Game 38 Preview: Red Wings at Anaheim Ducks
The Red Wings won their first game against the Ducks this season. Can they win the second as well?
[CORRECTION: I had initially wrote in the title “Game 37 Preview” but quickly changed it to “Game 38 Preview.” Even bloggers make mistakes sometimes!]
Both the Red Wings and Ducks last played on New Year’s Day, with the Wings losing in overtime to the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Ducks beating the Philadelphia Flyers in a shootout. This game is the second of a five-game home stand for Anaheim, so they’ll be hungry to rack up two more points again tonight.
Preliminary Info
Who? Detroit Red Wings (16-16-5, 7th in Atlantic) and Anaheim Ducks (19-12-8, 2nd in Pacific)
Where? Honda Center
When? 10:30pm EST
TV: Fox Sports Detroit
Radio: Click here to check your local listings
Enemy Blog: Pucks of a Feather
Leading Scorers
Ducks points: Ryan Kesler, 34. Ducks goals: Rickard Rakell, 16. Ducks assists: Ryan Getzlaf, 25.
Red Wings points: Henrik Zetterberg, 28. Red Wings goals: Dylan Larkin, 11. Red Wings assists: Henrik Zetterberg, 21.
Recent History
This is the second and final game of the season between the Red Wings and Ducks. The first game, on December 17, featured Tomas Tatar‘s first NHL hat trick as the Wings won 6-4.
Last season Detroit played Anaheim twice, with Detroit winning 2-1 at the Honda Center on January 10 but Anaheim winning 4-3 at the Joe on January 23.
Keys to the Game
Score a power play goal, which the Red Wings still haven’t done on the road since October 19. For what it’s worth, Jeff Blashill tinkered with a couple new power play options at yesterday’s practice: Steve Ott replacing Riley Sheahan on the first unit, Andreas Athanasiou replacing Brendan Smith on the second. Nothing set in stone yet, so we’ll have to wait and see if Blash utilizes these new units tonight.
What to think of this? Well, I suppose it’s better than continuing to roll out the exact same units when your power play has been performing like donkey doo doo. Moreover, Anaheim’s penalty kill sits at 15th in the league, so a new look power play could very well pot one in tonight. I’m still a doubter though. Prove me wrong, boys.
As opposed to the Red Wings’ dead last power play, the Ducks’ power play is second-best in the entire league. When the Ducks came to town on December 17, they went two for two on the power play. So it behooves the Red Wings to stay out of the box. However, they’ve killed each of their five penalties on this road trip so far, so can they keep it up?
Prediction: Red Wings fail to score a power play goal but nonetheless grind out a 3-2 win.
LGRW!