Red Wings at Panthers: Gameday Updates
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) |
| Jared Coreau |
Power Play units:
- Nyquist-Zetterberg-Larkin, Abdelkader (net front), Kronwall
- Tatar-Datsyuk-Mantha (net front), Richards, Green
Panthers Line Combinations
Forwards
| Jonathan Huberdeau | Aleksander Barkov | Jaromir Jagr |
| Jussi Jokinen | Vincent Trocheck | Reilly Smith |
| Jiri Hudler | Nick Bjugstad | Teddy Purcell |
| Garrett Wilson | Greg McKegg | Logan Shaw |
Defensemen
| Dmitry Kulikov | Aaron Ekblad |
| Brian Campbell | Steven Kampfer |
| Jakub Kindl | Alex Petrovic |
Goaltenders
| Roberto Luongo (starting) |
| Al Montoya |
Keys to the Game:
Come out swinging
We've heard the adages about scoring first and leading after one, so I'll be Captain Obvious and say the Wings should try doing those things. The Panthers aren't exactly the Comeback Cats this season, so getting ahead early could prove to be the difference-maker. Plus it's much nicer to play with the lead, which the Wings haven't done much since... February? Oh no, it's worse than I thought.
Stay disciplined
The Panthers' power play isn't that much more intimidating than the limp noodle the Red Wings trot out every game, but it's not real nice to put the team on the penalty kill by taking stupid penalties. Take smart ones to make plays if you must, but none of this offensive zone slashing or obvious interference garbage.
Successfully kidnap Aaron Ekblad
A difficult mission to pull off, to be sure, but Ekblad and Dylan Larkin were all buddy-buddy at the All-Star Game in Nashville. Probably had something to do with the fact that they were the only two players there not old enough to drink. Promise the kid that he can meet his idol Nicklas Lidstrom if he just follows Larkin down this random dark hallway and boom! suddenly he's on Red Bird III with his new team. Besides, the Panthers don't really need Ekblad now that they have Jakub Kindl.
Fun Facts!
- The Red Wings are 18-6-5-6 (W-L-T-OTL) all-time in the regular season against the Panthers.
- Last 10 Games: Detroit 5-5-0, Florida 5-4-1
- Jimmy Howard is 2-2-2 in six career games against the Panthers, with a .911 SV% and 2.43 GAA./