Just win, baby.
No, seriously.. Detroit needs to win this game. No excuses. It’s the best way to gain distance from the Boston Bruins before the Red Wings go head-to-head with them. The St. Louis Blues did us no favors last night. The Red Wings are very much in control of their own destiny at this point.
Who knows what could happen tonight. The Leafs could play the spoiler role, or they could play the “let’s tank this shit out” role and try to preserve the best possible shot at 1st overall. Not that it matters, Edmonton is getting Auston Matthews. That’s right, another promising hockey talent’s career is going to be ruined by the Oilers.
Did I point out how big this game is? Not as big as the next two, but still pretty damn important. Here are the (not-so) updated line combinations:
Line Combinations
Red Wings Forwards
| Justin Abdelkader | Henrik Zetterberg | Dylan Larkin |
| Darren Helm | Pavel Datsyuk | Brad Richards |
| Tomas Tatar | Riley Sheahan | Gustav Nyquist |
| Andreas Athanasiou | Luke Glendening | Anthony Mantha |
Red Wings Defensemen
| Danny DeKeyser | Kyle Quincey |
| Niklas Kronwall | Alexey Marchenko |
| Jonathan Ericsson | Mike Green |
Red Wings Goaltenders
| Jimmy Howard(starting) |
| Petr Mrazek |
Power Play units:
- Nyquist-Zetterberg-Larkin, Abdelkader (net front), Kronwall
- Tatar-Datsyuk-Mantha (net front), Richards, Green
Maple Leafs Forwards
| Michael Grabner | Nazem Kadri | Brad Boyes |
| Colin Greening | William Nylander | PA Parenteau |
| Tobias Lindberg | Tyler Bozak | Kaspery Kapanen |
| Brooks Laich | Frederik Gauthier | Byron Froese |
Maple Leafs Defensemen
| Morgan Rielly | Martin Marincin |
| Jake Gardiner | Frank Corrado |
| Andrew Campbell | TJ Brennan |
Maple Leafs Goaltenders
| Garret Sparks (starting) |
| Jonathan Bernier |
Mike Babcock
Listen, just let us take this one, Uncle Mike. You guys need a better draft pick, we want to win games and be happy.. Just do it you big dork.
Protecting the damn lead
The Red Wings didn’t blow their lead over the Wild last night, but they came pretty damn close. What gives? This has been the story all season long. Take the lead, and stop making it close for crying out loud.
Gustav Nyquist – Riley Sheahan – Tomas Tatar
This line was on fire last night. They’ll need to have a strong outing against whichever AHL players Toronto puts them against. Keep scoring, keep going. Be a reason the team still has life.
Fun Facts!
- If the Detroit Red Wings lose tonight, I am going to be very angry at the world./
