About the Red Wings - 03-22-10
A preview of the Red Wings.
When and where: 7 p.m., Joe Louis Arena.
TV: Gopher Hunting Network Versus, TSN.
Record: 35-23-13, 83 points.
Leading Scorer: Pavel Datsyuk (right), 60 points (23 goals, 37 assists).
Last Game: 4-3 overtime road win against the Canucks, Saturday. Henrik Zetterberg scored a goal with 0:00.2 second left in overtime.
Last Game against the Penguins: 2-1 road shootout loss, Jan. 31. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin scored shootout goals for the Penguins.
Red Wings Player We Would Bet Money On Scoring: Pavel Datsyuk. He had points in 14 out of his past 16 games.
Ex-Penguins on the Red Wings: None.
Ex-Red Wings on the Penguins: None.
Useless Red Wings Trivia Vaguely Related to the Penguins: The Norris Trophy has been won eight times by members of the Red Wings. Current captain Nicklas Lidstrom has won it six times (2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007 and 2008). The other two were by former Penguins coach Red Kelly (1954) and former Penguins defenseman Paul Coffey (1995).
Best Red Wings YouTube Video We Could Find: Red Wings great Brendan Shanahan fighting former Mighty Ducks forward and future Penguins coach Dan Bylsma during the 2001-02 season:
Notes:
-Marc-Andre Fleury (33-18-5, 2.65 GAA, .906 SV%) and Jimmy Howard (28-15-9, 2.32 GAA, .924 SV%) are your expected starters in net.
-For the Penguins, no one is reporting an injury.
-For the Red Wings, forwards Daniel Cleary (groin) and Patrick Eaves (head) are day to day. Forward Kirk Maltby (shoulder) is on injured reserve.
-The Penguins return to the scene of their greatest glory.
-Chris Kunitz has 99 career goals.
-The Penguins' penalty killers have kill off 20 consecutive power plays.
-Regardless of opponent, the Red Wings can't afford a loss.
-"It's irrelevant who we play, pretty much." - Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard downplaying the significance of this rematch.
-Former starting goaltender Chris Osgood has embraced his role as a backup/mentor to Howard.
-With Cleary and Eaves dinged up, the Red Wings used defensemen Jonathan Ericsson and Derek Meech at forward positions Saturday in Vancouver.
-Our live blog begins at approximately 7 p.m. Please tune in.
(Photo: Paul Sancya/Associated Press)