After a grueling and, at times, disheartening road trip, the Red Wings return home with a chance to sweep a season series against the Western Conference-leading San Jose Sharks and turn momentum to their favour heading into the Olympic break. Detroit's bid to get back into the playoff picture may be boosted by the addition of Tomas Holmstrom into the lineup.
"It was a big difference from yesterday to today,'' Holmstrom said. "It's going to be a big test for sure. I need to get these games. It's going to be a tough one for sure, but I may as well get into it right away.''
Brad May will skate in the pre-game warmups as a back-up should Holmstrom be unfit to action. Homer is recovering from a bruised left knee he sustained in Los Angeles last week.
Niklas Kronwall is also being troubled with knee problems. Since suffering a realtively minor sprain in November, he has had difficulty returning to full health and, although the condition of his knee is reported to be improving, he has been ruled out for tonight's clash with the Sharks.
"It feels better today than yesterday, so I'm taking a step in the right direction,'' Kronwall said.
Detroit will need to be at their best tonight after a less than impressive outing against the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday. They'll look to take advantage of a travelling road team, as the Sharks are on the second of back-to-back games tonight after a 3-0 shutout loss to Steve Mason and the Blue Jackets. Wings' fans might also take heart in knowing that in the 3 previous meetings this season between these two rivals, a much more undermanned Detroit team has won all three, two of them fairly easily.
Jimmy Howard is expected to start in goal once again.
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