Morning Skate: Bruins at Red Wings
Game 1
7:30p ET, Joe Louis Arena
Detroit, MI
TV: Fox Sports Detroit, NESN, TVA2
Radio: 97.1 The Ticket
Bruin Blog: Stanley Cup of Chowder
It's about damn time.
I'm sick of talking about hockey. I'm sick of complaining about this roster and management's decisions. I'm sick of discussing whether Mike Babcock stays or goes. Enough with all that crap.
I'm ready to watch the Red Wings play a game that matters.
This past summer has been long and, quite frankly, it was damn annoying. Tonight it's about forgetting all that annoying crap and just enjoying the best game on Earth. Whether you're a glass half full or a glass half empty kind of person, I think we all know we're in for another roller coaster of a season. Groins and goals, wins and losses, waivers and trades (maybe?) and, of course, more groins are all expected in the next, hopefully, nine months.
The expectations for this team are moderate. We're not expecting the great Red Wings of old. Most people outside this community are expecting much worse. The streak is over! The Wings are done! It all very well could come true. It could FINALLY be the end of a era in Hockeytown. Or this team could sneak up and surprise some folks. Personally, I don't have a freakin' clue what lies ahead… but I'm going to enjoy whatever comes next.
It's game 1 of the marathon known as the NHL season.
Let's poke the damn bear.
The Expected Lineup
Forwards
| Justin Abdelkader | Henrik Zetterberg | Johan Franzen |
| Tomas Tatar | Riley Sheahan | Tomas Jurco |
| Gustav Nyquist | Darren Helm | Andrej Nestrasil |
| Joakim Andersson | Luke Glendening | Drew Miller |
Defensemen
| Niklas Kronwall | Jonathan Ericsson |
| Brendan Smith | Danny DeKeyser |
| Kyle Quincey | Jakub Kindl |
Goaltenders
| Jimmy Howard (starting) |
| Jonas Gustavsson |
Scratches: Daniel Cleary, Stephen Weiss & Brian Lashoff
Injuries: Pavel Datsyuk (shoulder)
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Opponent Outlook
Key Additions: None
Key Losses: Shawn Thornton
Other Losses: Jarome Iginla & Johnny Boychuk
Forwards
| Brad Marchand | Patrice Bergeron | Reilly Smith |
| Chris Kelly | Carl Soderberg | Loui Eriksson |
| Milan Lucic | Ryan Spooner | Matt Fraser |
| Daniel Paille | Craig Cunningham | Bobby Robins |
Defensemen
| Zdeno Chara | Dougie Hamilton |
| Dennis Seidenberg | Adam McQuaid |
| Torey Krug | Kevan Miller |
Goaltenders
| Tuukka Rask (starting) |
| Niklas Svedberg |
Scratches: Matt Bartkowski
Injuries: David Krejci (undisclosed), Gregory Campbell (core)
Bullets of Knowledge
- The Red Wings are 252-235-95-1 (W-L-T-OTL) all-time in the regular season against the Bruins.
- Detroit is surprisingly only 5-4-0 in season openers under Mike Babcock.
- Howard is 4-1-0 with a 2.17 GAA and .934 SV% in 5 career regular season starts against Boston./
Game day Movie Poster (courtesy of Josh Howard)