Morning Skate: Rangers at Red Wings
Game 27
7:00p ET, Joe Louis Arena
Detroit, MI
TV: Fox Sports Detroit, NHL Network, Sportsnet
Radio: 97.1 The Ticket
Ranger Blog: Blueshirt Banter
I'm really glad Stephen Weiss is playing tonight.
Think about that opening sentence for a moment. It wasn't long ago that the Weiss experiment was an utter disaster. An injured player not even coming close to living up to the expectations of the the contract he signed two offseasons ago. Now? He's a very important part of this team and the Red Wings need #90 in the lineup.
Weiss has 4 goals and 9 points in 7 games this season. That's the kind of production you envisioned when the Wings brought him aboard. Granted, he's not doing it as a 2nd line center, but I'm not going to complain about that. He's produced so far with the likes of Pavel Datsyuk and Darren Helm and he's produced on a line with Tomas Jurco and Riley Sheahan. Positive signs that he's able to put up points regardless of the players around him. He's provided depth to the lineup and gives Mike Babcock some new options when putting together his lines.
So Weiss, I hope this hot steak is a preview of what we can expect this rest of this season and I hope it continues tonight against the Rangers. It's a whole hell of a lot more fun to watch you on the ice than sitting on the sidelines.
The Expected Lineups (subject to change)
Forwards
| Johan Franzen | Henrik Zetterberg | Gustav Nyquist |
| Tomas Tatar | Pavel Datsyuk | Darren Helm |
| Tomas Jurco | Riley Sheahan | Stephen Weiss |
| Joakim Andersson | Luke Glendening | Drew Miller |
Defensemen
| Niklas Kronwall | Jonathan Ericsson |
| Kyle Quincey | Danny DeKeyser |
| Brendan Smith | Jakub Kindl |
Goaltenders
| Jimmy Howard (starting) |
| Petr Mrazek |
Scratches: Brian Lashoff & Daniel Cleary
Injuries: Justin Abdelkader (shoulder) & Jonas Gustavsson (shoulder)
Forwards
| Rick Nash | Derick Brassard | Mats Zuccarello |
| Chris Kreider | Derek Stepan | Martin St. Louis |
| Carl Hagelin | Kevin Hayes | Lee Stempniak |
| J.T. Miller | Dominic Moore | Jesper Fast |
Defensemen
| Ryan McDonagh | Dan Girardi |
| Marc Staal | Dan Boyle |
| Matt Hunwick | Kevin Klein |
Goaltenders
| Cam Talbot (starting) |
| Henrik Lundqvist |
| RANGERS | THE MATCH-UP | RED WINGS |
| 11-9-4 (26 pts; 3rd in Metro) | Record | 15-6-5 (35 pts; 3rd in Atlantic) |
| 2.92 (9th in NHL) | Goals Per Game | 3.12 (4th in NHL) |
| 2.75 (20th) | Goals Against Per Game | 2.46 (10th) |
| 17.3% (19th) | Power Play % | 23.1% (6th) |
| 80.0% (19th) | Penalty Kill % | 85.6% (5th) |
| Rick Nash (16 goals) | Goal Leader | Gustav Nyquist (12 goals) |
| Rick Nash (26 points) | Points Leader | Henrik Zetterberg (24 points) |
- The Red Wings are 261-212-103-3 (W-L-T-OTL) all-time in the regular season against the New York Rangers.
- Last 10 Games: New York 5-3-2, Detroit 7-3-0
- Howard is 2-2-1 with a 1.98 GAA and .949 SV% in 5 career games against the Rangers./