Preview: Can the Red Wings start their first winning streak?
The Red Wings return to the road tonight against the Chicago Blackhawks, their hated original six rival.
Detroit has struggled against Chicago so far, with an unimpressive record of 0-3-1 against the Hawks.
However, Detroit outshot and outplayed them in the last series – can they turn those shots into goals this time?
The Red Wings’ Opponent
The Blackhawks are continuing to have a surprisingly solid year. Many picked the team to finish near the bottom of the Central, but the Hawks have over achieved, and are currently sitting at third place in the conference.
Some of that over achieving has been due to the play of Chicago’s goaltender, Kevin Lankinen. The young goaltender has a .921 save percentage, and seems to have Detroit’s number thus far, recording a shutout in Chicago’s 2-0 win back on February 17.
The Red Wings also have prepare for Chicago’s lethal power play – their 32.8% success on the man advantage is ranked second in the league. However, the Wings might have a chance to finally end their power play woes, as the Hawks rank just 20th in their penalty kill.
Keep An Eye on Those Lines
In Friday’s bizarre 5-2 win against the Nashville Predators, the chemistry between the lines was noticeably better than their last couple of games. Blashill decided to assign Frans Nielsen to the taxi squad, fill his spot with Sam Gagner (which resulted in Gagner netting a hat trick), and switching around the top two lines a bit.
Which lines will Blash come up with heading into tonight’s matchup? Will he roll with Friday’s lines, or tinker a bit more?
Red Wings Players to Watch
- Sam Gagner. It’s almost impossible to follow up a hat trick, especially if you are a 4th or 3rd line forward on a less than mediocre team. However, keep an eye on Sam Gagner – it’ll be interesting to see what kind of confidence boost he gets after such an impressive performance.
- Bobby Ryan. Ryan had a very solid last couple of games, although he didn’t get much to show for it on the scoresheet. Keep an eye on Ryan – if he continues to play at the level he has for the last couple of weeks, he is bound to get at least a couple of points eventually.
- Evgeny Svechnikov: Could he escape the taxi squad? Or is he stuck watching yet another game from a sky box?
The plot thickens: