The Detroit Red Wings play the New York Islanders this evening (7:00 PM EST on FSD Plus/MSG+/97.1 FM) hoping to gain points on a Wild Card foe.
The Islanders played in a 4-3 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night, so they didn’t hold a morning skate; Petr Mrazek will start for the Wings, most likely facing Thomas Greiss, and the Islanders website’s Cory Wright filed a Wings-Islanders game preview:
The Islanders (58 points) will be doing a bit of scoreboard watching on Friday as well, as Columbus (58 points) takes on Washington, the Rangers (55 points) take on Calgary and Carolina (57 points) host Vancouver. As has been the case of late, every game for the Islanders is big and Friday is no exception.
LINEUP NOTES:
Thomas Greiss is the likely starter as Jaroslav Halak played the first night of the back-to-back set. Without a morning skate, the Islanders won’t unveil their lineup until approximately 4:45 Friday afternoon.
SEASON SERIES: The Islanders are 0-1-0 against the Red Wings this season, dropping their first meeting this season 6-3 at Barclays Center on Dec. 19. The Islanders led 3-2 in the second period of that contest, but the Red Wings scored four unanswered goals to take over the game.
The Isles are 2-4-1 in their last 7 games against Detroit.
BY THE NUMBERS:
3 – straight games with a power-play goal. The Islanders are 3-for-9 with the man advantage over that span.
28 – goals for John Tavares and Anders Lee. Tavares and Lee are tied for fourth in the NHL in goals.
Power Play: Islanders 20.6% – 14th, Red Wings 18.6% – 21st
Penalty Kill: Islanders 73.9% – 30th, Red Wings 80% – 17th…
The Red Wings are fighting to stay in the East playoff picture, as they’re eight points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild card. Detroit would have to leapfrog Florida, the Rangers, Carolina and the Islanders to get to Columbus, so Friday’s game is a must-win.
The Red Wings enter Friday’s contest on a two-game losing streak and are 4-5-1 in their last 10 games.
NHL.com’s Brian Compton also filed a game preview:
The Game
The New York Islanders are hopeful defenseman Johnny Boychuk will play for the first time since Dec. 27 when they host the Detroit Red Wings at Barclays Center on Friday.
Boychuk has missed 18 games because of a lower-body injury. New York has the worst defense in the NHL; it is averaging 35.3 shots against per game and has allowed a League-high 201 goals in 55 games. The Islanders have allowed at least four goals in 14 of their past 18 games, including a 4-3 loss at the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday.
Detroit has lost its past two games. Friday begins a stretch in which the Red Wings play 10 games in 17 days.
Players to watch
Red Wings goalie Petr Mrazek is 4-1-1 with a 1.30 goals-against average and a .958 save percentage in his past six starts.
Islanders center John Tavares has two goals and one assist during a three-game point streak.
They said it
“There’s a huge urgency of the games we have coming. The games we have ahead of us will make the latter games matter if you take care of business. We need to make those games matter at the end of the year by winning right now. Certainly the games we have coming up are critical, but they’re not any more critical than the ones that we’ve had, but they’re critical. It’s a critical junction.” — Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill
“We can’t afford to lose hockey games.” — Islanders coach Doug Weight
Compton continues with prospective lineups…
The Red Wings hadn’t hit the ice at the Barclay’s Center as of noon EST, so their morning skate was in doubt.
Also of Red Wings-related note:
The Wings held “STEM DAY” at Little Caesars Arena, and here’s their video depicting the day:
It’s GAME DAY at the Van!
? @WOODRADIO
? @AHLLive
? #Griffins App, @GriffinsGameDay, #SAvsGR
⏰ 7PM pic.twitter.com/DCnumAeLuE— Grand Rapids Griffins (@griffinshockey) February 9, 2018
This weekend stop by the #Griffins Booster Club table for your chance to win two @TheAHL All-Star jerseys: @28Lorito‘s 2018 jersey (Friday) or @pmrazek34‘s 2013 jersey (Saturday). Proceeds benefit the family of Griffins staff member Jake Engel, who passed away this week. pic.twitter.com/on0hGvPjAC
— Grand Rapids Griffins (@griffinshockey) February 9, 2018
Update: The Wings may not skate today as Ken Kal Tweeted the following:
Had fun shooting Comerica Bank Game Day Preview In NY today. @iamchesterpink behind the lens pic.twitter.com/N5P7OKY5Mb
— Ken Kal (@KenKalDRW) February 9, 2018
It sounds like Johnny Boychuk will play for the Islanders tonight…
Great news #isles fans Johnny Boychuk has been activated off the team’s IR list. #NHL
— Shannon Hogan (@Shannon_Hogan) February 9, 2018
#Isles have activated Johnny Boychuk off injured reserve.
— Brian Compton (@BComptonNHL) February 9, 2018
Update #2: Looks like the Wings aren’t skating today:
Tonight’s @Huntington_Bank Projected Lineup in Brooklyn. #LGRW
?: 7:00pm
?: @FOXSportsDet PLUS
?: @971theticketxyt pic.twitter.com/rz9QvCYr95— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) February 9, 2018
I like Doug Weights comment on tonites game, Blashill babbles on as usual.