7:30p ET, Joe Louis Arena
Detroit, MI
TV: Fox Sports Detroit
Radio: 97.1 The Ticket
Predators Blog: On the Forecheck
Here we go again.
Wings pulled off a massive victory last night and earned two points. Two games to go and three points clinches a playoff spot. Here are the scenarios:
- If the Stars win tomorrow (regulation or overtime) and the Wings win, Detroit clinches a playoff spot.
- If the Stars win in regulation and the Wings lose in overtime, Detroit clinches a spot.
- If the Stars lose (regulation or overtime) and the Wings win, Detroit needs one point against Dallas or a Columbus loss of any kind to clinch a playoff spot.
- If Detroit loses in regulation while the Blue Jackets win. The Blue Jackets need to lose (regulation or overtime) against the Predators in order for Detroit to make the playoffs.
As far as the lineup goes, Johan Franzen couldn’t finish last night’s game due to an undisclosed injury. That’s a damn shame. The Mule has been playing awesome as of late. Todd Bertuzzi could be returning though. He would likely slot right in on the 2nd line filling in for Franzen. The defensive pairings should remain the same and, of course, Jimmy Howard is your starting netminder.
The Expected Lineup
Henrik Zetterberg – Pavel Datsyuk – Justin Abdelkader
Johan Franzen – Valtteri Filppula – Daniel Cleary
Gustav Nyquist – Joakim Andersson – Damien Brunner
Patrick Eaves – Cory Emmerton – Jordin Tootoo
*
Niklas Kronwall – Jonathan Ericsson
*
Jimmy Howard (starting)
Scratches: Ian White, Brian Lashoff and Carlo Colaiacovo
Injuries: Drew Miller (hand), Mikael Samuelsson (upper body), Todd Bertuzzi (back) and Darren Helm (back)
| PREDATORS | THE MATCH-UP | RED WINGS |
| 16-21-9 (41 pts; 14th in West) | Record | 22-16-8 (52 pts; 8th in West) |
| 2.30 (29th in NHL) | Goals Per Game | 2.48 (21st in NHL) |
| 2.72 (18th) | Goals Against Per Game | 2.35 (7th) |
| 17.0% (18th) | Power Play % | 18.6% (15th) |
| 75.9% (29th) | Penalty Kill % | 81.4% (13th) |
| David Legwand (12 goals) | Goal Leader | Pavel Datsyuk (14 goals) |
| Shea Weber (26 points) | Points Leader | 2 tied 43 points |
- The Red Wings are 48-24-4-8 (W-L-T-OTL) all-time against the Nashville Predators.
- Nashville won their last game (against CGY), but had lost 8 straight before that.
- The Wings are 2-3-2 on Thursdays this season.
- Last time these two teams met was April 14. The Wings won 3-0. Zetterberg, Franzen and Abdelkader were your goal scorers.
- Detroit is 4-3-3 in their last 10 games. Nashville is 2-7-1.
- Howard is 8-5-1 with a 2.20 GAA and .923 SV% with 3 shutouts in 16 career regular starts against the Predators.
Prediction: Wings win 4-2.
Let’s Go Red Wings.
