Hurricanes at Red Wings — Game Day Updates, Projected Lineups, Keys to the Game

Fabbri – Larkin – Mantha
Zadina – Namestnikov – Gagner
Bromé – Rasmussen – Svechnikov
Helm – Glendening – Erne

DeKeyser – Hronek
Staal – Merrill
Djoos – Nemeth

Bernier
Greiss

[From the Canes]

Niederreiter – Aho – Necas
Svetchnikov – Staal – Fast
McGinn – Martinook – Foegele
Paquette – Geekie – Lorentz

Slavin – Hamilton
Skjei – Pesce
Fleury – Bean

Reimer
Nedeljkovic

Tighten up the blue line on the power play. Look, I’m 100% on board with activating defensemen and sending them down low on the man-advantage, but the Canes played the Wings like a fiddle when they were killing penalties Sunday, with multiple odd-man rushes despite having, you know, fewer people actually on the ice.

A dangerous night from the depth would be welcome. That sounds like someone from the Cthulhu mythos, but man, wouldn’t it be something if Carolina had to really worry about multiple lines all night? Detroit has last change tonight, but that doesn’t matter too much if Carolina is just going to smother everyone, save Larkin’s line. I’d really just like to see what Larkin, Mantha, and Fabbri could do if they had free reign provided by another line dominating the game. But perhaps my mortal mind would simply break at the sight.

Patience, young Hronek. The Czech blueliner has been given more responsibility this season, and he’s greatly been up to the task, for the most part. Perhaps that’s why the mistakes have seemed more visible. Sometimes it feels like he’s hurrying the game along too much, so here’s to Hronek slowing the game down a bit tonight, at least in his mind’s eye. And hey, if all goes well he’ll finally get one of those elusive goals that Marc Staal is probably always talking about having.