Abel to Yzerman

Abel to Yzerman

Preview And Notes- Detroit Red Wings/Florida Panthers

12/12/2014 at 11:27am EST

via Brian Hedger at NHL.com,

Season series: Vincent Trocheck (one goal, two assists) and Jimmy Hayes (one goal, one assist) led the way to victory for the Florida Panthers in the first game. Center Pavel Datsyuk had a goal and assist for the Detroit Red Wings.

Panthers team scope: Rather than sinking to the bottom of the NHL standings as many predicted, the Panthers are hanging around the Stanley Cup Playoffs picture in the Eastern Conference. They've alternated wins and losses in their past six games (3-2-1) and lost 4-2 on Monday at the St. Louis Blues to start a three-game road trip. Rookie defenseman Aaron Ekblad, who is on a five-game point streak, missed practice Thursday because of soreness. He and coach Gerard Gallant told reporters it was nothing to worry about. Injured forwards Scottie Upshall (ankle) and Aleksander Barkov (groin and hand) practiced Thursday in Detroit. Upshall might be ready to face the Red Wings and Barkov is targeting a possible return next week. Defenseman Shane O'Brien was recalled Thursday from San Antonio of the American Hockey League.

Red Wings team scope: Detroit is coming off a 2-1 shootout loss Wednesday against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The defeat snapped a three-game win streak for the Red Wings, who've used a 11-3-2 stretch in their past 16 games to surge to the upper crust of the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference. Forward Justin Abdelkader (shoulder) practiced Thursday, but coach Mike Babcock said his return isn't likely until next week, and the Red Wings placed him on injured reserve, retroactive to Nov. 30. After practice, Babcock shot down reports that he was close to signing a contract extension, saying he isn't likely to sign an extension during the season. Defenseman Danny DeKeyser has an upper-body injury that will keep him out for at least this weekend. Defenseman Xavier Ouellet was recalled Thursday from Grand Rapids of the AHL.

DETROIT RED WINGS

CURRENT INJURIES (total games missed; current injury length)

Jonas Gustavsson – Shoulder (16; 11/7-present)
Justin Abdelkader – Shoulder (8; 12/2-present)
Individual Man Games Lost: Pavel Datsyuk (11), Stephen Weiss (9), Johan Franzen (6), Brendan Smith (5), Kyle Quincey (4), Jimmy Howard (1)
Man Games Lost (Season Total): 57
2013-14 Total through 29 GP: 93

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

Nov. 30 – Assigned D Xavier Ouellet to Grand Rapids … Removed D Brendan Smith from IR
Dec. 11 – Recalled D Xavier Ouellet from Grand Rapids … Placed F Justin Abdelkader on IR (retroactive to Nov. 30)

THE MATCHUP

- Tonight is the 30th all-time meeting between DET and FLA
- Tonight marks the 2nd of 4 meetings this season between DET and FLA, 2nd of 2 in DET
- DET’s all-time record vs. FLA: 16-4-5-4
- DET’s all-time home record vs. FLA: 6-3-3-2
- Jimmy Howard is 2-1-1 with a 1.95 GAA and .927 SV% vs. FLA
- Pavel Datsyuk has 19 points (7-12-19) in 14 games vs. FLA
- Henrik Zetterberg has 9 points (2-7-9) in 11 games vs. FLA
- Johan Franzen has 7 points (2-5-7) in 9 games vs. FLA
- Stephen Weiss was drafted in the 1st round (4th overall) by FLA in 2001 and is the franchise’s all-time leader in games played (654) and assists (249)
- FLA’s all-time top scorers vs. DET: Brad Boyes (10-12-22 in 32 GP), Brian Campbell (2-14-16 in 30 GP) and Jussi Jokinen (3-12-15 in 17 GP)
- FLA F Tomas Kopecky had 32 points (12-20-32) in 183 games with DET from 2005-09
- FLA F Tomas Fleischmann was drafted in the 2nd round (63rd overall) by DET in 2002 and was traded by DET to WSH with two draft picks for Robert Lang in Feb. 2004
- FLA F Vincent Trocheck is a Little Caesars alumnus and spent his junior career with the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit (2009-13) and Plymouth Whalers (2012-13), totaling 299 points (120-179-299) in 264 games between the teams
- FLA G Al Montoya was 86-29-8 in 123 games with the University of Michigan from 2002-05
- FLA’s Jimmy Hayes (2006-08), Nick Bjugstad (2009-10) and Al Montoya (2001-02) are alums of the US NTDP
- FLA assistant coach John Madden had 180 points (80-100-180) in 160 games with the University of Michigan from 1993-97
- FLA head coach Gerard Gallant is tied for 15th in Red Wings history with 467 points (207-260-467) in 563 games with the team from 1984-93

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS

Detroit will play 10 games at Joe Louis Arena in December – marking the 2nd time in team history the team plays as many as 10 home games in one month. They also did so in March 2007 (5-1-4 home record). Detroit has earned the most home points in the league (25) with a 11-3-3 record, matching TB in that category (12-4-1)

Last season, the team did not win its 10th home game until 1/31/14 (4-3 SOW vs. WSH), its 29th home game of the season (10-11-8). The Red Wings won 11 of their last 16 home contests last season, giving them points in 28 of their last 34 appearances (22-5-6) at Joe Louis Arena since 1/22/14.

RECENT/UPCOMING MILESTONES

- Quincey played in his 400th NHL game on 12/10 vs. TOR
- Franzen now sits 22nd in DET history with 363 points, passing Shawn Burr (362) and Kris Draper (361) in the last week. Franzen is 1 point behind Marcel Dionne (366) for 21st in franchise history
- Helm’s next goal will be his 50th in the NHL
- Cleary is 1 game away from 600 with DET
- Babcock is 3 games shy of his 900th game coached in the NHL
- Zetterberg is 5 points away from 750 in the NHL

ON THE FARM

The Grand Rapids Griffins rank last in the tightly-contested Midwest Division, but sit just one point out of a playoff spot after falling 3-2 in overtime at home to the Lake Erie Monsters on Wednesday. A pair of defensemen – Ryan Sproul (2) and Nathan Paetsch (2) – scored for Grand Rapids, while Teemu Pulkkinen picked up an assist to move within one point of the AHL scoring lead. Pulkkinen has 26 points (11-15-26) in 23 games, one point shy of Hamilton’s Charles Hudon. Next Game: 12/12 at Oklahoma City Barons.

FLORIDA PANTHERS

AGAINST THE RED WINGS

Tonight's game marks the 30th meeting between the two teams, with Florida posting a 8-13-5-3 record against the Red Wings. The Panthers own a 5-5-3-1 road record against Detroit. This is the second of four meetings between the two teams, with Florida defeating Detroit 4-3 on Dec. 2. Florida and Detroit will meet again in South Florida on Jan. 27 and Mar. 19.
2014-15 SERIES vs. DETROIT: 1-0-0 (1-0-0 on Road)
2013-14 SERIES vs. DETROIT: 3-2-0 (2-0-0 on Road)
ALL-TIME RECORD vs. DETROIT: 8-13-5-3 (5-5-3-1 on Road)
LAST GAME: 12/2/14 at DET (4-3 W)
NEXT GAME: 1/27/14 vs. DET
CURRENT STREAKS: Florida has won their last three games played in Detroit (Dec. 2, 2014: 4-3 W, Jan. 26 2014: 5-4 SOW, Dec. 7 2013: 2-1 W)

FLORIDA-DETROIT CONNECTIONS

Florida F Tomas Fleischmann was drafted by Detroit in the 2002 NHL Draft in the second round (63rd overall). Florida F Tomas Kopecky was drafted by Detroit in the 2000 NHL Draft in the second round (38th overall) and recorded 32 points (12-20—32) in 183 games. He won a Stanley Cup with Detroit in 2008. Florida Head Coach Gerard Gallant played 563 games for Detroit (1984-93) and recorded 467 points (207-260—467). Gallant recorded four 70-plus point seasons, including his most successful year in 1988-1989 when he registered a career high 93 points (39-54—93). Detroit F Stephen Weiss was drafted by Florida in the first round (fourth overall) of the 2001 NHL Draft. Weiss' 654 games (2001-13) as a Panther ranks as the most games by any player in a Panthers uniform. Weiss recorded 394 points (145-249—394) during his time in Florida, ranking him second all-time in scoring among Florida players and first all-time in assists.

EK'S ON FIRE

Rookie D Aaron Ekblad extended his point steak to career-best five games (3-4—7) with a goal against St. Louis (Dec. 8). According to Elias Sports Bureau, Ekblad's recent three point night (Dec. 6 vs. BUF) marked the second time in franchise history a rookie defenseman recorded three points in a game. The last player to accomplish this feat was D Dan Boyle (1-2—3 Feb 24, 1999 vs. PHI).
Ranks first among rookie defensemen in points (18), assists (13) and tied for first in goals (5).
Ranks tied for first on Florida in points (5-13—18) and assists (13).
Ranks tied for second on Florida with a plus-six rating.
Tied D Dmitry Kulikov's franchise assist record for rookie defensemen (13, 2009-10).
Ranks tied for third among rookies in game-winning goals (2).
Ranks second among all rookies in blocked shots (30) and third among all rookies in scoring (5-13--18), assists (13) and in TOI (21:46).
Named Third Star of the week on NHL.com joining F Jonathan Huberdeau as the last Panthers rookie to earn a similar honor. Huberdeau was named Rookie of the Month, Feb. 2013.

HOW THE PANTHERS WERE BUILT

Draft (8): Barkov, Bjugstad, Ekblad, Gudbranson, Huberdeau, Kulikov, Robak, Trocheck
Trades (6): Campbell, Hayes, Kopecky, Luongo, Olsen, Pirri
Free Agency (10): Bergenheim, Bolland, Boyes, Fleischmann, Jokinen, MacKenzie, Mitchell, Montoya, Thornton, Upshall

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