Desperate to make the playoffs? I have a great idea!
Win the damn game.
Detroit had an optional skate today, but Petr Mrazek took part in it and as far as we can tell, Howard didn’t. I think Jimmy is the hot-hand going tonight.
Detroit Line Combinations
Forwards
| Justin Abdelkader | Henrik Zetterberg | Dylan Larkin |
| Darren Helm | Pavel Datsyuk | Brad Richards |
| Tomas Tatar | Riley Sheahan | Gustav Nyquist |
| Andreas Athanasiou | Luke Glendening | Tomas Jurco |
Defensemen
| Danny DeKeyser | Kyle Quincey |
| Niklas Kronwall | Alexey Marchenko |
| Jonathan Ericsson | Mike Green |
Goaltenders
| Jimmy Howard (starting) |
| Petr Mrazek |
Power Play units:
- Nyquist-Zetterberg-Larkin, Abdelkader (net front), Kronwall
- Tatar-Datsyuk-Sheahan (net front), Richards, Green
Boston Line Combinations
Forwards
| Brad Marchand | Patrice Bergeron | Lee Stempniak |
| Ryan Spooner | David Krejci | Loui Eriksson |
| Matt Beleskey | Max Tabot | David Pastrnak |
| Landon Ferraro | Noah Acciari | Frank Vatrano |
Defensemen
| Zdeno Chara | Kevan Miller |
| John-Michael Liles | Colin Miller |
| Torey Krug | Adam McQuaid |
Goaltenders
| Tuukka Rask(starting) |
| Jonas Gustavsson |
Keys to the Game:
Weather the storm or be the storm
Boston is basically facing elimination tonight. I know that they could technically still get in if they lose, but that’s a real long shot. They’re also embarrassed about losing to Carolina on Tuesday and rested from not having played last night. The Wings need to channel that energy away from their own net and ideally into Boston’s penalty box.
Cut off the nose to spite the face
Stop Marchand, stop Bergeron, don’t lose sight of the rest of Boston’s dangerous forwards either. If the Wings can establish a physical game like they did against Philly, then I like our chances. However, Bergeron and Marchand aren’t really “physical” guys as much as they are elusive, so making sure they don’t have space to hurt you is going to be real key for a Detroit defense who kind of didn’t have to deal with that wrinkle last night.
Fun Facts!
Claude Julien always looks like bill dauterive especially when the other team scores @ZachBernardFW
— Jeff Cole (@JMCole1988) April 3, 2016
Claude Julien looks like a thumb to me
— Brendan Johnson (@bjaydgz710) March 24, 2016
Claude Julien always looks like he smells a fart.
— Suz (@suz_b31) February 25, 2016
Claude Julien looks like a fat turtle and every old guy in Boston
— Dan Thoreson (@CSDanny2) February 14, 2016
