7:30p ET, Joe Louis Arena
Detroit, Michigan
TV: Fox Sports Detroit, Fox Sports Arizona
Radio: 97.1 The Ticket
Coyotes Blog: Five For Howling
The homestand is nearly over, and the Wings have been able to earn points in all 4 games so far, compiling a record of 2-0-2. After playing divisional opponents in 3 of their last 4 games, the Wings welcome a Western Conference foe to the Joe in the Arizona Coyotes.
The Wings are coming off their first shootout of the season, a 5-4 win over the Buffalo Sabres that saw Detroit blow a third period lead for the 4th straight game, except this time they fell behind and had to come back themselves. Brad Richards notched his first “goal” for the Wings in the shootout winner, while Drew Miller finally found the scoresheet and Justin Abdelkader had a Gordie Howe hat trick (plus an extra goal).
The Coyotes, like the Sabres, are a team that has surprised in the early part of the season by being better than expected. Led by dynamic rookies Max Domi (2nd in scoring among all first-year players) and Anthony Duclair, the Coyotes currently occupy a playoff spot in the Pacific. Arizona is coming off a 5-2 loss that saw them outshot 41-15, so they’ll be looking to get back on track. Besides Domi and Duclair (I hope someone has nicknamed them the “Double Ds”), Mikkel Boedker has gotten off to a strong start, and Oliver Ekman-Larsson is one of the best defensemen in the game. Mike Smith is a goalie. Shane Doan is hurt and may not be available to maim a Red Wing player. I’m not mentioning John Scott because I don’t like fun.
The Wings had an off day yesterday, so we are not sure if lineups will be the same as they were against Buffalo. It has already been announced that Jimmy Howard will get the start in goal.
The Expected Lineups (Subject To Change)
Forwards
| Justin Abdelkader | Henrik Zetterberg | Dylan Larkin |
| Brad Richards | Pavel Datsyuk | Darren Helm |
| Tomas Tatar | Riley Sheahan | Gustav Nyquist |
| Drew Miller | Luke Glendening | Teemu Pulkkinen |
Defensemen
| Niklas Kronwall | Mike Green |
| Danny DeKeyser | Jonathan Ericsson |
| Alexey Marchenko | Brendan Smith |
Goaltenders
| Jimmy Howard (starting) |
| Petr Mrazek |
Scratches: Jakub Kindl, Joakim Andersson, Tomas Jurco
Injuries: Johan Franzen, Kyle Quincey
The Expected Coyotes Lineup
Forwards
| Tobias Rieder | Martin Hanzal | Mikkel Boedker |
| Max Domi | Antoine Vermette | Anthony Duclair |
| Jordan Martinook | Dustin Jeffrey | Craig Cunningham |
| Brad Richardson | Boyd Gordon | Kyle Chipchura |
Defensemen
| Oliver Ekman-Larsson | Michael Stone |
| Klas Dahlbeck | Zbynek Michalek |
| Nicklas Grossmann | Connor Murphy |
Goaltenders
| Mike Smith |
| Anders Lindback |
Fun Facts!
Red Wings all-time record against Arizona/Phoenix: 66-43-22-4
Red Wings goals for per game (GF/G) against the Coyotes: 3.51
Red Wings goals against per game (GA/G) against the Coyotes: 3.07
Let’s Go Red Wings!!!
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Game Day Prediction Contest
Would you like to predict the outcome of the game and potentially become internet famous? Well you’re in luck, because here’s your opportunity. Here’s how it works.
Make your game predictions on the winning team, final score, and who the Wings player of the game will be. Enter the required information into the form below using the formats indicated in the questions. If you don’t use those formats, your answers will be disregarded. All submissions are timestamped and will be accepted only until the official game start time. All other submissions after that will be disregarded. Only one submission per person, please. POTG will be determined by the collective of WiiM writers.
Each correct winning team prediction is worth 1 point. Each correct player of the game prediction is worth 2 points. Each correct final score prediction is worth 5 points. If you get all three correct you’ll receive 15 points.
