The biggest news of the day came when Jared Coreau was called up from Grand Rapidsbecause Petr Mrazek has caught Red Wing flu, which we hope is a metaphor as the Wings hope to catch Philadelphia in the standings and get back in to a playoff spot.
The morning skate, minus the mystery fill-in goalie, was uneventful. The Wings will likely roll with the same lines as they did against the Flyers, while Jimmy Howard will get the start due to Mrazek’s illness.
The Blue Jackets are going all mad scientist on us, and announced that Fedor Tyutin will potentially miss the game, also due to illness.
Possible Line Combinations
Forwards
| Justin Abdelkader | Henrik Zetterberg | Dylan Larkin |
| Tomas Tatar | Pavel Datsyuk | Anthony Mantha |
| Gustav Nyquist | Riley Sheahan | Andreas Athanasiou |
| Darren Helm | Luke Glendening | Brad Richards |
Defensemen
| Danny DeKeyser | Kyle Quincey |
| Brendan Smith | Mike Green |
| Jonathan Ericsson | Alexey Marchenko |
Goaltenders
| Jimmy Howard (starting) |
| Jared Coreau |
Scratches: Teemu Pulkkinen, Tomas Jurco
Injuries: Drew Miller, Johan Franzen, Niklas Kronwall, Petr Mrazek
Jackets Lineup
Forwards
| Brandon Saad | Boone Jenner | Cam Atkinson |
| Brandon Dubinsky | Alexander Wennberg | Oliver Bjorkstrand |
| Scott Hartnell | William Karlsson | Nick Foligno |
| Gregory Campbell | Michael Chaput | Matt Calvert |
Defensemen
| Fedor Tyutin | Seth Jones |
| Ryan Murray | David Savard |
| Cody Goloubef | John Ramage |
Goaltenders
| Sergei Bobrovsky |
| Curtis McElhinney |
Fun Facts!
Red Wings all-time record against Columbus: 53-20-1-8 (W-L-T-OTL)
Red Wings goals for per game (GF/G) against the Jackets: 3.16
Red Wings goals against per game (GA/G) against the Jackets: 2.26
Key to the Game
SCORE SOME DAMN GOALS
We’re just keeping this one here until they do the thing and score the goals.
START ON TIME
The Wings may want to remember that puck drop is at 7 PM EDT, and plan to be there physically and mentally from the very beginning of the game.
WHERE’S THE PRIDE?
The Wings are both a mediocre and talented team. They have spoken openly about not wanting the playoff streak to end. The play of the team over the last several weeks hasn’t been indicative of a team fighting for a playoff spot. Will the Wings show up like they can and beat a Columbus team that is not as good as them, or will they roll over and start the slow descent to just riding out the season?
