Red Wings at Sharks: Gameday Updates, Line Combinations, Key Match-ups
Line Combinations
Red Wings Lineup
Forwards
| Gustav Nyquist | Henrik Zetterberg | Justin Abdelkader |
| Tomas Tatar | Pavel Datsyuk | Darren Helm |
| Dylan Larkin | Riley Sheahan | Brad Richards |
| Drew Miller | Luke Glendening | Tomas Jurco |
Defensemen
| Niklas Kronwall | Jonathan Ericsson |
| Danny DeKeyser | Alexey Marchenko |
| Brendan Smith | Mike Green |
Goaltenders
| Petr Mrazek (starting) |
| Jimmy Howard |
Scratches: Jakub Kindl, Joakim Andersson
Injuries: Teemu Pulkkinen (shoulder), Johan Franzen (concussion), Kyle Quincey (ankle)
Power-play units:
- Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Abdelkader (net front), Nyquist-Kronwall
- Tatar-Larkin-Sheahan (net front), Richards-Green
Sharks Lineup
Forwards
| Melker Karlsson | Joe Thornton | Joe Pavelski |
| Patrick Marleau | Logan Couture | Joel Ward |
| Matt Nieto | Tomas Hertl | Tommy Wingels |
| Joonas Donskoi | Dainius Zubrus | Mike Brown |
Defensemen
| Marc-Edouard Vlasic | Justin Braun |
| Paul Martin | Brent Burns |
| Brenden Dillon | Dylan DeMelo |
Goaltenders
| Martin Jones (starting) |
| Troy Grosenick |
Key Matchups
Special Teams
The Sharks clock in at 21.8% and 81.0% on their PP and PK respectively; the Wings are significantly worse at 18.1% and 79.4%. That doesn't bode well for Detroit tonight, but we'll see if the return of Drew Miller helps reverse the slide of the PK in particular. Overall, it's time to leave the bad special teams play in 2015 and get them both rolling into the latter half of the season.
Sharks Home Record vs Wings Road Record
The Sharks aren't good at home this year, winning less than a third of games played in San Jose (5-11-0). The Wings have a "meh" road record (9-5-3); however, they've won their last two at the SAP Center and it would be nice to see that continue. The players have already been quoted as excited for more team bonding on this trip, and what better way to do it than start off the California swing than with a nice win in a hostile building?
Red Wings' Battle with One-Goal Games
The Wings have played in 25 games that were decided by one goal and have a record of 15-3-7, which includes their most recent games against Buffalo and New Jersey as well as the loss to the Sharks earlier this season. While a win is a win and points are points in the grand scheme of things, it's a heck of a lot nicer to see the Wings get (and hold, for goodness sake) a multi-goal lead.