gustavsson is confirmed as your goaltending matchup.
No lineup changes so far, but the defensive pairings were different at practice yesterday.
Jesse Puljujarvi and Zack Kassian are out of the Edmonton lineup after leaving yesterday's game with injuries. Anton Slepyshev and Taylor Beck replace them. Slepyshev already has his first career NHL goal, so he's not guaranteed to score tonight.
Red Wings Lineup
Forwards
| Gustav Nyquist | Frans Nielsen | Dylan Larkin |
| Tomas Tatar | Henrik Zetterberg | Justin Abdelkader |
| Andreas Athanasiou | Darren Helm | Riley Sheahan |
| Steve Ott | Luke Glendening | Drew Miller |
Defensemen
| Danny DeKeyser | Mike Green |
| Jonathan Ericsson | Alexey Marchenko |
| Brendan Smith | Niklas Kronwall |
Goaltenders
| Jimmy Howard (starter) |
| Petr Mrazek |
Oilers Lineup
Forwards
| Patrick Maroon | Connor McDavid | Jordan Eberle |
| Benoit Pouliot | Ryan Nugent-Hopkins | Jesse Puljujarvi |
| Milan Lucic | Leon Draisaitl | Zack Kassian |
| Anton Lander | Mark Letestu | Tyler Pitlick |
Defensemen
| Oscar Klefbom | Adam Larsson |
| Andrej Sekera | Eric Gryba |
| Darnell Nurse | Matthew Benning |
Goaltenders
| Jonas Gustavsson |
| Cam Talbot |
Keys to the Game
Take advantage of a tired opponent - Edmonton played a full 65 minutes last night against the New York Islanders. They lost two forwards early in the game and had to play everyone for extended minutes to make up for the missing personnel. This is the second game in a row where the Wings will be playing a team on the back end of a road back-to-back. Detroit needs to capitalize on this situation and get back to winning ways on home ice.
Turn the power play back into an advantage - Detroit is 2 for 26 (7.7%) on the power play in the last seven games. On Friday night it looked as if the Wings were trying to create more traffic in front of the net and send pucks in from the point. Detroit was able to get more shots to the net on the advantage, but did not convert on any chances. The Oilers come into the game with a sterling 91% success rate on the penalty kill. That is good enough for second in the league. It will be a tough challenge for Detroit, but power play productivity would certainly help the Wings top one of the best teams in the NHL.
Be the hero Jimmy - Howard has been one of the best goalies in the NHL this season in his limited playing time. Detroit needs a spark to get back in the win column and another stellar start from Jimmy could be it. It doesn't seem to be an open competition for the starting spot just yet, but a big game from Jimmy could help push him towards more playing time and closer to the top of the depth chart. Connor McDavid and the Oilers will provide a challenge for Howard and the defense, but look for the Detroit net-minder to control his rebounds and play within himself (not challenging too far out of the crease and over-pursuing the play) for the Wings to be successful in their own end.