Red Wings at Flames: Gameday Updates, Line Combinations, Key Match-ups
Line Combinations
Red Wings 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 | Mike Green |
| Kyle Quincey | Danny DeKeyser |
| Brendan Smith | Jonathan Ericsson |
Goaltenders
| Jimmy Howard (starting) |
| Petr Mrazek |
Scratches: Jakub Kindl, Tomas Jurco
Injuries: Johan Franzen, Pavel Datsyuk, Brad Richards
Power-play units:
1st Unit: Henrik Zetterberg, Gustav Nyquist, Justin Abdelkader (net-front), Niklas Kronwall, Mike Green
2nd Unit: Tomas Tatar, Dylan Larkin, Teemu Pulkkinen, Riley Sheahan (net-front), Brendan Smith
The Expected Flames Lineup
Forwards
| Johnny Gaudreau | Sean Monahan | Jiri Hudler |
| Michael Ferland | Mikael Backlund | Michael Frolik |
| Joe Colborne | Sam Bennett | David Jones |
| Mason Raymond | Matt Stajan | Josh Jooris |
Defensemen
| Mark Giordano | Dennis Wideman |
| Kris Russell | Deryk Engelland |
| Ladislav Smid | Dougie Hamilton |
Goaltenders
| Jonas Hiller (starting) |
| Joni Ortio |
Scratches: Brandon Bollig
Injuries: TJ Brodie, Lance Bouma
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Fun facts!
Red Wings all-time record against Calgary: 71-66-16-1
Red Wings goals for per game (GF/G) against Calgary: 3.23
Red Wings goals against per game (GA/G) against Calgary: 3.26
Data provided by hockeyreference.com
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Players to Watch:
For Detroit:
The 2nd Line
Tomas Tatar was able to score his first goal of the season against the Oilers. Tonight he will have two new linemates in Teemu Pulkkinen and Dylan Larkin. This is a line with a whole lot of offensive potential, and to be honest, I am amped that Larkin is centering his own line now. Let's get it.
For Calgary:
Johnny Gaudreau
Johnny Hockey. The fast, elusive, pint-sized forward in his sophomore season with the Flames. He's skilled, and after a Calder-caliber season last year, he's going to be a big part of the Flames offensive production night in, and night out. The Wings will have to keep him in check.
Key Match-ups:
Defense vs. Defense.
Like last game against Edmonton, we look to the defensive corps for both teams. Calgary's defensive pairings aren't very impressive, and the Red Wings' defense has been anything but effective so far in this young season. In theory, one needs to do better than the other tonight, so focus should shifted on playing defense fast, so you play offense fast. Jeff Blashill has made some significant changes to the pairings, as you can see - Green will now play top minutes with Kronwall, and Ericsson has been moved to the third pair with Smith, while Quincey moves back with his old partner in DeKeyser. Kindl sits this one out tonight.