Detroit Red Wings shuffle the deck before heading into Dallas

The Detroit Red Wings try their luck with some lineup changes tonight in Texas as they take on the Dallas Stars.

Head coach Jeff Blashill has made a few lineup changes as he tries to spark his team. The Detroit Red Wings have been struggling mightily since Mike Green had been injured, but things seem close to spiraling out of control.

The first adjustment he is making to start this game tonight is firing double-A up onto the top line with Larks and Abby. I love the move although I don’t like Abby there at the moment. Blashill has decided to move Gus back to the second unit with Nielsen.

I wish Blashill would throw Bertuzzi up with Larks and AA. I think that would be a very beneficial thing to do. Abdelkader would be better suited playing the grinding role with Glendening on the third line. I feel Bert has a bit more scoring ability and would be able to provide a bit more offense if he played with Larkin and AA.

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Another adjustment Jeff Blashill has made prior to this one is putting Niklas Kronwall and Nick Jensen together as the top pairing. Although this would be the third pairing on an average team at this point, this is the best option at this time for Blash.

Jonathan Ericsson and Trevor Daley are expected to play with one another and the two rookies Cholowski and Hronek will start the game together. I don’t have a problem with it, but that third pairing should be quite mobile they have the highest risk rate, yet Blashill will only play them 15 or so minutes. He has been and will continue to roll the other four veteran defenders.

Two games ago Ericsson led the team in ice-time. Against Pittsburgh he didn’t fare too well, and getting blown by at his own blueline being caught flat-footed is never a good look, yet that is all that comes to mind when I think of Jonny E versus the Penguins.

On Friday the Dallas Stars CEO Jim Lites tore into captain Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin for their poor performances thus far this season. Probably something he should have dealt with “in-house” rather than to the media. Lites didn’t hold back mentioning the pair have been “fu**ing horse s**t” and holding the team back.

I can’t imagine the two players would want to continue to play for an organization that would use such creative words to describe their players. Jamie Benn has 15 goals, 15 assists for 30 points in 38 games on the season. He is a plus 6. Tyler Seguin has recorded 11 goals and added 21 assists totaling 32 points thru 38 games and is a plus 11. Maybe they are not playing to an all-star caliber, but they haven’t been as bad as Lites suggests.

The Dallas Stars have a home record of 11-5-1 on the season, that doesn’t bode well for the Detroit Red Wings. Ben Bishop has a history of knocking the Detroit Red Wings outta the playoffs back in his Tampa Bay days. He will be in goal tonight for the Stars.

Dylan Larkin is in the midst of a lengthy 12 game point streak. During this stretch, he has recorded 15 points. Hopefully, he can keep the streak rolling and led this team to a much-needed victory.

The Detroit Red Wings expected lineup;

Justin Abdelkader (A) – Dylan Larkin (A) – Andreas Athanasiou

Thomas Vanek – Frans Nielsen (A) – Gustav Nyquist

Michael Rasmussen – Luke Glendening – Tyler Bertuzzi

Wade Megan – Jacob de La Rose – Christoffer Ehn

Niklas Kronwall (A) – Nick Jensen

Jonathan Ericsson – Trevor Daley

Dennis Cholowski – Filip Hronek

Jonathan Bernier

Jimmy Howard

Injuries: Mike Green (lower-body). Anthony Mantha (Hand), Darren Helm (upper-body), Danny DeKesyer (hand), Evgeny Svechnikov (knee)

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Game Information:

Detroit Red Wings 15-18-6 vs. Dallas Stars 19-16-3
Time: 8:00 EST
Location: American Airlines Arena
TV: Fox Sports Detroit, Fox Sports Southwest, Fox Sports Go, NHL.TV, ESPN+
Radio: 97.1 The Ticket
OddsShark Odds- Fav. Stars -225
Head to Head last 10- Wings 6-4-0

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