Game Day Updates
Following last night’s game, Jeff Blashill announced the passing of long time team masseur “Cheeka”. Thoughts and prayers to his friends and family.
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) February 20, 2021
UPDATE: Defenseman Alex Biega has been assigned to the #RedWings taxi squad.
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) February 20, 2021
So it looks like Biega won’t be among any changes to the lineup.
Elmer Söderblom meets Moritz Seider. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/AmJL1xrBGm
— IcehockeyGifs (@IcehockeyG) February 20, 2021
Seider can’t arrive soon enough. Soderblom too, he just happens to be on the wrong end here.
Good morning!!
We love ‘em so much, we decided to bring our #ReverseRetro jerseys on the road with us for tonight.
See ya at 5pm! 😻 #FLAvsDET pic.twitter.com/gk4zFOJkZ1
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) February 20, 2021
The Wings still haven’t announced when they’ll be wearing theirs. Maybe in the playoffs…
Lineups
Detroit
Forwards
Filip Zadina – Dylan Larkin – Anthony Mantha
Mathias Brome – Robby Fabbri – Bobby Ryan
Frans Nielsen – Valtteri Filppula – Sam Gagner
Darren Helm – Luke Glendening – Adam Erne
Defense
Jon Merrill – Filip Hronek
Marc Staal – Troy Stecher
Patrik Nemeth – Christian Djoos
Goalies
Jonathan Bernier
Thomas Greiss
Florida
Forwards
Carter Verhaeghe – Aleksander Barkov – Anthony Duclair
Jonathan Huberdeau – Alexander Wennberg – Patric Hornqvist
Frank Vatrano – Eetu Luostarinen – Owen Tippett
Ryan Lomberg – Juho Lammikko – Brett Connolly
Defense
MacKenzie Weegar – Aaron Ekblad
Gustav Forsling – Anton Stralman
Keith Yandle – Radko Gudas
Goalies
Sergei Bobrovsky
Chris Driedger
Keys to the Game
1. Come Out Strong
After a particularly bad game like that, Detroit absolutely has to come out with energy. Ideally they need to score the first goal early to shake off last night’s game and get some positive momentum going. But even if they can’t, just sending an early message that today won’t be easy for Florida is critical.
2. Let’s Go Big Guns
Yesterday the goal’s game from Bobby Ryan and a friendly bounce on a Filppula shot. For what it’s worth Fabbri had a pair of assists, and Larkin had one of his own. But the Wings need a lot more than that. They need the guys they count on to score to deliver. Between Mantha, Larkin, and even Zadina should they remain a line, need to have a outburst today. Collectively for these three, the points have been hard to come by lately. It’s time for any one of them to get hot, as Detroit desperately needs them to in order to ever score enough to win games.
3. Bernier Needs a Big, Game-Stealing Performance
Florida, not expected to be a strong team this year, is off to an 11-2-2 start for a reason. They’re making the most of what they have and plan to continue riding this early season surge. What it will likely take to beat them is a big time game from the goaltender. Enter Jonathan Bernier. What he was able to do for the majority of last season deserves heavy merit. But we haven’t quite seen that from him this year yet in his limited appearances due to injury. He’s been alright, gives the Wings a chance to win most times he’s in there, as his record shows. But he hasn’t delivered a 1st star level game yet. It’s not fair to put this on him, but with the Wings slumping in the worst way, they could use a boost from some show-stopping saves to help tilt the ice the other way.
