It was an optional skate for the Wings this morning in Winnipeg. Quite frankly, it should’ve been a bag skate at the MTS Centre. I don’t care if they’re playing back-to-back. Last night was bad. Still no update on any lineup changes. Jeff Blashill is going to wait until before the game to make that call.
Coach Blashill says they’re still evaluating tonight’s line options. #DETvsWPG #LGRW pic.twitter.com/ak0HX4ywSU
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) December 29, 2015
Line Combinations
Red Wings Lineup
Forwards
| Justin Abdelkader | Henrik Zetterberg | Dylan Larkin |
| Brad Richards | Pavel Datsyuk | Darren Helm |
| Gus Nyquist | Riley Sheahan | Tomas Tatar |
| Joakim Andersson | Tomas Nosek | Tomas Jurco |
Defensemen
| Niklas Kronwall | Danny DeKeyser |
| Brendan Smith | Mike Green |
| Jakub Kindl | Alexey Marchenko |
Goaltenders
| Jimmy Howard |
| Petr Mrazek |
Scratches: Eric Tangradi, Luke Glendening (ill)
Injuries: Kyle Quincey, Johan Franzen, Drew Miller, Teemu Pulkkinen, Jonathan Ericsson
Jets Lineup
Forwards
| Drew Stafford | Bryan Little | Blake Wheeler |
| Andrew Ladd | Adam Lowry | Alex Burmistrov |
| Nikolaj Ehlers | Mathieu Perreault | Chris Thorburn |
| Matt Halischuk | Andrew Copp | Joel Armia |
Defensemen
| Jacob Trouba | Dustin Byfuglien |
| Tobias Enstrom | Tyler Myers |
| Mark Stuart | Ben Chiarot |
Goaltenders
| Connor Hellebuyck |
| Michael Hutchinson |
Fun Facts!
Red Wings all-time record against Atlanta/Winnipeg: 11-5-0-2
Red Wings goals for per game (GF/G) against the new Jets: 4.11
Red Wings goals against per game (GA/G) against the new Jets: 3.11
Key Matchups
Red Wings special teams vs Jets special teams
The Jets power play ranks 29th in the league and their penalty kill is 26th. They’re near the bottom of the league in both categories. The Wings are middle in the pack on the PP and 10th on the PK. Not outstanding by any means, but better than Winnipeg. Take advantage of this and the Wings could find themselves with 2 points.
Blake Wheeler vs Red Wings defense
I’ll admit, I don’t know much about the Jets. I do know that Wheeler is their leading scorer though. I think it’s key to not let him put up any points. He only has 10 goals, but 4 of them have come on special teams (2 PPG, 2 SHG). He seems like a threat in all areas of the game. The Wings defense should probably keep an eye on him.
