Sorokin in net for the Islanders.

Is Berggren in?

I know it may not happen, but I would love to see Kasper for 4 games or so. 

from Ansar Khan of Mlive,

The numbers during this 10-game stretch are alarming:

• The Red Wings have scored first only once.
• They have been outscored 20-6 in the first period.
• They have led for a combined total of 29:24 (7:04 in Colorado on March 6 and 22:20 at home vs. Buffalo last Saturday; they didnt lead vs. Columbus on Tuesday until Patrick Kanes overtime goal).

Coach Derek Lalonde stressed playing simpler hockey: north, forechecking hard and getting pucks to the net....

Players say its up to them to solve the problem.

I feel like thats been our biggest issue, our starts, Lucas Raymond said. I think the urgency in this locker room is there. We come out a little bit hesitant, a little bit kind of feeling out the game. I feel like thats been an issue almost through the majority of the season, not just at the end here. We want to start off right and be able to build from that.

Said Moritz Seider: We are fired up but we just cant translate it on the ice. We have a good atmosphere in the room before. Now we just got to make sure were really dialed in. Its probably the biggest game of our season and we definitely cant fall asleep in the first 10 minutes.

Allowing breakaways, particularly in the first period, has been an issue. Columbus scored on two of its three breakaways in the first 20 minutes on Tuesday. Buffalo and Arizona also opened the scoring with an early breakaway goal in recent games.

Those are mental mistakes that are extremely avoidable, Lalonde said.

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I am away from home and cant manipulate graphics on a spreadsheet like I can at home.  But a picture is worth a thousand words, except when its one of these.  Making the obvious complicated is my theme.  I cant post the team logos on top of the chart but you can figure it oot.

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All of these teams are capable of flatlining, thats why they are where they are. Detroit has a brutal 4 game road swing, 2 of them are in the same desperate situation as the Wings and the other 2 are experienced built-for-playoff teams locking down tight games.  If they can manage 4 of 8 points in this stretch theyll still be in the mix of things, but they really must have 2 points tonight and better if in regulation.

They need to start on time tonight. It has been a problem over many seasons. 😳

One of these teams tonight will show they are a playoff contender, the other a pretender. Which is which is up for grabs. I have no fookin' idea at this point.

from Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News,

It's a balance that coach Derek Lalonde has to consider every day. But there's no doubt Lalonde feels that practice is important for his team.

"We want to practice as much as possible," Lalonde said. "We're still trying to grow this."

Lalonde and his coaching staff stressed the practice time and skill development last season and it's appeared to have helped in the development of certain players.

From a team perspective, the practice time has led to stronger starts and developing positive habits.

"We talk about last year, and in some ways, last year, the practice reps were really important for some of our youth," Lalonde said. "You watch all the video you can, but you have that muscle memory and reps, and it's my view and the organization's view that's where we're at (needing the reps).

"When we were in Tampa (Lalonde's time with the Lightning) chasing Stanley Cups, we didn't practice a ton," Lalonde said. "We literally were on the other side. Right now, where we are at as an organization, we need it. I would love to be in that situation with this team, where we need rest over reps.

"But that's not where we're at."

ut when the schedule is filled with games every other day as it will be in the next week or more it becomes a daily question of whether to go back on the ice.

"It's a huge balance," Lalonde said. "We played so well against Buffalo (Saturday); we literally limited them to six chances, there's no doubt in my mind a very hard and intense practice the day before, with defensive-zone reps and muscle memory and arrivals, it helps us immensely.

"But with the back-to-back (Sunday's game in Pittsburgh) the next night, we're wondering where our energy level is? Is it my fault? Maybe. That's the balance you're talking about. Everyone is wondering what happened in 24 hours. We played three games in four nights, with two-city travel, and, of course, there's a balance in that.

"Where we are as a group, we have to err on the side of practice."

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