Jack T Adams 1 Report post Posted October 22, 2008 (edited) The Blues look to extend their lead in the Central Division tonight. Conklin in for Detroit, Zetterberg doubtful. Stempniak and Berglund expected to return to the lineup for St. Louis. Preview: The Detroit Red Wings have won the Central Division title seven consecutive times, but the defending Stanley Cup champions find themselves in a position they're unaccustomed to. Looking to extend their surprising lead in the Central, the St. Louis Blues welcome Detroit to the Scottrade Center on Wednesday night. The Blues (4-1-0) have finished last in the division in two of the last three seasons, but own a one-point lead over the Red Wings coming into this contest. St. Louis rallied for a 4-3 shootout victory on Saturday over Chicago. The Blues trailed by two with 17 minutes remaining, but Keith Tkachuk got his sixth goal of the season and Andy McDonald scored his first goal of the season with 13.9 seconds left to tie the game. In the shootout, rookie T.J. Oshie tallied the game-winner. "We just stuck to it," said McDonald, who scored his first goal of the season. "We had a lot of guys creating offense. We had a lot of chances. It's just a matter of time for the puck to find its way in." Tkachuk extended his goal-scoring streak to five games. With his team-high eighth assist, Paul Kariya now has points in all five games this season. Manny Legace also improved to 4-0-0 by stopping 23 shots and allowing just one goal in the Blackhawks' four shootout attempts. Legace has won five straight games for the first time since the 2005-06 season when he had eight consecutive victories while playing for the Red Wings. "I give a lot of credit to the boys." Legace said. "They never gave up." Detroit (3-1-1) also rallied in the third period in its last game and earned its first home win of the season, 5-4 in overtime over the New York Rangers on Saturday. Marian Hossa, signed away from Cup runner-up Pittsburgh in the off-season, scored his first goal for his new team and the 300th of his NHL career 23 seconds into the extra period. "I knew I was getting chances. I tried to stay calm on the ice, and off, too. there was no panic," said Hossa, who also had an assist. "I knew the goals would come, and tonight I got the first one. Hopefully, now we can roll." Tomas Holmstrom also scored in his third straight game by recording his fifth goal of the season, and Mikael Samuelsson added his first goal and two assists. Chris Osgood improved to 2-1-1 by stopping 28 shots. The two teams are among the league's best on special teams. Red Wings have scored a power-play goal in three straight games, and they have killed off 13 consecutive penalties. Detroit has scored six times in 22 power-play opportunities and killed off 15 of 17 penalties. The Blues have allowed opponents to score two power-play goals in 20 chances, and, despite getting shut out Saturday for the first time this season on the power play, St. Louis has converted on nine of its 22 chances. Conn Smythe trophy winner Henrik Zetterberg could return to Detroit's lineup after sitting out the last two games with a strained groin. Last season, Zetterberg led the Red Wings with 43 goals and 92 points. He had a goal and an assist in the team's first three games. The Red Wings beat the Blues 4-3-1 in last season's series. Edited October 22, 2008 by Jack T Adams Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shaman 713 Report post Posted October 22, 2008 Free press and Mlive are both saying Z is likely for tonight, any source for saying hes doubtful? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
robat 13 Report post Posted October 22, 2008 That preview is dumb. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wingsgirl001 983 Report post Posted October 22, 2008 Aaaaaaack the hockey game and the baseball game start at the same time x_x Gonna have to channel flip at commercials. Anyway. GO WINGS!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lovin Jiri Fischer 147 Report post Posted October 22, 2008 Let's hope Conklin is still as much of a beast as he was last time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
redwings1914 18 Report post Posted October 22, 2008 HEREEEEEEEEEEE COMES CHEVELDAE! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CdnWingsFanEh 2 Report post Posted October 22, 2008 Would have been nice to see Osgood vs Legace, but whatever! GO WINGS GO!!!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
egroen 384 Report post Posted October 22, 2008 Please destroy St. Louis... I have been patiently waiting for a blowout and this would be a great time for one. 6-1 Wings. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
3chrisosgood0 7 Report post Posted October 22, 2008 Ill take Wings 4-1 and Flip scores all 4 cause i need fantasy help lol realistically Dats 1 Franzen 2 Flip Cleary1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HockeyCrazy3033 168 Report post Posted October 22, 2008 kjsjgs Wings win 5-2 (Cleary, Datsyuk, Lidstrom, Draper, Flip) GO WINGS! GO CONK! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chrisdetroit 189 Report post Posted October 22, 2008 That preview is dumb. It is beyond dumb. The entire thing is written on the premise that the Wings are not in first in the standings (1 point behind) and this is after 5 games. Not only that all of the teams that the blues have played have records of .500 or less (points eaned/point available) Nashville .500 Toronto .416 Dallas .416 Chicago .500 Islanders .400 I hate it when people try to make an argument that has no basis in fact. This is equivalent to saying that Homer is on pace to score 82 goals while Hossa is only on pace to score 16.4 goals and therefore Homer will win the Rocket Richard trophy while Hossa will be a wash out. You have to actually use common sense when making arguments. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SuperCalaFilppulastic! 34 Report post Posted October 22, 2008 Yeesh, lighten up people! I thought it was funny. I'm not in my hardcore stats/standing mode yet and when I read that line about the Blues extending their lead, I was thinking woah... what's been going on? Then I read "The Blues (4-1-0)" and started to laugh. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
redwings1914 18 Report post Posted October 22, 2008 It is beyond dumb. The entire thing is written on the premise that the Wings are not in first in the standings (1 point behind) and this is after 5 games. Not only that all of the teams that the blues have played have records of .500 or less (points eaned/point available) Nashville .500 Toronto .416 Dallas .416 Chicago .500 Islanders .400 I hate it when people try to make an argument that has no basis in fact. This is equivalent to saying that Homer is on pace to score 82 goals while Hossa is only on pace to score 16.4 goals and therefore Homer will win the Rocket Richard trophy while Hossa will be a wash out. You have to actually use common sense when making arguments. OMG THE WINGS ARE GONNA BE A 5th SEED!>!>?!??@$#?#%@? :puke: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
40#1Fan 0 Report post Posted October 22, 2008 Everything went well for Henrik Zetterberg at the morning skate, so he'll play tonight against St. Louis. Here are the Detroit line combinations ... Holmstrom-Datsyuk-Hossa Franzen-Zetterberg-Samuelsson Hudler-Filppula-Cleary Kopecky-Draper-Maltby Lidstrom-Rafalski Kronwall-Stuart Lebda-Meech Conklin (starts) Osgood Look for the defense pairings to shuffle as the game goes on, as they did against the Rangers. Lidstrom and Rafalski will likely stay together whenever the McDonald line is out, but could split at other times. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Mule 0 Report post Posted October 22, 2008 Unfortunately, I won't be able to tune in to this one, because somehow I won front row tickets to a Lenny Kravitz show and a meet-and-greet with him afterwards. The best part is, I don't consider myself anything close to a fan of his, but free is free, so I'm not complaining. As for the game, as usual I'll predict a Red Wings victory. Wings take this one 5-2 on goals from Hossa, Zetterberg, Cleary, Samuelsson, and Hudler. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ilmickeyli 40 Report post Posted October 22, 2008 Lenny Kravitz over a wings game? Just kidding, have fun.. Go WINGS! No predictions here.. Just hoping they play a hard, full 40 minutes (hey, it'd be an improvement at this point) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YoungGuns1340 1 Report post Posted October 22, 2008 Zetterberg didn't lead the Wings in points last season. Datsyuk did. If you're gonna make a preview, at least make it correct. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YoungGuns1340 1 Report post Posted October 22, 2008 Everything went well for Henrik Zetterberg at the morning skate, so he'll play tonight against St. Louis. Here are the Detroit line combinations ... Holmstrom-Datsyuk-Hossa Franzen-Zetterberg-Samuelsson Hudler-Filppula-Cleary Kopecky-Draper-Maltby Lidstrom-Rafalski Kronwall-Stuart Lebda-Meech Conklin (starts) Osgood Look for the defense pairings to shuffle as the game goes on, as they did against the Rangers. Lidstrom and Rafalski will likely stay together whenever the McDonald line is out, but could split at other times. f*** Samuelsson on the 2nd line. Sorry, had to say it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FinRedWing 172 Report post Posted October 22, 2008 Hopefully my hate towards the Central division won't grow tonight. W Go Wings! (and if I get FSN Midwest feed tonight) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shutemdown 23 Report post Posted October 22, 2008 When's Cleary gonna have his shot on the second line? I was excited when I heard he might be rounding out that line. Oh well... I guess I'll be the first to admit that, although at times I'm not his biggest fan, I hope Sammy does well... I'm actually kind of proud of him. He's been playing alot better and has been chipping in offensively. No complaints here. (Besides the fact that Helm should be playing right now!) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Z and D for the C 712 Report post Posted October 22, 2008 Glad to see zetterberg in, hope he has a good night Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Proud 2 B a Wings Fan 0 Report post Posted October 22, 2008 Go Wings and Go ZETTERBERG!!!! Wings win by 3. 4-1. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Doggy 130 Report post Posted October 22, 2008 Wings aren't "there" yet. Will lose 4- 2 Hope I am wrong but I wont be. Hossa and Datsyuk not good and Zetterberg will rusty. You heard it hear first. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DRW Dominance 255 Report post Posted October 22, 2008 Any streams on Justin tv for this? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Z and D for the C 712 Report post Posted October 22, 2008 Wings aren't "there" yet. Will lose 4- 2 Hope I am wrong but I wont be. Hossa and Datsyuk not good and Zetterberg will rusty. You heard it hear first. I have a feeling you're right. I'm not saying we are going to lose, but I highly doubt it'll be a 4-1 win. Probably like 3-2 one way or another or something. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
