Red Wings at Canucks
The Detroit Red Wings picked up a much-needed win in Edmonton on Friday and are hoping to close out a three-game road trip with a winning mark when they visit the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday. The Red Wings are 4-6-2 on the road but dominated the Canucks 8-3 when the teams met in Detroit last month. That kicked off a 1-4-2 stretch for Vancouver, which has since recovered to win back-to-back games.
The Red Wings got off to a shaky start on their tour of Western Canada with a loss at Calgary on Wednesday, driving their winless streak to three games. But Pavel Datsyuk returned to the scoresheet with a goal in overtime on Friday to end the slide. Datsyuk had gone 11 straight contests without a goal before beating Devan Dubnyk. The Canucks busted out of their own scoring slump on Thursday, matching their goal total from the previous four games in a 7-4 triumph over the Nashville Predators.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, NHL Network, CBC, RDS2, FSN Plus (Detroit)
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (13-10-5): Detroit is beginning to get its power play in order and has scored with the man advantage in three straight games after failing to do so in six consecutive contests. Defenseman Niklas Kronwall’s power-play tally with under six minutes left on Friday knotted it at 2-2 and forced overtime, where Datsyuk was able to ensure the Red Wings two points. Kronwall had three points in the Feb. 24 meeting with Vancouver and Damien Brunner recorded two goals and two assists to lead the way. That type of offensive outburst has been rare for Detroit, which has not scored more than three goals in any of the nine games since that meeting. The Red Wings will go home for one game on Wednesday before the compressed schedule sends them back out on the road for four straight.
ABOUT THE CANUCKS (13-7-6): Roberto Luongo allowed all eight goals in the Feb. 24 meeting but has settled into a productive timeshare with Cory Schneider over the last few weeks. The bigger issue has been on the offensive end, where Vancouver has gone 0-for-24 on the power play over the last 10 games. Thursday’s explosion featured a beautiful penalty-shot goal by captain Henrik Sedin but saw the team fail to convert either of its chances with the man advantage again. Sedin has eight points in the last seven games, but brother Daniel was left out of the fun on Thursday and has gone three straight games without recording a point. With center Ryan Kesler expected to be out until April with a broken foot, the Canucks could be in the market for forward help at the trade deadline.
OVERTIME
1. Daniel Sedin scored two goals in the first meeting and has 42 points (18 goals) in 43 career games against the Red Wings.
2. Detroit C Valtteri Filppula has scored in two straight games after missing two weeks with a shoulder injury.
3. Red Wings G Jimmy Howard (flu) returned to the net on Friday and allowed two or fewer goals for the sixth straight game.