Time: 7:30 PM EST
Place: Little Caesars arena
TV: FS-Detroit, RDS, TSN2
Radio: 97.1 FM The Ticket/1270 AM
Canadiens Blog: Habs Eyes on the Prize
I’ll try and stay away from Trade Deadline reactions, but there is a lot to dissect going into tonight’s game vs. Montreal. First up, it will be the first game without Gustav Nyquist, and as of practice yesterday, AA will move to center the rest of the year. Secondly, Zadina will play his 2nd career NHL game and will be on AA’s line with Bertuzzi opposite him. Now for you Michiganders who missed his debut Sunday like me because of the big college hoops game, this will be your chance to see the former 6th overall pick in action. Lastly, Madison Bowey is set to make his Red Wings debut. Now I’m not quite sure who he will replace (Please be Ericsson), but Blashill has confirmed Bowey will play. The team has been on a 5-game losing streak and currently sits in 3rd place in the NHL (We need to tank, reverse standings time), but 6-points behind the Avalanche, er, Senators for 1st. With 19-games to go, it’s time to just buckle down and look for progress from the kids in hopes to build something for next year. The post-Nyquist era in Detroit starts tonight.
As for Montreal, they did not do anything super sexy at the deadline, which was the plan all along. The only move they made was acquiring 26-year-old center, Jordan Weal, from Arizona in exchange for Michael Chaput, which was nothing more than a depth move. They still hold on to the top Wild Card spot in the East and with young players in place, the Habs are currently are ahead of the curve that Marc Bergevin set for this team. However, hey have now dropped 2-straight, including last night to New Jersey, making it 6 of 8 for them as they try and turn things around. Max Domi is leading the way with 54 points and both Jonathan Drouin and Tomas Tatar sit in 2nd with 46 points. The 2nd of back-to-back games for Montreal tonight, but expect their best game as every point is crucial for them down the stretch as they cling to a playoff spot.
Projected Lines
Red Wings
Helm-Larkin-Mantha
Bert-AA-Zadina
LGD-Nielsen-Rasmussen
Abby-DLR-Witkowski
Kronwall-Green
DDK-Bowey (My guess is he’s in for Hronek because Blashill)
Daley-Ericsson
Jimmy Howard
Jonathan Bernier
Canadiens
Drouin-Danault-Gallagher
Tatar-Domi-Shaw
Byron-Kotkaniemi-Armia
Peca-Thompson/Weal-Lehkonen (Not sure where Weal goes but I’m sure it’d be the 4th line)
Mete-Weber
Reilly-Petry
Benn-Kulak
Price
Niemi
