Updates

Berggren will miss the rest of this season due to shoulder surgery... #LGRW https://t.co/vJpvfsCKeQ

— Red Wings Prospects (@DRWProspects) January 17, 2020

Jimmy Howard first goalie off the ice at optional skate, so he’s staring tonight for #RedWings against @penguins at @LCArena_Detroit Calvin Pickard backing up.

— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) January 17, 2020

"You gotta make sure you're winning more puck races and puck battles than them."

Jeff Blashill | #PITvsDET pic.twitter.com/9fEpGPQyB6

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) January 17, 2020

Red Wings Lineup

Bertuzzi - Larkin - Fabbri
Erne - Filpulla - Zadina
Helm - Nielsen - Glendening
Abdelkader - Ehn - Smith

Nemeth - Green
Bowey - Hronek
Lashoff - Biega

Howard
Pickard

Penguins Lineup

McCann - Crosby - Simon
Kahun - Malkin - Rust
Galchenyuk - Agozzino - Hornqvist
Aston-Reese - Blueger - Tanev

Johnson - Letang
Petersson - Marino
Rikola - Ruhwedel

Jarry
Murray

Three Keys to the Game

1. For the love of all that is good and holy, suppress shots. The Red Wings out shot the Islanders 36-26 on Tuesday Night, and they still got shellacked for eight goals. With Bernier out, the Red Wings’ net is going to let in goals like I let in Bismarks to my mouth at the first-Wednesday-of-the-month staff meeting. The Red Wings need to keep shots as low as possible, and that may mean playing some very boring hockey in the first half of the game.
2. Keep the netfront clear. This goes along with suppressing shots, but lately the Wings have given up a lot of goals (I could end the sentence here, but I won’t) by allowing way too much real-estate in front of the net. With the current construction of the Red Wings, a big power forward parking himself in front of Howard or Pickard is going to be real hard to move, so maybe the best solution is to rely on solid pressure and forechecking from the forwards.
3. Strike hard in the last thirty minutes. If Detroit can manage to frustrate Pittsburgh and keep them off the score board for the first thirty minutes, they’ll get their chance. Detroit needs to keep this one close; on the best night they cannot orchestrate a 4-1 comeback, especially against a team like Pittsburgh. Put them in a situation where they are desperate and prone to errors late in the game, because no team wants to work hard against the Detroit Red Wings of all teams in the third period on the second night of a back-to-back.