#RedWings Blashill was in Colorado for the memorial service for @usahockey‘s Jim Johansson but will be back in time for tonight’s game vs. #Blackhawks.
— Dana Wakiji (@Dwakiji) January 25, 2018
Phone was out of power….here are few updates from practice: Howard starting tonight in net; Abdelkader/Helm (lower body) both aiming to return Wednesday vs. San Jose #RedWings
— Ted Kulfan (@tkulfan) January 25, 2018
Sorry about the phone, Teddy.
Trevor Daley (lower body injury) on the ice at the end of the skate. He’s hoping to return first game after All-Star break, Wednesday vs. @SanJoseSharks
— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) January 25, 2018
Here are projected lines from Second City Hockey
Forwards
Brandon Saad – Jonathan Toews – Anthony Duclair
Patrick Sharp – Nick Schmaltz – Patrick Kane
Alex DeBrincat – Artem Anisimov – Ryan Hartman
Tomas Jurco – David Kampf – Vinnie Hinostroza
Defense
Duncan Keith – Jordan Oesterle
Erik Gustaffson – Brent Seabrook
Michal Kempny – Connor Murphy
Goalies
Starting- Anton Forsberg, Jeff Glass
Lines originally dug up for Tuesday’s game from Red Wings’ Twitter’s good friend, Ansar Khan
Nyquist-Zetterberg-Mantha
Athanasiou-Larkin-Bertuzzi
Tatar-Nielsen-Turgeon (?)
Frk- Glendening-Witkowski (?)
DeKeyser-Jensen
Kronwall-Green
Ericsson-Ouellet
Jimmy Howard, Petr Mrazek
Key Match Ups
I Do Duclair
Would I be a contributor for WIIM if I passed up a pun? But I mean really, the addition of Anthony Duclair was an interesting one by the Blackhawks who continue to reload on the fly. They’ve allowed OHL scoring legend Alex DeBrincat ease right into their lineup while having others like Vinny Hinostoza and Ryan Hartman fill out the grimier portions of their bottom six. So far in only four games Duclair hasn’t made much of an impact with only 1 assist, but they’re showing faith putting him on the top line with Toews and Saad. Trading Richard Panik to get the young winger out of Arizona was a move considered to help all parties involved. Give the obviously talented Duclair a fresh start, and maybe kick Saad and Toews in their heels while they’re possibly too comfy with the old band being back together.
Okay We’re Out Of Frk Puns
Martin Frk continues to be one of the more intriguing players to me. I love his physical make up, and obviously his shot is something to behold. So where does he exactly fit in on this roster? If he could hit the net, he’d probably have 15 goals by now. I wouldn’t care if they were all on the power play. Against the Flyers he was banished to Garbage Island flanking Witkowski, and while his center Glendening managed two assists that game, he had under 8 minutes of ice time and only 1 shot. I didn’t notice him once. That can’t happen when you have a player with his shot. The Red Wings are a bunch of misfit toys that can be cobbled together into something fun. That’s why on a rare night they can score 5 goals and the power play works. Those are the nights Frk is engaged in the line up and playing with Larkin. Possibly his even strength role is being undercut by Bertuzzi, but you still need that shot firing at some point during the game. Chicago struggles on special teams, get him going tonight.
Bertuzzi Is Fun. Let’s Enjoy It!
We seem to be embrace this Tyler Bertuzzi kid and it’s what this season desperately needed. I frankly don’t care about wins at this point. I’ve been #teamtank since around this point last season. I’m a proponent of a young team that plays aggressive, takes chances, learns from mistakes and is fun to watch. That doesn’t necessarily mean the Sabres or Coyotes, but it can mean players like Bertuzzi playing with Larkin and Athanasiou. While Lil’ Bert missed three hair pulling scoring opportunities in the third period vs. the Flyers, I’ll take the set up on those plays and him being in position. In a way it is a loser’s mentality but this team has to lose before it can win again and for right now I’d rather they lose with players like Bertuzzi….and Joe Hicketts, but, well, I guess we just have to keep waiting for that don’t we?
