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The Detroit Red Wings Face a Tough Test in the Nation’s Capital

By Bob Heyrman

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 09: Washington Capitals goalie Braden Holtby (70) makes a third period save on a shot by Detroit Red Wings left wing Justin Abdelkader (8) on February 9, 2017, at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. The Washington Capitals defeated the Detroit Red Wings, 6-3. (Photo by Mark Goldman/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 09: Washington Capitals goalie Braden Holtby (70) makes a third period save on a shot by Detroit Red Wings left wing Justin Abdelkader (8) on February 9, 2017, at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. The Washington Capitals defeated the Detroit Red Wings, 6-3. (Photo by Mark Goldman/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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Will the Detroit Red Wings be able to contain Alex Ovechkin and the defending Stanley Cup Champions today in D.C?

The Detroit Red Wings travel to Washinton to try their luck against Ovechkin and company this afternoon.  The Wings have been on fire of late winning 9 of their last 11 contests.  While a win is a win, this will be the toughest test during this highly successful stretch.

The two losses were both very winnable games.  In the midst of this run, the Wings dropped games to the Oilers and Senators.  Both of those teams are currently in a management flux.  The club has beat good teams such as the Dallas Stars, Columbus Blue Jackets, and most recently the Boston Bruins. That being said, the Bruins were very banged, and it took another come from behind effort to best to Bruins in overtime.

To have similar success this afternoon against the Caps it will take a tremendous effort in goal from Bernier today.  Howie has been simply great this season for the Winged Wheels but surprisingly won’t get the call today.  He is often the best player on the ice especially with the Wings deciding not to show up to the rink until the second or third period many nights and I figured he would be up for the task today and Bernier would play against Buffalo tomorrow.  Jeff Blashill has decided to have Bernier face the Caps instead.

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Detroit needs to start this afternoon similar to the way they’ve been finishing games of late.  The Capitals have way too much firepower to start slow against.  They are a team that scores in bunches. Another thing Detroit is one of the top teams in regards of trips to the sin bin.  This Caps team will feast if they are able to be on the power-play early and often.  The Caps have the 3rd best PP in the NHL.  They convert with a 30% success rate.  They are 7th in the league in scoring on average notching 3.38 goals per game.

The Wings, on the other hand, have a respectful PP running at a 22% success rate but struggle to score five on five at times.  They are ranked 24th in the league only scoring 2.76 goals per game.

One miss match is the Wings ability to kill off penalties.  They are 11th in the NHL killing 81.3% of their penalties.  The Caps have a terrible PK only killing 74.4% of their trips to the box which merely ranks 28th in the NHL.

The Caps are coming into this with a four-game win streak to hang their hat on.  Something has to give in D.C.  The key to the game will be Detroit’s PK against the Caps PP.  It will be the matchup of the day.  If the Wings are able to put their often sluggish starts in the rearview mirror and survive on the PK, they will have a chance to upset the Caps and notch another victory.

The second line for the Detroit Red Wings has been sensational of late.  Double-A, in particular, willed the Wings to victory nearly on his own against the Bruins.  He tied the game in the third period and won it in overtime.

Look for that second line to cause havoc.  It wouldn’t surprise me if the Caps decided to put their best checking line against that group and allow the Kuznetsov/Ovechkin line play head to head against Dylan Larkin and Anthony Mantha.

The projected Detroit Red Wings lineup;

Justin Abdelkader – Dylan Larkin – Anthony Mantha

Andreas Athanasiou – Frans Nielsen – Gustav Nyquist

Michael Rasmussen – Luke Glendening – Tyler Bertuzzi

Thomas Vanek – Jacob de La Rose– Martin Frk

Trevor Daley – Mike Green

Dennis Cholowski – Niklas Kronwall

Danny DeKeyser – Nick Jensen

Jonathan Bernier

Jimmy Howard

NHL and players reach Concussion Settlement. dark. Next

Game Information:

  •  Detroit Red Wings 10-9-2 vs. Washington Capitals 11-7-3
  • Time: 4:00 EST
  • Location: Capitol One Arena
  • TV: Fox Sports Detroit, Fox Sports Washington, Sportsnet, Fox Sports Go, NHL.TV, ESPN+
  • Radio: 97.1 The Ticket
  • OddsShark Odds- Fav. Wash -190
  • Head to Head last 10 – Washington – 7-1-1-1
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