Detroit Red Wings Get Players Back, Game 3 Info and More
Apr 18, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA; Detroit Red Wings left wing Tomas Tatar (21) reacts after he scored a goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the third period in game two of the first round of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amalie Arena. Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Detroit Red Wings 5-1. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
The Detroit Red Wings are back home in game three of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and look to take the series advantage on home ice as they take on the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight. After game two the team looked nothing like they did in game one. Players seemed out-of-place, in fact they were out-of-place and some of the goals scored by the Lightning were due in part to bad defense rather than goal tending by Petr Mrazek.
Good news for Red Wings fan; Justin Abdelkader is back
Abdelkader confirmed he is playing tomorrow.
— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) April 20, 2015
Abdelkader missed the last 4 games of the regular season due to a hand injury. The injury kept him out of the first two games of the playoffs and his absence seemed to be noticeable. The hard-hitting physical play that the Red Wings seemed to lack in the last two games will now be on their side. The team has seemed to lack physical play at time and this team without Abdelkader just isn’t the same. Having him in the game is something teammates say you don’t know how much you miss them until they are gone.
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“Abby is a force for us.”
Is what defenseman Niklas Kronwall said about Abdelkader. It will be interesting to see this team with Abdelkader back in the line up and seeing how different this team looks compared to the first two games.
Back at home
Hopefully this series doesn’t turn out like last seasons when we won game one against Boston, then went on to lose five straight games and went out of the playoffs in the first round. Home ice could help the Red Wings out as the Lightning have a not losing but also not great road record this season posting a 18-16-7 record on the road. The Red Wings have a good home record of 22-10-9.
Detroit Red Wings
Really the only thing that the team must do is win this game in regulation. While the Red Wings have a good home record, they are terrible in overtime and shootouts. Thankfully, the playoffs don’t have shootouts and so that helps the team out because they are not the greatest in the shootout, overtime is still a problem for them in the past two seasons.
This team has the ability to win, but playing terrible defense leads to terrible goals being scored and then when you don’t score goals leads to your team losing games which leads to your team getting knocked out of the playoffs early.
Game information
Detroit Red Wings vs Tampa Bay Lightning
Time: 7 pm
TV: FSD or NBCSN
How do you guys think the rest of the series will turn out? Will the Red Wings pick it up and win this series or will they falter like last season? Let us know below and don’t forget to stay connected to Detroit Jock City for all your Red Wings news.
Next: A recap of game two for the Detroit Red Wings