There was no morning skate for the Wings today. I like to think that after the dumpster fire last night, Zetterberg shot angry lasers from his eyes and melted all the ice; then Babcock death stared everyone so hard that the whole Pepsi Center burst into flames and burned to the ground. Maybe there won't be a game tonight after all.
Last night's "performance" was so bad that immediately after the game Babcock announced that DeKeyser, White, Quincey would all be in tonight. He didn't know who was going to be scratched, but he was sure of the changes. Lashoff, Colaiacovo, and
Jimmy Howard is starting tonight... again.
Brunner out indefinitely with hip flexor injury.
Samuelsson is out indefinitely as well, but it's not just a bruised pec muscle, it's also torn. He said he's "Not lucky at all". I have to concur.
We'll see the NHL debut of Danny DeKeyser tonight, penalty kill concerns prompted Mike Babcock not to start him last night in Phoenix. Babcock wants to make sure Deke is ready to be thrown into an NHL game, and I'm glad he's taking the time to make sure he's ready. DeKeyser has had a week of practicing with the team, and trying to prepare as best he can, both physically and mentally, for what he'll face in the NHL. Both his parents, and two of his six siblings traveled to Phoenix hoping to see his debut that didn't happen, but they'll also be in Colorado tonight.
Red Wings vs. Colorado Avalanche:
Tonight's game is the 113th all-time meeting between DET and COL
This is DET's 57th all-time road game at COL
DET's all-time record vs COL: 61-41-5-5
DET's all-time road record at COL: 27-24-4-1
Last head-to-head game: DET 3, COL 2 on Apr. 1 at Joe Louis Arena
DET is 6-3-1 in its last 10 regular season games vs COL
DET is 3-2-0 in its last 5 regular season road games at COL
DET's PP is 5-21 (23.8%) over the last 6 regular season games vs COL
DET's PK is 11-15 (73.3%) over the last 6 regular season games vs COL
J. Franzen has 8 points (6-2-8) over the last 6 games vs COL
H. Zetterberg has 5 points (1-4-5) over his last 5 games played vs COL
P. Datsyuk has 39 points (13-26-39) in 38 career games vs COL
H. Zetterberg has 24 points (8-16-24) in 33 career games vs COL
J. Howard is 6-2-1 with a 2.59 GAA and .905 SV% in 10 career games vs COL
DET is 6-4-0 vs the Pacific Division this season (14-5-1 in 2011-12)
Here's the expected lineup:
Forwards
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Justin Abdelkader
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Pavel Datsyuk
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Johan Franzen
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Valtteri Filppula
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Henrik Zetterberg
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Daniel Cleary
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Gustav Nyquist
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Joakim Andersson
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Patrick Eaves
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Drew Miller
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Cory Emmertom
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Jordin Tootoo
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Defense
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Niklas Kronwall
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Jonathan Ericsson
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Kyle Quincey
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Jakub Kindl
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Danny DeKeyser
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Ian White
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Goalies
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Jimmy Howard
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Jonas Gustavsson
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Healthy Scratch
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Carlo Colaiacovo
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Brendan Smith
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Brian Lashoff
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Injured
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Todd Bertuzzi (Back)
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Damien Brunner (Hip Flexor)
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Darren Helm (Back)
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Mikael Samuelsson (Torn Pectoral
Muscle)
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Let's Go Red Wings!!!
