In case you missed it, the Red Wings called up 2015 first round pick Evgeny Svechnikov for tonight’s game as an emergency replacement for Drew Miller who is out with the flu. According to Ansar Khan, Svechnikov will skate on a line with Justin Abdelkader and Dylan Larkin. Also according to Khan, Andreas Athanasiou skated with Ben Street and Tomas Nosek in practice this morning but said he might switch with Riley Sheahan for the game (I made the switch already because frankly I would prefer to see Athanasiou skate on a line with Frans Nielsen and Darren Helm).
As for Ottawa, fellow 2015 first round pick Colin White will indeed make his NHL debut tonight as he slots into the lineup in place of Ryan Dzingel.
Updated Lineups
Red Wings
Forwards
| Tomas Tatar | Henrik Zetterberg | Gustav Nyquist |
| Justin Abdelkader | Dylan Larkin | Evgeny Svechnikov |
| Darren Helm | Frans Nielsen | Andreas Athanasiou |
| Riley Sheahan | Tomas Nosek | Ben Street |
Defensemen
| Dan DeKeyser | Nick Jensen |
| Niklas Kronwall | Mike Green |
| Xavier Ouellet | Robbie Russo |
Goaltenders
| Jimmy Howard |
| Petr Mrazek (starting) |
Power Play
PP1 – Nyquist, Zetterberg, Abdelkader, Kronwall, Tatar
PP2 – Athanasiou, Larkin, Sheahan, Nielsen, Green
Senators
Forwards
| Bobby Ryan | Kyle Turris | Mark Stone |
| Viktor Stalberg | Derick Brassard | Mike Hoffman |
| Alexandre Burrows | Jean-Gabriel Pageau | Tom Pyatt |
| Chris Kelly | Colin White | Tommy Wingels |
Defensemen
| Fredrik Claesson | Chris Wideman |
| Jyrki Jokipakka | Dion Phaneuf |
| Mark Borowiecki | Ben Harpur |
Goaltenders
| Craig Anderson (starting) |
| Mike Condon |
Power Play Unit
PP1 – Hoffman, Turris, Stone, Brassard, Karlsson
PP2 – Smith, Dzingel, Ryan, Phaneuf, Ceci
Players to Watch
Evgeny Svechnikov
It is always fun to watch a very promising prospect make his NHL debut. Svechnikov is a big bodied type who loves to score, something the Red Wings could desperately need more of next season. This is a chance for him to get a taste of the NHL before a hopefully a long and successful playoff run in Grand Rapids and hopefully a legit shot at a roster spot with the Red Wings to start next season.
Andreas Athanasiou
Easily the most electric and exciting player on the Red Wings right now (especially with Anthony Mantha out with a broken hand) it is almost impossible to stay in your seat when Athanasiou has the puck on his stick…especially if he has the room to get a full head of steam going. He also needs two more goals in the last four games to reach the 20 goal mark, something I am sure he is hoping to accomplish on the eve of his contract negotiation this offseason.
