8:00p EST, Little Caesars Arena
Detroit, MI
TV: FS-D
Radio: 97.1 FM The Ticket // 1270 AM CBS Sports Radio
Sharks Blog: Fear the Fin
Welcome back from the All-Star Break and to the unofficial second half of the season. If I had to sum up the first 48 games for the Red Wings into one word it would be inconsistent. No one really expected this Red Wings roster to be a playoff team this year (and despite a lackluster Wild Card race in the East they are not) but we did hope for a more consistent one. Effort period to period, game to game has fluctuated between “All hopped up on Mountain Dew” to Post Thanksgiving meal. If there is one thing I would like to see from them the last 32 games of this season it is a more consistent effort. That is not to say there have not been some exciting moments and games so far as well. Here is hoping they will add to that list of exciting games tonight as they take on a former nemesis in the San Jose Sharks.
San Jose enters tonight’s game on the back end of a back-to-back, having lost last night in Pittsburgh. The Sharks currently sit in second place in the Pacific Division, eleven points behind the story of the NHL so far Vegas Golden Knights. Thy also come in without Joe Thornton’s beard, who will miss at least six weeks with a knee injury. Even without Thornton in the lineup, the Sharks are deep down the middle with Logan Couture, Joe Pavelski and Tomas Hertl sitting two, four, five in points for San Jose (Thornton is third). As expected the top point getter for the Sharks in the blue line half of the Beard Brothers, Brent Burns. Marc-Edouard Vlasic may not have the points Burns does but he is just as solid defensively and gives San Jose two very good blue liners to lead the back end. While the tandem of Martin Jones/Aaron Dell may not steal a lot of games for the Sharks they are very solid and will give them a chance to win on most nights. This is a team that has a lot of skill (especially down the middle) but also is not shy to play a physical game either.
The Red Wings will also look to welcome back three regulars to the lineup as they expect Justin Abdelkader, Darren Helm and Trevor Daley all to be in the lineup tonight. There has not been much about what the lines could look like, so this is my best guess right now. Stay tuned for the afternoon update for a better idea.
Predicted Lineups
DETROIT RED WINGS
Gustav Nyquist – Henrik Zetterberg – Anthony Mantha
Tyler Bertuzzi – Dylan Larkin – Andreas Athanasiou
Tomas Tatar – Frans Nielsen – Justin Abdelkader
Darren Helm – Luke Glendening – Martin Frk
Danny DeKeyser – Nick Jensen
Niklas Kronwall – Mike Green
Jonathan Ericsson – Trevor Daley
Jimmy Howard
Petr Mrazek
Scratches: Luke Witkowski
Injuries: Johan Franzen (LTIR)
SAN JOSE SHARKS
Timo Meier — Logan Couture — Kevin Labanc
Mikkel Boedker — Joe Pavelski — Chris Tierney
Melker Karlsson — Tomas Hertl — Joonas Donskoi
Marcus Sorensen — Barclay Goodrow — Joel Ward
Brent Burns — Joakim Ryan
Marc-Edouard Vlasic — Justin Braun
Brenden Dillon — Dylan DeMelo
Martin Jones
Aaron Dell
Scratched: Jannik Hansen, Daniel O’Regan, Tim Heed
Injured: Joe Thornton (knee)
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Game Day Prediction Contest
Would you like to predict the outcome of the game and potentially become internet famous? Well you’re in luck, because here’s your opportunity. Here’s how it works.
First off, if you don’t have an SBN Username, make one! We’d love to have you, plus it’s much easier to track your predictions season-long. Then make your guess on the winning team, final score, and who the Red Wings player of the game will be. Enter the required information into the form below using the formats indicated. If you don’t use those formats, your answers will be disregarded. All submissions are timestamped and will be accepted only until the official game start time. Only one submission per person, please. The Red Wings POTG will be determined by the collective of WiiM writers.
Each correct winning team prediction is worth 1 point. Each correct player of the game prediction is worth 3 points. Each correct final score prediction is worth 5 points. If you get all three correct, you’ll receive 15 points.
Good luck!
