Red Wings Report: Inside Shots
If the Red Wings have any chance at catching Vancouver for the top spot in the Western Conference, they'd better win Wednesday's game against the Canucks at Joe Louis Arena -- in regulation.
Even that might not be good enough. The Canucks lead Detroit by eight points, and each team has nine games remaining. The Wings might have the better schedule, with six home games. Vancouver has only three home games left.
Topping the Canucks won't be easy, though, as banged up as the Red Wings are. Forwards Pavel Datsyuk (lower-body injury) and Johan Franzen (groin) likely will miss their third consecutive game, and Jiri Hudler (back, shoulder) probably will miss his fourth in a row, according to coach Mike Babcock.
The Red Wings also figure to be without Todd Bertuzzi (back). "He's had aches and pains for a while," Babcock said.
Goalie Chris Osgood, out since having sports hernia surgery in January, practiced Tuesday. He is questionable for Wednesday's game, according to Babcock.
Even with their injury woes, the Wings hope to cement the No. 2 spot in the conference by holding off hard-charging San Jose. The Wings also need to secure the Central Division.
"We've put ourselves in good position," Wings general manager Ken Holland said. "We're trying to hang onto the division. We're trying to hang onto the No. 2 seed. If we can beat Vancouver, maybe we can take a run at them. There's lots to play for."
PENGUINS 5, RED WINGS 4 (SO): The Wings made a tremendous comeback, battling back from a 4-0 deficit to tie it with three goals in the third period, the last two on the power play. But they couldn't complete the comeback and had to settle for one point after James Neal scored the only goal in the shootout. Detroit was sluggish through most of the first two periods, losing most puck battles and getting outworked by the Penguins in its own zone. But the Wings came to life late in the second period, after Henrik Zetterberg scored at 17:41. Detroit dominated the third period, outshooting the Penguins 14-5 and getting goals from Valtteri Filppula, Dan Cleary and Mike Modano.
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