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GAMEDAY: Red Wings vs. Blues

January 19, 2013, 10:08 AM ET [52 Comments]
Mark Spizzirri
Detroit Red Wings Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
And away we go…..

After an autumn and winter full of learning too much about union proceedings, #DregerFace, disclaimers of interest, the Fehr brothers and “the hill the NHL would die on”, the National Hockey League finally returns to game action by dropping the puck today to commence their second lockout-shortened season in league history.

The last time their was a 48-game season due to a work stoppage (1994-95), the Detroit Red Wings finished atop the league standings with a 33-11-4 record to win the Presidents’ Trophy and reached their first Stanley Cup Final in 40 years. Unfortunately for the Wings in the Final, they were dispatched in four games by the New Jersey Devils of Martin Brodeur and Scott Stevens.

Much has changed since then for the NHL landscape, namely the salary cap and overtime/shootout losses to help narrow the gap between teams and create league-wide parity. Last year’s Stanley Cup Finals had the 8th seed in the Western Conference, the Los Angeles Kings, defeating the 6th seed in the Eastern Conference, the New Jersey Devils, to win its first ever Stanley Cup.

Despite the much larger group of teams that are capable of winning the Stanley Cup in comparison to the 1995 season, one interesting stat to note from that lockout-shortened year is just how critical the opening 10 games will be in this 48-game season. During 1995, only 1 team that was not in a playoff spot after the 10 game mark, made the playoffs that season. With the addition of the “three point game” and the conference-only schedule, the thinking is that this season will likely follow a similar path and make it extremely difficult for slow starters to claw their way out of a hole.

The Red Wings commence their “race” to a spot in the Stanley Cup playoff lottery with a clash against their Central Division rival St. Louis Blues. The Blues enjoyed a renaissance last season under coach Ken Hitchcock, winning their first Central Division crown since 2000 and making the conference semi-finals in the postseason before succumbing to the Kings in four games.

This is the first of five regular season meetings between the two teams this season. They will meet again in St. Louis on February 7th, while the Red Wings are slated to host the Blues at the Joe Louis Arena on February 1st, February 13th and April 7th.

The Red Wings begin their A.L. (After Lidstrom) era with some question marks of their own. While the goaltending position appears to be a strength as the Wings hope to emulate St. Louis’ success of having two strong goaltenders in Jimmy Howard and newcomer Jonas Gustavsson, the “defense by committee” will be a new approach for Mike Babcock and the Red Wings. Former Blue Carlo Colaiacovo, if healthy, should form a capable pairing alongside his good friend Ian White. Jonathan Ericsson will be asked to continue to elevate his status as a potential Brad Stuart clone by playing alongside Niklas Kronwall and being a primary penalty killer for the Red Wings.

The most likely source of new offense from the Wings blueline will likely come from Brendan Smith. Paired alongside Kyle Quincey, it would not surprise to see Smith eventually get some power-play time on the 2nd unit as the season wears on given his offensive talent.

Up front the Wings are eager to see what newcomer Damien Brunner can do playing alongside Zetterberg and Datsyuk. The early returns appear to be positive through the opening week of practice, but Red Wing fans will only be concerned with his production during games. If his transition to the North American rink and style of play is seamless, Mike Babcock may have finally gotten the Top 6 forward he has longed for over the past couple seasons ever since the departure of Marian Hossa. The Wings are also hopeful veteran Mikael Samuelsson can provide some offensive punch alongside Filppula and Franzen on the 2nd line, while Jordin Tootoo should be able to provide some much needed “bite” to the 4th line alongside Justin Abdelkader.

However, with the new additions to the lineup, the Red Wings face a problem most NHL teams will be dealing with this weekend. Without the safety net of an exhibition schedule to “work out the kinks” and adjust to the changes to the lineup,

One early obstacle the Red Wings will have to overcome in getting out to that quick start every team desires in this short season are the injuries incurred during the abbreviated training camp. Darren Helm has battled a bad back for the past week and is not expected to play until Friday night at the earliest. **UPDATED** Todd Bertuzzi has been diagnosed with mononucleosis and could miss several weeks. Jakub Kindl is also dealing with a groin issue and is listed as day-to-day.

Another early season obstacle for Detroit will be the St. Louis Blues, whom the Red Wings play four times through their first 13 contests. Not only are the Blues a popular pick by many hockey observers to contend for the Western Conference title and the Stanley Cup, but they also return a cohesive lineup largely intact from last season that relies heavily on their defensive play. Under Hitchcock, the Blues strong defensive play enabled both goaltenders Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliott to post 15 shutouts between them last season. Friday’s signing of veteran rearguard Wade Redden should only enhance their depth on the blueline.

Furthermore, the Blues have a wide array of offensive talent both up front and on the blueline that should only continue to grow given their youth, talent level and additions of highly touted forward prospects Vladimir Tarasenko and Jaden Schwartz.

Tonight’s contest begins at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time. It will be broadcast locally on Fox Sports Detroit, with Ken Daniels and Larry Murphy bringing you the call,while Ken Kal and Paul Woods can be heard on the Detroit radio feed available locally on 97.1 FM The Ticket or 1270 AM.

Projected Starting Lineups (subject to change)

DETROIT RED WINGS

Pavel Datsyuk - Henrik Zetterberg - Damien Brunner
Johan Franzen - Valteri Filppula - Mikael Samuelsson
Daniel Cleary - Justin Abdelkader - Jan Mursak
Drew Miller - Cory Emmerton - Jordin Tootoo

Niklas Kronwall - Jonathan Ericsson
Kyle Quincey - Brendan Smith
Carlo Colaiacovo - Ian White

Jimmy Howard
[Jonas Gustavsson]


ST. LOUIS BLUES

David Perron - David Backes - T. J. Oshie
Andy MacDonald - Patrik Berglund - Chris Stewart
Alex Steen - Vladimir Sobotka - Vladimir Tarasenko
Matt D’Agostini - Scott Nichol - Jamie Langenbrunner

Ian Cole - Alex Pietrangelo
Barrett Jackman - Kevin Shattenkirk
Kris Russell - Roman Polak

Jaroslav Halak
[Brian Elliott]


************************************************************************

It seems like a fruitless exercise attempting to make a prediction on the Stanley Cup winner in this era of the NHL. Nevertheless, I got my dartboard out in order to make my Stanley Cup prediction for this summer...

I’ll take the New York Rangers to defeat the Vancouver Canucks to become your 2013 Stanley Cup Champion.

In addition, after much consideration, I believe the Detroit Red Wings will extend their post-season streak to 21 consecutive seasons as the 6th seed in the Western Conference.


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