Detroit Red Wings (17-18-5) at Chicago Blackhawks (26-12-5) 8:30PM Eastern/7:30 Central WGN/Fox Sports Detroit
PROBABLE GOALIES:
Detroit, Petr Mrazek Chicago, Corey Crawford
STATS:
GOALS FOR/AGAINST Detroit 2.38/2.88 Chicago 2.74/2.40
POWER PLAY Detroit 11.2% Chicago 18.5%
PENALTY KILL Detroit 83.2% Chicago 76.1%
SHOTS FOR/AGAINST Detroit 28.9/30.4 Chicago 29.1/31.1
NOTES: What was once a huge rivalry game has pretty much lost its excitement. Not too long ago, the Wings were a Western Conference powerhouse and the puck possession/transition model the Blackhawks were built on, but they are now a mediocre Eastern Conference team—and the 4th team the Hawks have hosted in a row that they should beat.
The rumor mill is heating up a bit, especially with regard to the potential for cap-reducing trades of veteran contracts next summer, while the Hawks are also in full exploration mode on an upgrade to their forward ranks prior to the trade deadline.
I will have a recap on the game and a bit more on possible trades tomorrow.
All for now,
JJ