Red Wings at Sharks: GDU, Lineups, Keys to the Game

Joshua Pickering

• 3 min read Front Page

Game Day Updates

Lineups

Detroit

Forwards

Tyler Bertuzzi - Dylan Larkin - Anthony Mantha
Robby Fabbri - Valtteri Filppula - Andreas Athanasiou
Taro Hirose - Frans Nielsen - Brendan Perlini
Darren Helm - Luke Glendening - Adam Erne

Defense

Dennis Cholowski - Mike Green
Dylan McIlrath - Madison Bowey
Alex Biega - Jonathan Ericsson

Goalies

Jimmy Howard
Jonathan Bernier

San Jose

Forwards

Evander Kane - Logan Couture - Kevin Labanc
Timo Meier - Tomas Hertl - Barclay Goodrow
Marcus Sorensen - Joe Thornton - Patrick Marleau
Lukas Radil - Dylan Gambrell - Melker Karlsson

Defense

Radim Simek - Brent Burns
Marc-Edouard Vlasic - Erik Karlsson
Brenden Dillon - Mario Ferraro

Goalies

Martin Jones
Aaron Dell

Keys to the Game

1.  Manage the Damage

With the way the big guns for the San Jose Sharks are producing right now it’s not fair to expect the Red Wings to be able to shut down the big guns in Hertl (21 pts), Kane (18 pts), Couture (18 pts), Burns (19 pts), Karlsson (15 pts), and company. This is especially true given the state of the back end right now without Hronek, DeKeyser, and Nemeth. In an already thin position the Wings have had to go to the well returning Jonathan Ericsson and other Grand Rapids mainstays to the lineup. If the Wings can even slow down the San Jose fire power, it’ll be considered a success and give them a chance to keep this one within striking distance.

One option to slow the Sharks down will be to try to rattle Kane early. He seems like the kind of player who can be knocked off his game and get suckered into the scrums. Bertuzzi makes a good candidate to try and get Kane spinning, but his scoring will be needed. This game marks a perfect opportunity for Glendening to jump back into the lineup and get right under the opponent’s skin.

2. Make the Opportunities Count

The Red Wings may have bit of trouble keeping up in this one given the aforementioned weapons San Jose has. But if the Detroit’s big boys come to play and attack a reeling Martin Jones, they may not have to out-chance the Sharks to run away with a win to close out this west coast swing. Jones’ 3.27 GAA, .888 Sv% has been the Sharks biggest weakness to start the season and the Wings need to take advantage of that. This game has the makings of one that take 5 or more to win. Between the dynamic Bertuzzi, Larkin, Mantha trio and Athanasiou beginning to break loose might be able to chase Jones in this one by testing him from all angles whenever a chance for a shot arises.

3. Big Goaltending Performance

Martin Jones won’t be the only goaltender in this contest who’s faced early season struggles. Jimmy Howard, the presumed starter tonight, has had a rough season with a .887 Sv% and a 3.99 GAA. He’s looked especially shaky in his last few starts. But Bernier’s taken over between the pipes for the last week giving Howard a chance to regain his composure and work out any bugs in his game. Jimmy’s capable of the occasional show-stealing display and tonight serves as a good time for him to serve one of those up to remind people what he can do. If Howard can come up with a few big saves, and eliminate the weak ones he’s given up lately, the Wings chances to leave California with 5 out of 6 possible points will be high.