WING THINGS
The Wings will go for their fourth consecutive win tonight at Joe Louis Arena against the last place Buffalo Sabres. Tonight will also mark the return of Pavel Datsyuk, who hasn’t played since February 27th in Ottawa. Other than the Olympics, the Russian superstar has only played five games in 2014, the final six games will not only be a boost to the Red Wings lineup but will also give Datsyuk a few games to shake off the rust before hopefully heading into the first round of the playoffs.
The Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Flyers last night to pull within one point of the Red Wings in the Eastern Conference Wild Card race. The Maple Leafs have also won their last two games to remain in the hunt after they put up eight straight losses in a self destruction, only rivaled by their playoff collapse last year. Every time there seems to be a little separation in the standings, a win here or loss there draws the teams in contention close again, reminding us that this Wild Card race will indeed be Wild and in all likelihood come down to the last games of the season. The Wings, Leafs, and Blue Jackets all have a pretty mixed schedule over the next few games with both strong teams and spoilers on the docket.
The Red Wings will play the Sabres twice over the next three games and needless to say, the points should come easier in those games than against the Penguins and the Blues, who the Wings will also face in upcoming games. The Sabres are coming off a loss to the Blues and are 2-7-1 over their last ten. The Red Wings took the first two meetings, though due to the Wings ever changing line-up (and the Sabres’ for that matter), it’s a little tough to refer to past games with much authority. Like the Wings, the Buffalo lineup is decimated with injuries, including their top two goalies Jonas Enroth and Michael Neuvirth.
Gustav Nyquist’s point streak sits at ten games over the course of which he’s notched twelve goals and two assists. Nyquist only had one shot last game agaist the Bruins, but that was all he needed to put home the game winner after burning former Norris Trophy winner Zdeno Chara.
Tomas Tatar has eight points over his last six games, all of which came on multi-point nights. If Nyquist weren’t the talk of the town, Tatar would be.
Jimmy Howard earned the first star of the game and turned away 33 of 35 shots in the 150th win of his career. Howard was the reason the Wings were still within striking distance halfway through the second when Tomas Jurco tied it up. Though this hasn’t been a typical Jimmy Howard season, Howard has seemed to find his groove and is playing well down the stretch.
STARTING LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
RED WINGS
Franzen – Legwand – Nyquist Tatar – Sheahan – Jurco Abdelkader – Helm – Datsyuk Miller – Glendening – Andersson
Kronwall – Smith Quincey – DeKeyser Kindl – Lashoff
Jimmy Howard (starting) Jonas Gustavsson
Injuries: Ericsson, Weiss, Zetterberg, Cleary, Samuelsson, Alfredsson
SABRES
Hodgson – Girgensons – Flynn Leino – Ennis – D’Agostini Adam – Larsspn – Deslauriers Conacher – Ellis – Scott
Ehrhoff – Ristolainen McBain – McCabe Ruhwedel – Weber
Matt Hackett (starting) Nathan Lieuwen
Injuries: Stewart, Mitchell, Neuvirth, Enroth, Sulzer, Myers, Foligno, Stafford, Tallinder