Gameday Updates
Well, this is likely a game that Evgeny Svechnikov has had circled on his calendar for weeks with the opportunity to play against his brother Andrei. What does Jeff Blashill think about playing him?
Jeff Blashill wouldn’t commit to Evgeny Svechnikov being in lineup when Red Wings are at Hurricanes (home to brother, Andrei) Thursday, but said he knows how much it would mean to Evgeny.
— Helene St. James (@HeleneStJames) March 3, 2021
Alright then…
Well, at least Evgeny practiced in some capacity on Wednesday and signs appear to be pointing towards him remaining in the lineup.
Evgeny Svechnikov said he practiced today on line with Luke Glendening and Darren Helm, good indication he’ll play Thursday when Red Wings at Hurricanes.
— Helene St. James (@HeleneStJames) March 3, 2021
That’s a positive sign. But, do you think we could get him in a meaningful scoring role? Just a thought.
And, some encouraging news for Wings fans…
Jeff Blashill said Dylan Larkin (upper body), Tyler Bertuzzi (UB) and Troy Stecher (LB) all skated today, but in Detroit. #RedWings
— Helene St. James (@HeleneStJames) March 3, 2021
Teuvo Teravainen on the ice for the #Canes morning skate. He skated in Raleigh while the team was on the road and put in some time yesterday, too.
Jake Gardiner and Petr Mrazek also on the ice. pic.twitter.com/yV2zz555sN
— Michael Smith (@MSmithCanes) March 4, 2021
Brind’Amour hopes Teravainen can play tonight. Game time decision
— Chip Alexander (@ice_chip) March 4, 2021
Nedeljkovic in the starter’s crease.
— Chip Alexander (@ice_chip) March 4, 2021
Projected Lineups
Detroit Red Wings
Forwards
Evgeny Svechnikov — Robby Fabbri — Bobby Ryan
Mathias Brome — Michael Rasmussen — Anthony Mantha
Filip Zadina — Vladislav Namestnikov — Sam Gagner
Darren Helm — Luke Glendening — Adam Erne
Defense
Dan DeKeyser — Filip Hronek
Marc Staal — Jon Merrill
Christian Djoos — Patrik Nemeth
Goalies
Jonathan Bernier
Thomas Greiss
Carolina Hurricanes
Forwards
Andrei Svechnikov — Sebastian Aho — Teuvo Teravainen
Nino Niederreiter — Vincent Trocheck — Martin Necas
Brock McGinn — Jordan Staal — Jesper Fast
Jordan Martinook — Cedric Paquette — Warren Foegele
Defense
Jaccob Slavin — Dougie Hamilton
Haydn Fleury — Brett Pesce
Brady Skjei — Jake Bean
Goalies
Alex Nedeljkovic
James Reimer
Keys to the Game
Strong Start and Keep the Momentum
On Tuesday night, the Wings battled hard with the Blue Jackets, matching their 10 shots on goal and taking a 1-1 tie into the locker room. But, during the second period they were completely flat and that continued into the third as well. They looked like a completely different team for the final 40 minutes of the game. The key tonight will be getting off to a solid start and then keeping the foot on the gas pedal to play a full 60 minutes.
Ride Out the Storm
This might be a figure of speech considering they’re playing the Hurricanes, but I’m referring to their man games lost so far this season. Two key players remain out of the lineup in Dylan Larkin and Tyler Bertuzzi and that’s a tough pill to swallow for the Wings. Some of the young guns like Michael Rasmussen and Evgeny Svechnikov will need to fill those offensive voids in the lineup.
Powerplay
Anthony Mantha snapped a 40-game drought on the man advantage against Columbus…what a relief! However, there is still much more work to do in this category and this is your daily reminder that the Wings are still operating at a less than 10% success rate on the season. Here’s Mantha’s goal again, just because I couldn’t believe my eyes when they actually converted on a powerplay…