Grueling western swing leads Red Wings into Calgary

The Detroit Red Wings will begin a grueling stretch beginning in Western Canada tonight.  The Red Wings will start the trek in Calgary followed by games in Edmonton, Vancouver, and Seattle.  The team will be without Tyler Bertuzzi for the first three games of the trip.  If Bertuzzi is still with the Red Wings by next Saturday, he will reunite with the team once they return to play in Seattle.

Game time tonight is 7:00 PM ET at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, AB.

Player Focus: Nick Leddy

Nick Leddy played his best game of the season on Thursday night against Minnesota.  Not only did Leddy chip in with three assists, but he looked rejuvinated on the Detroit blueline.

Leddy has endured a difficult first season in Detroit.  He was acquired to mentor rookie defenseman Moritz Seider.  When Seider became Detroit’s best defenseman, Leddy was moved to the second pairing with Filip Hronek.

At times, Leddy has struggled at both endes of the  ice.  In 53 games, Leddy has scored one goal, 14 assists, 15 points, and a dismal -31 rating.

Leddy will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.  Leddy is expected to be traded before the NHL trade deadline on Monday March 21.

Red Wings Notes

• Detroit are currently 5th in the Atlantic Division with a 24-27-7 record
• The Red Wings are currently 26th in PP (17.5%) and 30th in PK (73.6%)
• Dylan Larkin leads Detroit with 27 goals and 57 points in 53 games
• Moritz Seider leads the Red Wings with 36 assists in 58 games
• Seider leads all Detroit defensemen in scoring with 41 points
• Lucas Raymond scored two goals on Thursday and now has 45 points in 58 games, good for 2nd in NHL rookie scoring
• Defenseman Marc Staal leads the Red Wings with a +9 rating
• Goaltender Thomas Greiss is expected to start and has an 8-9-1 record, a 3.65 GAA, and an .888 SV%, in 22 games
• Robby Fabbri has been placed on IR (knee) and will likely miss the remainder of the season
• Taro Hirose has been recalled and will replace Fabbri in the Detroit lineup

Detroit Projected Lineup

Forwards

Valdislav Namestnikov – Dylan Larkin – Lucas Raymond

Jakub Vrana – Joe Veleno – Sam Gagner

Adam Erne – Michael Rasmussen – Filip Zadina

Givani Smith – Pius Suter – Taro Hirose

Defensemen 

Nick Leddy – Moritz Seider

Jordan Oesterle – Filip Hronek

Marc Staal – Troy Stecher

Goaltenders

Thomas Greiss (starter)

Alex Nedeljkovic

Scratched: , Gustav Lindstrom, Tyler Bertuzzi, Olli Juolevi

Injured: Mitchell Stephens (lower body), Carter Rowney (foot), Danny DeKeyser (undisclosed), Robby Fabbri (knee)

Flames Notes

• Calgary are currently 1st in the Pacific Division with a 35-15-7 record
• The Flames special teams are currently 12th in PP (23.0%) and 3rd in PK (85.3%)
• Johnny Gaudreau is 4th in NHL scoring and leads Calgary with 51 assists and 77 points in 57 games
• Elias Lindholm and Andrew Mangiapane lead the Flames with 29 goals each
• Rasmus Andersson leads all Calgary defensemen in scoring with 35 points
• Lindholm leads all NHL players with a +45 rating
• Jacob Markstrom is expected to start in goal and has a 27-11-6 record, 2.12 GAA, a .927 SV%, and leads all NHL goaltenders with eight SO, in 45 games

Calgary Projected Lineup

Forwards

Johnny Gaudreau – Elias Lindholm – Matthew Tkachuk

Blake Coleman – Mikael Backlund – Trevor Lewis

Andrew Mangiapane – Adam Ruzicka – Tyler Toffoli

Milan Lucic – Sean Monahan – Dillon Dube

Defensemen

Noah Hanifin – Rasmus Andersson

Oliver Kylington – Chris Tanev

Nikita Zadorov – Erik Gudbranson

Goaltenders

Jacob Markstrom (starting)

Daniel Vladar

Scratched: Brad Richardson, Brett Ritchie, Michael Stone

Injured: None