PREVIEW: Detroit Red Wings vs. Ottawa Senators Tuesday, March 31st @ 7:30pm ET

The Detroit Red Wings will undoubtedly treat this game against the Ottawa Senators as a playoff game. The Red Wings are 3 points up on the Boston Bruins and the Senators are expected to come out hungry as they look to secure a wild card spot. Game time is 7:30pm ET.

Last 10 Games

Detroit: 3-6-1, currently in 6^th place in the Eastern Conference & 3^rd in the Atlantic Division with a 40-23-12 overall record.

Ottawa:  7-2-1, currently in 9^th place in the Eastern Conference & 5^th in the Atlantic Division with a 37-26-12 overall record.

VS. This Season

2-1 in favor of Detroit.

VS. Last 5 Years

6-3 in favor of Detroit.

Courtesy of: Ottawa Citizen

Detroit Red Wings vs. Ottawa Senators Tickets Mar. 31

Detroit Red Wings vs. Boston Bruins Tickets Apr. 02

Minnesota Wild vs. Detroit Red Wings Tickets Apr. 04

Detroit Red Wings vs. Washington Capitals Tickets Apr. 05
Detroit Red Wings vs. Carolina Hurricanes Tickets Apr. 07

Expected Goaltenders

Detroit: Petr Mrazek (15-7-1)

Ottawa: Craig Anderson (14-13-8)

Players To Watch

Detroit: Justin Abdelkader continues to climb the team stat ladder and has 6 points (4G, 2 A) in his past 5 games.

Ottawa: Kyle Turris has 5 points (3G, 2A) in his past 5 games. He is 2^nd in team scoring behind defenseman Erik Karlsson with 55 points (22G, 33A).

Injuries*

Detroit: Johan Franzen (out, concussion)
              Jonas Gustavsson (out, concussion)
              Erik Cole (out, upper body injury)
               
Ottawa: Milan Michalek (day-to-day, upper body injury)
               Matt Puempel (day-to-day, lower body injury)
               Robin Lehner (out, concussion)
               Chris Phillips (out, undisclosed)
               Chris Neil (out, thumb)       

* As of March 31st

3 areas the Red Wings need to improve in now

As the month of April approaches, some teams in the NHL are playing their best hockey of the season. Whether they play well to secure home-ice advantage in the postseason, secure a playoff spot in general, or play for pride, players are stepping up for their teams and relishing roles as heroes and spoilers, and sometimes both simultaneously.

Courtesy of: Detroit Free Press

Alternatively, in addition to teams that have struggled all season long, there are teams faltering at this crucial point in the season, either holding a playoff spot and unable to clinch it or currently on the fringe unable to find what it takes to get in. The Detroit Red Wings find themselves in the faltering category, surprisingly still in the top three in the Atlantic Division with mediocre play and the Boston Bruins and Ottawa Senators unable to catch up to date.

While it is obviously a good thing Detroit is still in the playoffs as it stands now, the bad news is unless they improve in the following areas, they could find themselves eliminated early in the playoffs or worse-out of playoff contention.

Goaltending

Jimmy Howard has been struggling and most people think he has not played as effectively since returning from a groin injury. This was most obvious when Howard was pulled against the San Jose Sharks last week in the first period after letting in the first shot on goal 19 seconds into the game and stopping 6 of 9 shots. Petr Mrazek got the start against the Tampa Bay Lightning and looked impressive however followed that game with a lackluster showing against the New York Islanders. Not every goal can be blamed on Mrazek- 3 were power play goals- however, one was scored off a generous rebound and another was off his own skate from the side of the net. Mrazek was pulled after this goal in favor of Howard.  It is this inconsistent goaltending and these bad goals that are allowed in that are sinking the Red Wings right now.

Special Teams

Currently the Red Wings are 2^nd in the NHL on the power play and a staggering 20^th overall in penalty killing. The penalty kill units, while used a lot less than other teams as Detroit is 22^nd overall in penalty minutes per game, has not been successful and this needs to be remedied in order to give the team any chance of post-season success. Last game alone the Red Wings allowed the Islanders 3 power play goals;  in the last 10 games, the Red Wings have allowed 10 power play goals (including 3 against the Philadelphia Flyers on March 14^th). The Red Wings have been successful on the penalty play, scoring a league-leading 66 power play goals this season. However, they have also given up 8 short-handed goals which places them 3^rd overall this season including one against the Islanders where Tatar tripped over the blue line and two against the Boston Bruins on March 8^th where Stephen Weiss coughed up the puck twice.

Consistent Scoring

The Red Wings have had no problems scoring this season and even some games they have lost have been high-scoring affairs (eg. against San Jose, Arizona, and the New York Islanders in March alone). Nonetheless, it is the lack of consistency among players that continues to be in issue. It is a well-known fact that players go hot and cold in the NHL, however guys like Gustav Nyquist (3 goals in February, 3 so far in March) and Riley Sheahan (2 goals in February, 2 so far in March), and captain Henrik Zettterberg (2 goals since a 3-goal game on January 18^th against the Buffalo Sabres) seem to be going cold at a vital time of the season. Many players on the Red Wings team need to start finding the back of the net in order to be the offensive threat required in securing a playoff stretch and being dominant in the playoffs.

PREVIEW: Detroit Red Wings vs. San Jose Sharks Thursday, March 26th @ 7:30pm ET

The Detroit Red Wings look to gain some ground in the Atlantic Division against the struggling San Jose Sharks. Ottawa and Boston are fighting over a wild card spot and also look to strip Detroit of its position in the top 3 in the division. Game time is 7:30pm ET.

Courtesy of: Redwings.nhl.com

Last 10 Games

Detroit: 3-6-1, currently in 6th place in the Eastern Conference with a 39-21-12 overall record.

San Jose:  5-5-0, currently in 12th place in the Western Conference with a 35-30-8 overall record.

VS. This Season

1-0 in favor of Detroit.

VS. Last 5 Years

10-3-0-1 in favor of San Jose.

Detroit Red Wings vs. San Jose Sharks Tickets Mar. 26

Detroit Red Wings vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Tickets Mar. 28

New York Islanders vs. Detroit Red Wings Tickets Mar. 29

Detroit Red Wings vs. Ottawa Senators Tickets Mar. 31
Detroit Red Wings vs. Boston Bruins Tickets Apr. 02

Expected Goaltenders

Detroit: Jimmy Howard (21-12-10)

San Jose: Antti Niemi (28-22-7)

Players To Watch

Detroit: Justin Abdelkader (21G, 20A) is on a roll and has 4 points (2G, 2 A) in his last 2 games including the game-winning goal against the St. Louis Blues. His physical play and ability to win battles at the net continue to benefit the team.

San Jose: Joe Pavelski has 5 points (3G, 2A) in his last 5 games and is first in scoring for the San Jose Sharks with 66 points (35G, 31A).

Injuries*

Detroit: Johan Franzen (out, concussion)
              Pavel Datsyuk (game-time decision, lower body

              injury)   

              Jonas Gustavsson (out, concussion)
              Erik Cole (out, upper body injury)             

San Jose: Mike Brown (out, leg)

* As of March 26

Mrazek's play demanding attention at the NHL level

Once again Petr Mrazek made the case that he is ready to be an NHL starting net minder as the Detroit Red Wings trounced the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-1 Sunday afternoon. Mrazek improves his record to 14-5-1 after amassing many starts in January and February when Jimmy Howard went down with a groin injury and Jonas Gustavsson was out with a dislocated shoulder.

Courtesy of: Edmonton Journal

The 23-year-old Czech picked 141^st overall in the 2010 draft has a.914 save percentage and a 2.47 goals against average. With such impressive numbers it is getting increasingly difficult to view Mrazek as a minor-league backup called up to the NHL in times of need. In the game against Pittsburgh it was obvious that Mrazek was confident in himself, leaving the crease to play the puck to teammates and not letting opponents trying to crowd the net intimidate him. The hit that he took from Patric Hornqvist could have easily shaken him but instead Mrazek stayed in to get the win and earn a .977 save percentage for the game.

It appears that the Red Wings’ have a predicament on their hands: with three NHL-calibre goaltenders in the system, who stays? While Coach Mike Babcock has made it clear that his team’s struggles cannot be placed solely on Jimmy Howard’s shoulders, his play can nonetheless be described as hot and cold at times. Jonas Gustavsson has experience at the NHL level and is a capable backup goalie, but with the arrival of Mrazek is he now seen as eventual trade bait? Can Mrazek take the top job from Howard given his success this season? Will Mrazek be traded to a team that is looking for a goalie?

So many questions but one thing is for sure- Petr Mrazek’s play demands attention and the goalie situation in Detroit is sure to be interesting.