Morning Skate: Devils at Red Wings
Game 14
7:30p ET, Joe Louis Arena
Detroit, MI
TV: Fox Sports Detroit
Radio: 97.1 The Ticket
Devils Blogs: In Lou We Trust
Yikes.
After such a promising start to the season, this week has not been fun. Looking at the schedule a week ago, who would've guessed that the Red Wings would take care of business at home against the Kings. Only to hit the road and get 2 out of 6 points in the next three against the Sabres, Senators and a banged up Rangers team. Quite frankly, it was a disappointing road trip.
Thankfully the Wings are back home tonight. Hopefully they'll remember all the goals they scored last time they were at the Joe. The Devils team they face is improved since last season. They're old though. New Jersey's average age is just over 30. No other team is at or over 30. But hey, age doesn't seem to matter when it comes to Jaromir Jagr. The old man keeps on going. Between the pipes, sadly for opposing teams, Martin Brodeur is gone. It's Cory Schneider's team now. He hasn't had much help though while shorthanded. The Devils rank last in the league on the PK. Tonight would be a great time for the Wings power play to start clicking.
The Expected Lineups
Forwards
| Henrik Zetterberg | Pavel Datsyuk | Justin Abdelkader |
| Tomas Tatar | Riley Sheahan | Gustav Nyquist |
| Tomas Jurco | Darren Helm | Johan Franzen |
| Daniel Cleary | Luke Glendening | Drew Miller |
Defensemen
| Niklas Kronwall | Jonathan Ericsson |
| Brendan Smith | Danny DeKeyser |
| Jakub Kindl | Brian Lashoff |
Goaltenders
| Jimmy Howard (starting) |
| Petr Mrazek |
Scratches: Joakim Andersson & Andrej Nestrasil
Injuries: Stephen Weiss (groin) & Kyle Quincey (ankle)
Forwards
| Dainius Zubrus | Travis Zajac | Jaromir Jagr |
| Ryane Clowe | Patrik Elias | Michael Ryder |
| Mike Sislo | Jacob Josefson | Damien Brunner |
| Tuomo Ruutu | Stephen Gionta | Steve Bernier |
Defensemen
| Andy Greene | Damon Severson |
| Bryce Salvador | Marek Zidlicky |
| Eric Gelinas | Adam Larsson |
Goaltenders
| Cory Schneider (starting) |
| Keith Kinkaid |
| DEVILS | THE MATCH-UP | RED WINGS |
| 6-5-2 (14 pts; 5th in WC race) | Record | 6-3-4 (16 pts; 2nd in WC race) |
| 2.69 (15th in NHL) | Goals Per Game | 2.54 (18th in NHL) |
| 3.08 (23rd) | Goals Against Per Game | 2.23 (11th) |
| 22.7% (8th) | Power Play % | 13.7% (25th) |
| 66.7% (30th) | Penalty Kill % | 88.9% (4th) |
| Mike Cammalleri (5 goals) | Goal Leader | Gustav Nyquist (7 goals) |
| 3 tied with 9 points | Points Leader | Henrik Zetterberg (15 points) |
Opponent Outlook
Player to Fear: I'll go with Schneider. He'll probably look like Terry Sawchuk tonight.
X-Factor: Michael Ryder. He always scores on the Wings. At least he did with Dallas.
Familiar Faces: Jordin Tootoo (he's hurt) & Damien Brunner
- The Red Wings are 42-36-11-1 (W-L-T-OTL) all-time in the regular season against the New Jersey Devils.
- Howard is 1-2-0 with a 2.36 GAA and .905 SV% in 3 games against the Devils./