10:30p ET, HP Pavillion
San Jose, CA
TV: Fox Sports Detroit
Radio: 97.1 The Ticket
Sharks Blogs: Fear the Fin & Battle of California
Win or lose this has been a very successful road trip for the Red Wings, but two more points will go a long, long way to separating Detroit from the other bubble teams of the Western Conference. The forwards lines should remain in tact, at least with the top three lines. We may see a change involving the wingers on the fourth line. The defensive pairs could change too. I have a feeling we will see Carlo Colaiacovo get back in the lineup tonight. For an extended preview check out the latest episode of WIIM Radio right here. We talk about the Wings west coast trip, Danny DeKeyser and what Ken Holland could do at the trade deadline.
The Expected Lineup
Johan Franzen – Pavel Datsyuk – Justin Abdelkader
Valtteri Filppula – Henrik Zetterberg – Drew Miller
Damien Brunner — Joakim Andersson — Daniel Cleary
Gustav Nyquist – Cory Emmerton – Jordin Tootoo
*
Niklas Kronwall – Jonathan Ericsson
*
Jimmy Howard (starting)
Scratches: Carlo Colaiacovo, Patrick Eaves and Kent Huskins
Injuries: Kyle Quincey (cheek), Mikael Samuelsson (finger), Todd Bertuzzi (back) and Darren Helm (back)
| RED WINGS | THE MATCH-UP | SHARKS |
| 17-11-5 (39 pts; 5th in West) | Record | 15-11-6 (36 pts; 8th in West) |
| 2.67 (16th in NHL) | Goals Per Game | 2.34 (26th in NHL) |
| 2.46 (7th) | Goals Against Per Game | 2.47 (9th) |
| 17.6% (19th) | Power Play % | 17.9% (16th) |
| 78.9% (23rd) | Penalty Kill % | 86.6% (3rd) |
| Pavel Datsyuk (11 goals) | Goal Leader | Patrick Marleau (16 goals) |
| Pavel Datsyuk (35 points) | Points Leader | Joe Thornton (29 points) |
- The Red Wings are 51-23-4-2 (W-L-T-OTL) all-time against the San Jose Sharks.
- San Jose has won two straight games. Both wins came over the Ducks.
- The Wings are 3-1-0 on Thursdays this season. Detroit is also 4-1-0 in games that start at 10p ET or later.
- Detroit is 4-2-0 against California teams this season.
- The last time these two teams met was February 28. Detroit won 2-1 in a shootout. Eaves scored the lone goal, his first in over a year. Brunner had the shootout winner.
- Detroit is 6-3-1 in their last 10 games. San Jose is 4-4-2.
- Howard is 3-4-2 with a 3.08 GAA and .905 SV% in 9 career regular starts against the Sharks.
Prediction: San Jose wins 3-2.
Let’s Go Red Wings.
