The Tigers are on the brink of elimination in the American League Championship Series, but the Red Wings are alive and ready to get rolling again tonight at the Joe.
The Wings have not played since Saturday after winning on back-to-back nights in different cities on opposite sides of the country to start the season 2-0-0. It’s the first real challenge for the Wings too. Neither the Senators or the Avalanche are in the same class as the Canucks when it comes to competition. Detroit will be faced with a team equally or arguably more talented than them.
Last night, the Canucks failed to pump up Luongo’s tires enough and dropped a 5-4 contest to the Flyers in Philadelphia. It will be nice to actually face a team that is on the second night of a back-to-back instead of being the team on the second night of a back-to-back. This is the type of opportunity the Wings need to capitalize on early and capitalize on all season long.
Potentially one game left for Mr. Illitch’s other team, but there are 80 games a head for the Wings. Let’s win number three tonight.
Nucks Misconduct is your SBNation Canucks’ blog.
Puck drop is 8p ET (moved back so fans can watch game 5 tonight)
The Expected Lineup
Pavel Datsyuk — Henrik Zetterberg — Danny Cleary
Jiri Hudler — Valtteri Filppula — Johan Franzen
Justin Abdelkader — Darren Helm — Todd Bertuzzi
Tomas Holmstrom — Cory Emmerton — Drew Miller
Jakub Kindl — Jonathan Ericsson
Scratches: Babcock said that Homer will be in the lineup tonight, so the two scratches will come from the group of Emmerton, Miller, Eaves, and Brunnstrom. We’ll update if scratches are announced. I predict Emmerton and Brunnstrom relax in the Leino Lounge. Patrick Eaves and Fabian Brunnstrom will spend the night in the Leino Lounge.
Injuries: Mike Commodore (MCL) and Jan Mursak (ankle)
Suspension: Brendan Smith
| Canucks | HOW THEY MATCH UP | Red Wings |
| 1-1-1 | RECORD | 2-0-0 |
| 3.3 (10th) | GOALS PER GAME | 4.0 (3rd) |
| 3,3 (23rd) | GOALS AGAINST PER GAME | 1.5 (2nd) |
| 21.4% (9th) | POWER PLAY % | 0.0% (24th) |
| 69.2% (27th) | PENALTY KILL % | 66.7% (28th) |
| 2 tied with 2 | GOAL LEADER | 8 tied with 1 |
| Sedin Twins (5 pts) | POINTS LEADER | Datsyuk (3 pts) |
- Last time Detroit played on October 13 – 2009-10 season: Flip and Homer scored in a 6-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres. The loss dropped the Wings to a 2-3-0 record for the season.
- The Red Wings are 80-53-18-4 (W-L-T-OTL) all-time against Vancouver.
- The last time the Tigers were on the brink of postseason elimination was Game 5 of the World Series back on October 27, 2006. Th Red Wings also happen to play that night. Detroit defeated Dallas 4-3 in a game that saw 2 goals from Lidstrom and a goal each from Datsyuk and Hudler. The Tigers, however, lost their game 4-2 and lost the World Series 4 games to 1. It’s also worth noting that Justin Verlander pitched that game and will be pitching tonight as well. That 2006 night, JV went 6.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, ER, 3 BB, 4 K, L (1-2). Let’s hope tonight there is a different outcome for the Tigers.
- Mikael Samuelsson sucks.
Prediction: The Canucks may have played last night, but they’re still a very tough opponent. It will be a battle of the rested vs. the tired. Let’s hope the Wings are too rested. I say it’s a 4-3 win for the good guys thanks to two goals from Lidstrom and a goal each from Datsyuk and Hudler. Lidstrom is your player of the game.
Let’s Go Red Wings.
