Red Wings at Islanders: Gameday Updates, Line Combinations, Key Matchups
Red Wings Lineups
Forwards
| Dylan Larkin | Henrik Zetterberg | Justin Abdelkader |
| Brad Richards | Pavel Datsyuk | Darren Helm |
| Gustav Nyquist | Riley Sheahan | Tomas Tatar |
| Tomas Jurco | Luke Glendening | Teemu Pulkkinen |
Defensemen
| Kyle Quincey | Danny DeKeyser |
| Brendan Smith | Mike Green |
| Jonathan Ericsson | Alexey Marchenko |
Goaltenders
| Petr Mrazek (starting) |
| Jimmy Howard |
Blashill said lineup decisions on Tangradi and Jensen will be made a game time because a couple of players are banged up and questionable.
— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) January 25, 2016
Power Play units:
- Nyquist-Zetterberg-Datsyuk, Abdelkader (net front), Green
- Tatar-Larkin-Sheahan (net front), Pulkkinen, DeKeyser
Islanders Lineups
Forwards
| Mikhail Grabovski | John Tavares | Ryan Strome |
| Nikolay Kulemin | Frans Nielsen | Kyle Okposo |
| Anders Lee | Brock Nelson | Josh Bailey |
| Matt Martin | Casey Cizikas | Cal Clutterbuck |
Defensemen
| Calvin DeHaan | Travis Hamonic |
| Brian Strait | Nick Leddy |
| Thomas Hickey | Marek Zidlicky |
Goaltenders
| Jaroslav Halak (starting) |
| Thomas Greiss |
Key Matchups:
Third Line Showdown
The Nyquist-Sheahan-Tatar line is a slight variation on the Kid Line from two games ago, but has had nearly the same level of dominant puck possession as the version with Jurco. Brock Nelson, the Islanders' 3C, leads his team in goals. If the coaches decide to match these so-called third lines tonight, we could be in for a very interesting battle of wills. Plus, if the combination of Sheahan and Tatar can get Jurco back to looking like himself, I'm sure they can get the frozen Goose to be #Loosed once more.
Continuing Power Play Woes
Our own Prashanth wrote this great illustrative piece on the Red Wings' zone entries on the power play and why the team has been struggling compared to last season, with the promise of more to come on in-zone play. With the Islanders having the second-best penalty kill in the league going up against the dismal power play of the Wings, we should expect Detroit to go 3 of 4 on power play opportunities tonight, just because.
The Barclays Center vs. Islanders Fans
I'm sure you've heard about some of the problems with playing hockey at the Barclays Center. The scoreboard is horrifically off-center, the seating capacity is reduced to less than 16,000 seats, and there are an estimated 4,000 of those with obstructed views. Seriously, there are some poor fans out there watching games where they can't see one of the goals the entire game. Ouch.
Fun Facts!
- The Red Wings are 48-44-6-5 (W-L-T-OTL) all-time in the regular season against the Islanders.
- Last 10 Games: Detroit 6-3-1, New York 6-3-1
- Petr Mrazek has never started a game against the Islanders, but has appeared in 4 games and has a .882 SV% and 3.02 GAA.