Big Game.
The Red Wings will enter game four with the same lineup that brought them success in game three. Jeff Blashill was mulling over the idea of bringing Teemu Pulkkinen into the lineup for some firepower on the power play, but decided to stick with what he had. Pulkkinen, Jurco, and Quincey will stay as healthy scratches.
The key match-up is going to be the same as it was in the last game. Detroit needs to neutralize Tyler Johnson’s line, and it looks like the line of Glendening, Abdelkader, and Sheahan will receive the task of doing so. They held them shot-less in game three, so if they can come close to replicating that again, the odds are in our favor.
What can the Red Wings do to fix the power play? They need to move the puck quicker, they need to stop dilly-dallying on the perimeter, and they need to get that puck on net. Ben Bishop will let up rebounds, so they need to make it their business to clean up any loose garbage in those high-danger areas.
Tampa had a very optional skate today with about eight skaters, and both goalies. It’s safe to assume they’ll roll out the same lineup.
Here are the lineups confirmed from the morning skate:
Forwards
| Gustav Nyquist | Henrik Zetterberg | Dylan Larkin |
| Darren Helm | Pavel Datsyuk | Brad Richards |
| Tomas Tatar | Joakim Andersson | Andreas Athanasiou |
| Justin Abdelkader | Luke Glendening | Riley Sheahan |
Defensemen
| Danny DeKeyser | Alexey Marchenko |
| Jonathan Ericsson | Niklas Kronwall |
| Brendan Smith | Mike Green |
Goaltenders
| Petr Mrazek (starting) |
| Jimmy Howard |
Power Play units:
- Nyquist-Zetterberg-Larkin, Abdelkader (net front), Kronwall
- Tatar-Datsyuk-Sheahan (net front), Richards, Green
Lightning Lineups
Forwards
| Alex Killorn | Tyler Johnson | Nikita Kucherov |
| Ondrej Palat | Valtteri Filppula | Jonathan Drouin |
| Erik Condra | Cedric Paquette | Ryan Callahan |
| Brian Boyle | Vladislav Namestnikov | Mike Blunden |
Defensemen
| Victor Hedman | Matthew Carle |
| Jason Garrison | Andrej Sustr |
| Nikita Nesterov | Braydon Coburn |
Goaltenders
| Ben Bishop (starting) |
| Andrei Vasilevskiy |
Key Matchups:
Red Wings must maintain composure
Tampa is going to do their damnedest to get under Detroit’s skin and make them take unnecessary penalties. The Wings need to let them try and watch them fail. I assume Brian Boyle is going to come out and try to goon it up somehow.
Bring the pain on the PP
The Red Wings have been woefully insufficient on the power play. They’re having trouble creating space. If they want to make some real noise, then it’s imperative that it starts clicking. If Tampa starts taking penalties, and the team can’t capitalize, there needs to be adjustments made in-game.
