The Detroit Red Wings continue their quest to obtain home-ice advantage during the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs when they host the Columbus Blue Jackets this evening at the Joe Louis Arena. (7:30 pm ET, FS Detroit)
Columbus comes into this home-and-home series with the Red Wings licking their wounds from an embarrassing 6-3 home-ice loss yesterday afternoon that all but assured the Jackets of likely owning the most ping-pong balls when the NHL holds their draft lottery on April 10th for the top pick in this June's Entry Draft.
Detroit heads into tonight's contest looking to continue to regain momentum from the final 24 minutes of Saturday night's 5-4 victory over Carolina. More importantly, the Wings are hoping to garner the full four points from this home-and-home series with Columbus prior to Friday night's showdown with the Nashville Predators.
Tonight, they'll again turn to recent call-up
Ty Conklin, who has been better thus far in his second stint this season as a Red Wing goaltender. It was announced today at the morning skate that
Jimmy Howard is targeting Friday night vs. Nashville as his return date. He's taken shots in the past two practices and feels he should be ready to go with a couple more practices under his belt.
Countering Ty Conklin in goal for Columbus will be Steve Mason, who will be looking to get rid of the bitter taste of allowing 5 goals on 26 shots yesterday in less than two periods of play.
No notable changes in the lineup for Detroit from Saturday night's group. Defenseman
Jonathan Ericsson said he hopes to play Wednesday at Columbus, returning from a fractured left wrist. Winger
Johan Franzen said there’s a chance he could play Wednesday, or more likely on Friday at home against Nashville.
Gustav Nyquist will once again join
Pavel Datsyuk and
Todd Bertuzzi in place of Franzen. Considering Nyquist's play of late since returning from Grand Rapids, he will make sitting him out of the lineup come playoff time a difficult proposition for Coach Mike Babcock to contemplate.
For Columbus, the Blue Jackets will be without James Wisniewski (concussion-like symptoms) and Derek MacKenzie (concussion), who both missed Sunday's game against Edmonton and did not make the trip to Detroit.
Even with the Red Wings being able to mathematically qualify for the playoffs this evening with a point, every single point earned remains crucial. A win tonight and Detroit can continue to maintain the slimmest of leads over Nashville in the race for 4th place in the conference and home-ice in their likely head-to-head matchup in Round 1 of the postseason.
And we all know how vital home-ice advantage could be if the series extends to a seventh and deciding game.
Detroit Red Wings projected lineup:
Bertuzzi-Datsyuk-Nyquist
Filppula-Zetterberg-Hudler
Cleary-Abdelkader-Miller
Holmstrom-Emmerton-Mursak
Lidstrom-White
Stuart-Kronwall
Quincey-Kindl
Conklin
Pearce
Columbus Blue Jackets projected lineup:
Umberger-Brassard-Atkinson
Prospal-Letestu-Nash
Russell-Johansen-Dorsett
Gillies-Boyce-Boll
J. Johnson-Savard
Lebda-Nikitin
A. Johnson-Moore
Mason
York
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Congratulations go out to Detroit's two 2nd round picks in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, as both defensemen
Xavier Ouellet and
Ryan Sproul signed three-year entry level contracts with the Red Wings on Sunday.
Courtesy of the club's press release:
Ouellet, 18, has skated with the Montreal Juniors/Blainville-Boisbriand Armada (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League) franchise for the past two seasons where he has recorded 103 points (29G-74) and a rating of +43 in 130 career appearances. Selected by Detroit in the second round (48th overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, Ouellet was a member of Team Orr at the 2011 CHL Home Hardware Top Prospects Game, played at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre.
Montreal’s first choice (14th overall) at the 2009 QMJHL Entry Draft, Ouellet was named to the QMJHL All-Rookie Team in 2009-10 and represented his home province of Quebec at the 2010 World U-17 Hockey Challenge in Ontario. Currently competing in the President’s Cup Playoffs with Blainville-Boisbriand, Ouellet finished third amongst all QMJHL defensemen with 60 points (21G-39A) in 63 appearances during the 2011-12 regular season.
Detroit’s third selection (second round, 55th overall) at last summer’s NHL draft, Sproul, 19, has spent the last two seasons with the Ontario Hockey League’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds where he has amassed 37G-50A-87P-89PIM in 122 games played. The 6’4”, 185-lb. blue-liner was chosen by Sault Ste. Marie in the sixth round (108th overall) of the 2009 OHL Priority Selection Draft after enjoying a standout season with Vaughn Kings of the Greater Toronto Hockey League in 2008-09.
A native of Mississauga, ON, Sproul was a member of the Ontario Hockey’s League’s Second All-Rookie Team in 2010-11 and was named the Greyhounds’ top defenseman in 2011-12 after finishing tied for third amongst all OHL rearguards with 54 points (23G-31A) in 61 games.
Both prospects will likely return to their junior clubs next season with the goal of competing for a spot on Canada's National Junior Team.
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Courtesy of Sarah Lindenau, we hear that Sproul along with fellow draft picks
Alan Quine (3rd round 2011) and
Adam Almquist will
join the Grand Rapids Griffins on an amateur try-out basis, joining
Riley Sheahan (1st round 2010) and
Radis Sadikov (free agent)
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