The Red Wings are back at LCA tonight against a familiar foe. They’ll draw a divisional rival in the Tampa Bay Lightning. Here’s a look at what we’ll see from both teams tonight…
#RedWings PP units:
Tatar-Zetterberg-Nyquist-Abdelkader (net front)-Kronwall/Daley;
Frk-Larkin-Nielsen-Mantha (net front)-Green— Dana Wakiji (@Dwakiji) October 16, 2017
Red Wings Expected Lineup
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Anthony Mantha | Henrik Zetterberg | Gustav Nyquist |
| Tomas Tatar | Dylan Larkin | Justin Abdelkader |
| Martin Frk | Frans Nielsen | Darren Helm |
| Riley Sheahan | Luke Glendening | Luke Witkowski |
| Left Defense | Right Defense |
|---|---|
| Niklas Kronwall | Mike Green |
| Jonathan Ericsson | Trevor Daley |
| Xavier Ouellett | Nick Jensen |
| Goalie |
|---|
| Jimmy Howard (starting) |
| Petr Mrazek |
Scratches/Injuries: Danny DeKeyser, Tyler Bertuzzi, Johan Franzen
Lightning Expected Lineup
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Vladislav Namestnikov | Steven Stamkos | Nikita Kucherov |
| Ondrej Palat | Brayden Point | Yanni Gourde |
| Alex Killorn | Tyler Johnson | Slater Koekkoek |
| Chris Kunitz | Cedric Paquette | Ryan Callahan |
| Left Defense | Right Defense |
|---|---|
| Victor Hedman | Jake Dotchin |
| Mikhail Sergachev | Anton Stralman |
| Braydon Coburn | Dan Girardi |
| Goalie |
|---|
| Andrei Vasilevskiy (starting) |
| Peter Budaj |
Key Matchups
Getting to Dan Girardi
Dan Girardi has proven to be one of the league’s most ineffective defensemen. The Red Wings would be smart to play the match-up game here, and try to get speedy/skill forwards against him. When he’s retrieving pucks, there should be players attacking and pressing him. He’ll make the mistake.
Neutralizing Tampa’s top-line power
Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov are some of the better goal-scorers and playmakers in the league. The Red Wings will have their hands full in trying to keep them quiet. My guess is that Zetterberg will be on Stamkos all night long, and that’s the best bet. Problem is making sure that doesn’t give Kucherov too much time and space. That’s something that could make or break the Wings in this game.
