Abel to Yzerman

Abel to Yzerman

No Notes, Just Previews- Leafs/Wings

12/10/2014 at 9:52am EST

A little different today. I am having some back pain today for some reason and need to pace myself a bit here so no notes, just previews..

from Paul Harris at NHL.com,

Howard is 13-5-4 with a 2.21 goals-against average and .917 save percentage for Detroit, which has won seven of its past eight games. The Red Wings are 17-6-5 and on top of the Atlantic Division with 39 points heading into the Wednesday Night Rivalry game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Joe Louis Arena (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN, TVA SPORTS).

Last season, Howard, 30, slumped with a 2.66 GAA after 2.12 and 2.13 the previous two seasons. He was hampered throughout 2013-14 with groin and shoulder injuries.

Detroit coach Mike Babcock said Howard's play was particularly important in the first few games of the season, when the Red Wings were discovering their personality but managed a 3-1-1 record against a tough schedule.

"If you go back to his first five games his save percentage was through the roof (.949, stopping 131 of 138 shots)," Babcock said. "Those first five games we weren't confident and going yet and we needed him even more so I think that's really important. … I really thought when we were trying to find ourselves and gain confidence [Howard] was really good."

read on

from Brian Comptopn of NHL.com,

Here are five things to watch in the game between the Maple Leafs and Red Wings:

1. Kessel aims to solve Red Wings

Maple Leafs right wing Phil Kessel seems to have success against all opponents, but the Red Wings have been a thorn in his side recently; he's been held without a point in his past three games against Detroit. He hasn't reached the scoresheet against the Red Wings since the NHL Winter Classic at Michigan Stadium on Jan. 1.

Kessel scored his 14th goal of the season Tuesday, giving him goals in three of his past four games....

2. Datsyuk's dynamite

History has proven that Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg can be lethal for opponents when the two are skating on the same line. But for now, Datsyuk is playing with Darren Helm and Tomas Tatar, and the three are wreaking havoc, combining for nine goals and eight assists in Detroit's past four games.

"The way we're spread out right now is that somebody else can pick you up on a different night, which is positive," Babcock said earlier this week. "I still think at some time we're going to have Pav and [Zetterberg] back together again, especially at home. Maybe play them apart on the road. But all in all they're a good line. But you should have more good lines."

Datsyuk has 12 goals and 10 assists in 17 games. He missed the start of the season because of a shoulder injury and didn't make his debut until Oct. 21. He also missed time last month because of a sore groin. He's healthy now, though, which means the Maple Leafs will have their hands full.

more

TEAM STATS
GP RECORD HOME ROAD L10 G/GP GA/GP PP% PK% PIM/GP S/GP SA/GP FO%
Toronto Maple Leafs 27 15-9-3 11-7-0 4-2-3 6-3-1 3.44 2.93 21.2 83.3 9.4 30.4 33.3 51.4
Detroit Red Wings 28 17-6-5 11-3-2 6-3-3 8-2-0 3.11 2.39 21.8 87.1 8.7 30.6 27.2 54.0

Create an Account

In order to leave a comment, please create an account.

About Abel to Yzerman

Welcome to Abel to Yzerman, a Red Wing blog since 1977. No other site on the internet has better-researched, fact-laden and better prepared discussions than A2Y. Re-phrase: we do little research, find facts and stats highly overrated and claim little to no preparation. There are 19 readers of A2Y. No more, no less. All of them, except maybe one, are juvenile in nature. Reminding them of that in the comment section will only encourage them to prove that.

Most Recent Posts

Most Recent Comments