We’ve got ourselves an optional morning skate in Tampa, so we’re just assuming nothing has changed in the lineup since Saturday’s win in Florida.
Two goalies, Jurco, Pulkkinen, Ericsson, Marchenko, Larkin, Mantha and Athanasiou on ice for the #RedWings optional skate at Amalie Arena.
— The Wheel Deal (@Bill_Roose) March 22, 2016
Line Combinations
Forwards
| Justin Abdelkader | Henrik Zetterberg | Dylan Larkin |
| Darren Helm | Pavel Datsyuk | Anthony Mantha |
| Tomas Tatar | Riley Sheahan | Gustav Nyquist |
| Andreas Athanasiou | Luke Glendening | Brad Richards |
Defensemen
| Danny DeKeyser | Kyle Quincey |
| Brendan Smith | Mike Green |
| Niklas Kronwall | Jonathan Ericsson |
Goaltenders
| Jimmy Howard (starting) |
| Petr Mrazek |
Power Play units:
- Nyquist-Zetterberg-Larkin, Abdelkader (net front), Kronwall
- Tatar-Datsyuk-Mantha (net front), Richards, Green
Lightning Line Combinations
Forwards
| Alex Killorn | Steven Stamkos | Nikita Kucherov |
| Ondrej Palat | Tyler Johnson | Jonathan Marchessault |
| Cedric Paquette | Vladislav Namestnikov | J.T. Brown |
| Mike Blunden | Brian Boyle | Erik Condra |
Defensemen
| Anton Stralman | Victor Hedman |
| Jason Garrison | Andrej Sustr |
| Braydon Coburn | Nikita Nesterov |
Goaltenders
| Ben Bishop (starting) |
| Andrei Vasilevskiy |
Keys to the Game:
Start hot, continue hot, finish hot
I know that the concept of “playing a full 60 minutes” is basically meaningless because a lot of times, a team might look like it’s not playing for a period because the other team is playing way better than they are. So, I guess I’ll amend this to say that the Red Wings could really use a game where those stretches where they look like they’re not even trying are as short as possible.
Play the body
The Bolts have a lot of speed as a team and transition well. Playing stick-swipe at guys trying to leave their own zone between the blue lines and the tops of the circles is how many odd-man rushes form. Wings players have been better at it of late, but you don’t have to be a huge guy to keep between your guy and your own net on the backcheck.
Keep doing the power play thing
The Wings have scored two goals on the power play in the same game one time in March. This is an opportunity to better that number. The Wings have been good at holding their own 5-on-5, but when the opportunity to take advantage of the other team’s lapses in discipline presents itself, you have to be ready to take it. I think the Wings will need to run the power play much more from the half-wall and down low because I’m worried about the team speed taking advantage of relatively slow point men on the Wings’ PP units.
Fun Facts!
- Valtteri Filppula is a Finnish name meaning “Parkour Vampire”
- I’ve said that Andrej Sustr sucks for a long time, but the Wings have never really taken advantage of him and now he might actually be getting kinda good. Way to waste an opportunity.
- Bendy straws are an acceptable way to drink anything that is fruit-flavored and/or chocolate milk. You may also poke a hole in the bottom of a Capri Sun and use the lower rim to make a cup. Just be aware that this makes setting the pouch down basically impossible, so you better be ready to finish that sucker off before you get back to your water balloon fight.
