Red Wings at Canucks: Gameday Updates, Line Combinations, Key Match-ups
Line Combinations
Red Wings Lineup (Optional skate today, this is a speculated lineup)
Forwards
| Justin Abdelkader | Henrik Zetterberg | Gustav Nyquist |
| Tomas Tatar | Dylan Larkin | Teemu Pulkkinen |
| Darren Helm | Riley Sheahan | Luke Glendening |
| Drew Miller | Joakim Andersson | Landon Ferraro |
Defensemen
| Niklas Kronwall | Jonathan Ericsson |
| Danny DeKeyser | Alexey Marchenko |
| Brendan Smith | Jakub Kindl |
Goaltenders
| Petr Mrazek (starting) |
| Jimmy Howard |
Scratches: Jakub Kindl, Tomas Jurco
Injuries: Johan Franzen, Pavel Datsyuk, Brad Richards, Mike Green, Kyle Quincey
Power-play units:
1st Unit: Henrik Zetterberg, Gustav Nyquist, Justin Abdelkader (net-front), Niklas Kronwall, Jakub Kindl
2nd Unit: Tomas Tatar, Dylan Larkin, Teemu Pulkkinen, Riley Sheahan (net-front), Brendan Smith
Canucks Lineup
Forwards
| Daniel Sedin | Henrik Sedin | Radim Vrbata |
| Alexandre Burrows | Brandon Sutter | Jannik Hansen |
| Sven Baertschi | Bo Horvat | Jake Virtanen |
| Brandon Prust | Jared McCann | Derek Dorsett |
Defensemen
| Dan Hamhuis | Chris Tanev |
| Alexander Edler | Matt Bartkowski |
| Ben Hutton | Luca Sbisa |
Goaltenders
| Ryan Miller (starting) |
| Richard Bachman |
-
Fun facts!
Red Wings all-time record against Vancouver: 87-55-18-6
Red Wings goals for per game (GF/G) against Vancouver: 3.56
Red Wings goals against per game (GA/G) against Vancouver: 3.16
Data provided by hockeyreference.com
-
Players to Watch:
For Detroit:
Petr Mrazek
It's pretty clear that the team is still adjusting, and getting used to a new way of playing. They're getting outshot left and right. If that trend is to continue, then Mrazek is going to need to steal this game. The team needs their confidence back, and winning is the best way to do that.
For Vancouver:
Goons
We saw Calgary goon it up yesterday, and it changed the tone of the game. Usually I don't condone these things, but if someone is going to throw a questionable hit, someone needs to answer for it. Preferably by scoring a lot.
Key Match-ups:
Sedin Twins vs. Gustav Nyquist and Henrik Zetterberg
Usually this match-up would be between the Sedin Twins, and the Euro Twins, but we can't have that tonight (sad face.) Through seven games, the Sedins have combined for nine points. On the other side, Henrik Zetterberg and Gustav Nyquist have 15 combined points. The Sedins are a duo that can make plays off of complete utter, nonsensical, and brotherly chemistry. As usual, the top line will have their hands full now that the Canucks have a proven goal-scorer next to the Twins in Radim Vrbata.