Re-enforcements are on the way.
It might be Nicklas Lidstrom. It might be Jakub Kindl. It might be both. One way or another though some much needed talent will be added to tonight’s lineup.
Mike Babcock says he thinks Nick is ready to go. He’s seen enough in practice. He knows when The Perfect Human is perfect and ready to go. Lidstrom on the other hand wasn’t so sure to say one way or the other. Needs to see how he feels today and talk to the docs. Is one player going to make the difference between winning for the first time since March 9 or losing a season-high seventh straight game? Well…it depends who that one player is.
If Lidstrom plays tonight, the Hurricanes are screwed. If it’s just Kindl, well, the Wings will still have their work cut out for them, especially with Ty Conklin starting in net. Now, Conks wasn’t too shabby on Wednesday in New York against the Rangers. I won’t lie though, I was terrified every time he faced a shot. And this Carolina team hasn’t been too bad lately. They’re 6-3-1 in their last 10 games and have won four of their last five (including a 2-0 win over the Blues). Eric Staal is on fire and Cam Ward always has the potential to be dangerous. Then again…they did lost 5-1 in Columbus last night. And yes, they were playing the Blue Jackets.
Bottom line? Some help is on the way tonight and the Wings need a W is the worst way. They’ve gotten some help from the Oilers and Penguins the last few days and find themselves one point ahead of the Predators and both teams have played 74 games. Duncan Keith’s stupidity means the Blackhawks are without their best defenseman, which helps considering Chicago is only one points back. This isn’t going to be one of those trap games against a bad Eastern Conference team. Pretty sure trap games don’t exist when you’re playing like crap and haven’t won in almost a month. At this point, I don’t think the Wings will take anyone lightly. They need two points and they know it.
The streak is snapped tonight. The Wings are going to be victorious once again.
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Canes Country is your SBNation Hurricanes’ blog.
Puck drop is just after 7p ET on Fox Sports Detroit Plus
The Expected Lineup
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Gustav Nyquist — Pavel Datsyuk — Todd Bertuzzi
Valtteri Filppula — Henrik Zetterberg — Jiri Hudler
Danny Cleary — Justin Abdelkader — Drew Miller
Jan Mursak — Cory Emmerton — Tomas Holmstrom
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Brendan Smith — Jakub Kindl
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Ty Conklin (starting)
Game Time Decision: Nicklas Lidstrom (ankle)
Injuries: Patrick Eaves (concussion), Jonathan Ericsson (wrist), Johan Franzen (back), Darren Helm (knee), Joey MacDonald (back) and Jimmy Howard (groin)
| HURRICANES | HOW THEY MATCH UP | RED WINGS |
| 30-30-15 (75 pts; 11th in East) | Record | 44-25-5 (93 pts; 4th in West) |
| 2.64 (14th in NHL) | Goals Per Game | 2.96 (6th in NHL) |
| 2.89 (26th) | Goals Against Per Game | 2.42 (5th) |
| 16.2% (20th) | Power Play % | 15.8% (23rd) |
| 79.6% (25th) | Penalty Kill % | 80.6% (22nd) |
| Eric Staal (23 goals) | Goal Leader | Johan Franzen (26 goals) |
| Eric Staal (66 points) | Points Leader | Datsyuk/Zetterberg (60 points) |
- The Red Wings are 32-26-8-0 (W-L-T-OTL) all-time against the Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes franchise.
- Detroit is 4-2-0 against the Hurricanes since the lockout. The Wings lost 3-0 to the Canes last year in the third-to-last game of the season.
- According to the game preview up on the Wings’ website, Detroit hasn’t lost seven-in-a-row since January 1990. The last time the team lost six-in-a-row was earlier this season. A nice way to bookend the season, eh?
- Cam Ward is 1-3-0 with a 2.51 GAA, .933 SV% and one shutout in his career against the Red Wings. Ty Conklin is 2-0-0 with a 1.00 GAA and .964 SV% all-time against the Hurricanes.
Prediction: Our long nightmare is over. The Wings FINALLY win. It’s going to be a 4-2 score and Pavel Datsyuk is your player of the game.
Let’s Go Red Wings.
