12:30p ET, CONSOL Energy Center
Pittsburgh, PA
TV: NBC
Radio: 97.1 The Ticket
Welcome to NHL Hockey Sunday. It is a very special day, not because we are all reminded of “subtle interference” or how the Red Wings and Penguins met each other in the playoffs in back-to-back years and both won a Cup. No, it is special because I am traveling to Pittsburgh to attend the game with a fellow SB Nationer from Pensburgh.
Detroit is 1-1-0 this season against Pittsburgh. Both teams are sitting in similar spots in their divisions, so I think it’s a pretty decent match-up as always. But you know, early-starts aren’t really the Red Wings’ forte.
The Red Wings played their worst game of the season yesterday. To say it was an embarrassment would be an understatement. They played a chicken-shit hockey game against a bad team. If they come out like that against Pittsburgh, even without Sidney Crosby, it’s going to be ugly. That being said, I look forward to this game and I hope that yesterday served as a gigantic wake-up call for the boys.
The Expected Lineups
Forwards
| Tomas Tatar | Pavel Datsyuk | Luke Glendening |
| Justin Abdelkader | Henrik Zetterberg | Erik Cole |
| Teemu Pulkkinen | Riley Sheahan | Gustav Nyquist |
| Drew Miller | Joakim Andersson | Stephen Weiss |
Defensemen
| Niklas Kronwall | Jonathan Ericsson |
| Danny DeKeyser | Kyle Quincey |
| Brendan Smith | Marek Zidlicky |
Goaltenders
| Petr Mrazek (starting) |
| Jimmy Howard |
Scratches: Daniel Cleary & Jakub Kindl, Tomas Jurco
Injuries: Johan Franzen (concussion), Darren Helm (oblique strain), Alexey Marchenko (oblique strain), Jonas Gustavsson (concussion)
Forwards
| David Perron | Evgeni Malkin | Patric Hornqvist |
| Chris Kunitz | Nick Spaling | Blake Comeau |
| Daniel Winnik | Brandon Sutter | Beau Bennett |
| Craig Adams | Max Lapierre | Steve Downie |
Defensemen
| Paul Martin | Kris Letang |
| Christian Ehrhoff | Ben Lovejoy |
| Rob Scuderi | Ian Cole |
Goaltenders
| Marc-Andre Fleury (Starting) |
| Thomas Greiss |
| PENGUINS | THE MATCH-UP | RED WINGS |
| 39-19-10 (88 pts; 3rd in Metropolitan) | Record | 37-19-11 (85 pts; 3rd in Atlantic) |
| 2.87 (9th NHL) | Goals Per Game | 2.88 (8th in NHL) |
| 2.39 (5th) | Goals Against Per Game | 2.52 (12th) |
| 20.0% (8th) | Power Play % | 25.3% (1st) |
| 85.2% (5th) | Penalty Kill % | 80.7% (21st) |
| Evgeni Malkin (28 goals) | Goal Leader | Tomas Tatar (25 goals) |
| Sidney Crosby (70 points) | Points Leader | Pavel Datsyuk (57 points) |
- The Red Wings are 71-70-16 (W-L-T/OTL) all-time in the regular season against the Pittsburgh Penguins./
- Last 10 Games: Detroit 4-5-1, Pittsburgh 7-2-1
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- I am going to be at this game, so if we win, you are welcome. If we lose, I am so sorry./
LGRW
