Red Wings Health in Decline in Dallas

Detroit could potentially suffer yet another setback tonight, as Henrik Zetterberg left this morning's skate with some back soreness. He along with Brian Rafalski, who coincidentally missed the Colorado game two nights ago with a similar problem, will be game-time decisions. Both players are desperately needed in a line-up already missing Mike Modano, Dan Cleary and Pavel Datsyuk.

Preview looks like this:


Looks like the boys will need to be switched on for 60 minutes in this one. I really don't rate Dallas as that good, the Wings have just had two bad games against them so far. I stongly feel their position in the standings will slip before the end of the season, but not enough to miss the playoffs.

One more quick note, it was good to see Hudler score the other night. Hopefully he can build on that and get that confidence back and become that regular contributor we all expect him to be. God knows, especially if Z and Raf are out, someone will need to step it up or there'll be more disappointment in the Big D.

A Cruel Return to Dallas for Mo

His #9 will one day hang from the rafters of the American Airlines Center, but of all the memories Mike Modano has had in the building, this would rank among the most forgettable.

The Dallas Stars franchise's greatest on-ice servant received a classy standing ovation from the locals but that proved to be the highlight of his night as the Red Wings skated to a 4-1 drubbing at the hands of his former team-mates.

From the get-go nothing seemed to go right for Detroit. Whilst only sporting a 1-0 deficit at the first break, the signs weren't good. A horrible Lidstrom turnover and a Franzen injury... uh oh!

But the second frame was where it got ugly.

The puck seemed to bounce off skates and in on one end, but just couldn't do likewise at the other. Throw in some sloppy coverage and a puck or two off the post, and you got a 4-0 game after two.

Osgood was not good, but neither was anyone else. A consolation PP goal in the third period gave the Wings a semblance of respectability on the scoreboard but not much else.

Moving forward it didn't look to be getting any better. Franzen's concussion was never good news and just to make things worse, Daniel Cleary crashed into the boards in practise earlier today. The updated diagnoses of both were good however, as Franzen said he felt good today and hopes to be able to go Saturday night against the Coyotes and Dan Cleary's knee injury scare appears to be just that... a scare.

It was looking for a while like the Wings may have been forced to dress 16 or 17 skaters in Phoenix, hopefully that's not the case. A reprieve from this tumultuous tackle with the injury bug will go a long way to getting the Red Wings back to winning form.

Wings Look to Rebound in Dallas; Gameday Preview

As the recently humbled Red Wings roll into Dallas today, it looks as though they'll see no help from injury returns, as Ericsson, Abdelkader and Draper are remain sidelined and Rafalski still requiring 3-4 weeks of recovery time from his knee surgery earlier this week.

The line-up that had a disappointing showing against the young Avalanche squad remains unchanged, save for Chris Osgood getting the nod in net at the expense of Jimmy Howard.

Howard had a rough game against the Avs, letting in a few soft goals allowing Colorado to force OT and eventually win in the shootout. The loss however, can't totally be blamed on Howard, who faced 38 shots and was forced to make some big saves on the pressuring opposition.

Osgood re-capturing his form against Chicago last Saturday night will go a long way to getting the Wings back in the 'W' column.

Worth watching will be Detroit's second line of Franzen, Filppula and Bertuzzi. They have been the most dynamic line for the Wings putting up 13 point between them in the first three games.

The Playoff Picture

Last night's win over Nashville was vital to keeping with striking distance of Nashville, but perhaps just as important as that, the win helps stave off the group of teams trying to chase down the Wings for the coveted 8th and final playoff spot. Among them is Calgary, who won at home against the Devils last night, 5-3, to remain just one point shy of the Wings 72 point total.

Minnesota fell victim to a rare Edmonton victory last night, losing 2-1 in a shootout and falling one point further back of 8th, now with a 5 point deficit with a game in hand.

Other teams breathing down the necks of Detroit are Dallas, who visit the defending Champion, Penguins today, St. Louis who'll head to the Pepsi Center tonight to try and knock off the Avalanche, and arch-rival Anaheim, who'll fight for points in Phoenix.

As it stands, there are seven teams fighting for two playoff spots, one of them owned by Detroit:

7 - Nashville Predators, 75 pts, 18GR

8 - Detroit Red Wings, 72 pts, 18GR

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9. Calgary Flames, 71 pts, 18GR

10. St. Louis Blues, 69 pts, 18GR

11. Dallas Stars, 68 pts, 19GR

12. Minnesota Wild, 67 pts, 19GR

13. Anaheim Ducks, 67 pts, 19GR

There is still a lot of hockey to play, so this picture will surely change in many ways, but whether they're from this group or not, five good hockey teams won't be playing playoff hockey. As unsettling as the thought is of Detroit possibly being one of them, it surely makes for an exciting stretch, something not seen for many years for a Red Wings fan.