About the Red Wings - 01-31-10
A preview of the Red Wings.
When and where: 12:30 p.m., Mellon Arena.
TV: The worst network on Earth NBC, TSN2, RDS.
Record: 26-29-9, 61 points. The Red Wings are in ninth place in the Western Conference and third place in the Central Division.
Leading Scorer: Pavel Datsyuk, 43 points (14 goals, 29 assists).
Last Game: 4-2 home win against the Predators, Friday. Niklas Lidstrom, Drew Miller and Henrik Zetterberg each had a goal and an assist for the Red Wings.
Last Game against the Penguins: 2-1 home loss in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, June 12, 2009. Maxime Talbot had two goals for the Penguins. You may have heard about it.
Red Wings Player We Would Bet Money On Scoring: Nicklas Lidstrom (right). He has points in four consecutive games.
Ex-Penguins on the Red Wings: Ty Conklin, G; Marian Hossa RW; Mikael Samuelsson, RW; None.
Ex-Red Wings on the Penguins: None.
Useless Red Wings Trivia Vaguely Related to the Penguins: Former Penguins forward Pete Mahovlich was the Red Wings first ever draft pick. Detroit selected him with the second overall pick in the NHL's first draft in 1963.
Best Red Wings YouTube Video We Could Find: There might not be anyone more smoother or entertaining at shootouts than Pavel Datsyuk:
Notes:
-Marc-Andre Fleury (26-15-1, 2.60 GAA, .908 SV%) and Jimmy Howard (19-11-5, 2.30 GAA, .925 SV%) are your expected starters in net.
-For the Penguins, defenseman Alex Goligoski (undisclosed) and forward Tyler Kennedy (undisclosed) are day-to-day. Forward Maxime Talbot (groin) is questionable. Forward Eric Godard (groin) is out. Forward Chris Kunitz (abdominal) is on injured reserve.
-For the Red Wings, forward Valtteri Filppula and defenseman Brad Stuart (shoulder) are probable. Forward Todd Bertuzzi (groin) is questionable. Forward Tomas Holmstrom (foot) is out. Forward Johan Franzen (knee) and defenseman Andreas Lilja (concussion) are on injured reserve.
-The Penguins recalled forwards Nick Johnson and Mark Letestu (right) from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL. Johnson has been recalled four times in the past two weeks. Letetsu has been recalled three times this season.
-Goligoski and Kennedy could return today.
-"I think we need to try and start stringing [wins] together." - Mike Rupp.
-Assuming he plays today, Jordan Staal will tie Nick Harbaruk for the franchise's second longest consecutive games streak at 276. Ron Schock holds the franchise record with 313 games.
-Sidney Crosby has 299 career assists.
-Sergei Gonchar has 199 career goals.
-Kiss Bill Guerin's moustache good-bye after today's game (PG+).
-Ruslan Fedotenko is February's moustache boy.
-"I think about it a lot and I keep telling myself to try to get it out of my mind. But it's something I'll never forget." - Red Wings forward Daniel Cleary (right, with Kris Letang) on losing the Stanley Cup to the Penguins last season.
-Detroit goaltender Chris Osgood is doing what he can to help his successor, Jimmy Howard, along.
-The Red Wings have a tough offseason coming up with 14 players scheduled to become free agents.
-Red Wings defenseman Jonathan Ericsson has hit a sophomore slump.
-The Red Wings don't want to rush Tomas Holmstrom back to the lineup.
-Assuming the teams do not meet once again in the Stanley Cup Final, this will the be the Red Wings' final visit to Civic/Mellon Arena. Including postseason games, the Red Wings have a 20-48-4 record all-time at Civic/Mellon Arena. They became the only team to win the Stanley Cup at Civic/Mellon Arena in 2008.
-The Red Wings' first game at Civic/Mellon Arena was a 5-2 win, Dec. 30, 1967. Ted Hampson, Gary Jarrett (right) and Floyd Smith each had a goal and an assist for Detroit. It was something of a homecoming for all three players as they played for the Pittsburgh Hornets, the former AHL affiliate of the Red Wings and the first hockey tennant of the Civic Arena. Roy Edwards, another former Hornet who would eventually play for the Penguins, made 23 saves in the win. A 39-year-old Gordie Howe was held without a point but he did record the game's first penalty by picking up an elbowing minor in the first period. Earl Ingarfield and Noel Price scored the Penguins' goals while Andy Bathgate recorded assists on each. Les Binkley made 30 saves in the loss.
-An number of NBC affiliates, including Scranton (No one would ever care about the Penguins there right?) are bumping this game in place of a Pat Robertson telethon.
-Our live blog begins at approximately 11:30 a.m. (Stupid NBC.) Please tune in.
(Photos: Lidstrom-Gregory Shamus/Getty Images; Letestu-Justin K. Aller/Getty Images; Cleary-Harry How/Getty Images; Jarrett-eBay)