Red Wings vs Penguins: Gameday Updates, Line Combinations, Key Matchups
We got some injury news after the Red Wings morning skate today, learning Jonathan Ericsson is ready to play tonight and Jakub Kind will be the healthy scratch. Kyle Quincey and Drew Miller also skated today, but the news I'm most excited about is this
Pulkkinen takes the ice near the end of the skate.
— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) December 31, 2015
We haven't heard much in the way of updates on Pulkkinen after he suffered a dislocated shoulder on December 3rd. He was projected to miss 6-8 weeks so he's not on the verge of returning, but it's good to hear some progress.
Here's your lineup for tonight's match up against the Penguins.
Line Combinations
Red Wings' Lineup
Forwards
| Justin Abdelkader | Henrik Zetterberg | Dylan Larkin |
| Brad Richards | Pavel Datsyuk | Darren Helm |
| Gustav Nyquist | Riley Sheahan | Tomas Tatar |
| Tomas Nosek | Luke Glendening | Tomas Jurco |
Defensemen
| Niklas Kronwall | Mike Green |
| Jonathan Ericsson | Danny DeKeyser |
| Brendan Smith | Alexey Marchenko |
Goaltenders
| Petr Mrazek |
| Jimmy Howard |
Power Play: Unit #1 Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Abdelkader (net front), Nyquist-Kronwall
Unit #2 Tatar-Larkin-Sheahan (net front), Richards-Green
Scratches: Joakim Andersson, Jakub Kindl
Injuries: Johan Franzen, Teemu Pulkkinen, Drew Miller, Jonathan Ericsson, Kyle Quincey
Pittsburgh's Expected Lineup
Forwards
| Chris Kunitz | Sidney Crosby | Conor Sheary |
| David Perron | Evgeny Malkin | Patric Hornqvist |
| Scott Wilson | Nick Bonino | Phil Kessel |
| Kevin Porter | Matt Cullen | Eric Fehr |
Defensemen
| Olli Maatta | Kris Letang |
| Brian Dumoulin | Ben Lovejoy |
| Ian Cole | Trevor Daley |
Goaltenders
| Jeff Zatkoff |
| Matt Murray |
Fun Facts!
Red Wings all-time record against Pittsburgh: 65-60-16-4
Red Wings goals for per game (GF/G) against the Pens: 3.41
Red Wings goals against per game (GA/G) against the Pens: 3.45
Key Matchups
Detroit's struggling defense vs Pittsburgh's top heavy offense
Pittsburgh's saving grace is that they have a top heavy offense corps of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Phil Kessel. The Wings defense will have a tall order to try and contain those three players, and if the Penguins keep Crosby, Malkin, and Kessel on different lines, no Wings defense pairing will get an "easy" line.
Detroit's forecheck vs Pittsburgh's defense
The Penguins don't have a good puck moving defense and if the Red Wings use an aggressive forecheck on them and really turn on the pressure, they should be able to capitalize on Pittsburgh's mistake-prone defensemen. Go after the opponent's weakness, be relentless, force them to make mistakes, then make them pay for them.