Detroit Red Wings look to play spoiler against Pittsburgh Penguins

The Detroit Red Wings host our favorite opponent Cindy, I mean Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight in the confines of Little Caesars Arena.

The Detroit Red Wings have three games left this season, and two of them will come against these pesky Pittsburgh Penguins. The teams’ will play a home in home two-game series over the next three days before the Wings return home to close out the 2018/19 NHL season.

The Penguins currently sit third in the Metropolitan Divison with 97 points, four points ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes for who sit in the final wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference. With three games remaining the Penguins still could potentially miss the playoffs especially if the Detroit Red Wings continue to play the way they have over the last 8 games. But with a win, tonight or a Montreal loss to the Lightning the Penguins will clinch a playoff berth for the 13th consecutive season which will be the NHL’s current longest active playoff streak. Remember those days?

The Detroit Red Wings are missing way too many bodies to write out these days but the newest members added to the list is Danny DeKeyser, and the team has recalled Joe Hicketts to play in his place for more than likely the teams’ remaining three games of the season.

Players to watch:

Anthony Mantha is coming off of a five-point performance at home against the Boston Bruins where he scored a hat-trick and added a pair of assists. Mantha has scored 22 goals on the season and accumulated 45 points. It’s a shame he missed time earlier this season with a broken hand suffered during a fight, it would be interesting to see if the team would have had three 30-goal scorers on the season.

Speaking of thirty-goal scorers the Wings have a pair of those; Dylan Larkin has anchored the Wings top line all season long and while he’s enjoying a career year his body language shows he wished he could have willed his team into a playoff position. He’s turned himself into a marvelous player, and I expect he will build on this seasons success and once again top his production next season.

Larkin has scored 8 points over the span of his last five games. Andreas Athanasiou has turned into a very reliable second-line center for the Detroit Red Wings late in the season. He, like Larkin, has accomplished 30 goals this year and has excelled since taking over the second line center spot away from Frans Nielsen since the trade deadline. He’s quietly recorded 6 points over his last five contests, and I say quietly because the top line has enjoyed such gaudy numbers over the previous week.

Tyler Bertuzzi is on absolute fire over the past week having recorded three consecutive three-point games and totaling 10 points over his last 4 contests. The gritty winger is the workhorse on the top unit, as he finds his way into the high traffic areas of the ice working and digging hoping to find a rebound to deposit into the back of the net or at the very least dishing a loose puck to one of his linemates. The four core players are fun to watch and should once again pace the Wings offense.