Wings Wrap-up West Coast Trip Tonight
The Red Wings added two new players to the lineup in the game against the Oil. Here are the shifts Johan Franzen skated the other night.
| Period | Time | Line |
|
1 |
2:07 | 4th |
|
1 |
5:39 | 4th |
|
1 |
8:49 | 4th |
|
1 |
13:29 | 4th |
|
1 |
19:00 | PK [w/Draper] |
|
2 |
2:31 | 4th |
|
2 |
4:30 | 4th |
|
2 |
7:25 | 4th |
|
2 |
14:45 | 4th |
|
2 |
16:19 | PK |
|
2 |
19:36 | 2nd |
|
3 |
3:42 | 3rd |
|
3 |
6:17 | 4th |
|
3 |
9:10 | 2nd |
|
3 |
11:56 | 2nd |
|
3 |
16:22 | 4th |
As the game wore on, the Mule was moved up to the second line alongside Val Filppula and Mikael Samuelsson. Considering the Wings are playing Calgary tonight I wouldn’t be surprised if the same thing happens and Franzen plays much of the game on the second line.
With Nik Kronwall still nursing an injury Derek Meech will get another start, going against former teammate Dion Phaneuf. Meecher hasn’t looked out of place although Chris Chelios has had a couple off games so perhaps there is a bit of an adjustment going on as the third pairing gets settled.
NHL.com has an article on two promising Red Wings prospects who play for Djurgarden in the Elitserien. Dick Axelsson and Daniel Larsson are two of the key players who are making solid contributions to DIF, which means they are progressing nicely in their quest to become bonafide NHL’ers. The article also mentions recent draft pick Joakim Andersson who should be an excellent two-way forward at the NHL level.
Currently, Djurgården sits in third place in Elitserien…DIF’s solid start has been driven by the production of veterans Kristoffer Ottosson, Bremberg and Niklas Anger, a stingy team defense…and the rapid emergence of Dick Axelsson and Daniel Larsson.
…
Axelsson, selected by Detroit in the second round (62nd overall) of the 2006 Entry Draft, has a playing style that is silk on one side and sandpaper on the other. The 20-year-old product of the Huddinge IK program has made an immediate impact on the Djurgården lineup in his first Elitserien season.
…
Chosen by Detroit in the third round (92nd overall) of the 2006 Entry Draft, the 21-year-old Larsson has established himself as the DIF starter and as one of the most promising young goaltenders in Europe. In 12 starts to date, he has posted an outstanding 1.98 goals-against average, a .928 save percentage and a league-high three shutouts (last season Timrå IK’s Johan Backlund and Brynäs IF’s Robert Kristan paced the Elite league with six shutouts).
Steve Yzerman will participate in a Stick Drive campaign during the first intermission of tonight’s Grand Rapids Griffins game against the Rochester Americans. It sounds like an initiative similar to the One Goal program the Wings are sponsoring. My uncle is volunteering for the One Goal program so I’ll be interested in hearing how that goes.
Gameday Posts
Let’s Go Wings has their Gameday Thread up. Bill over at Abel To Yzerman has been doing a liveblog for many of the west coast games so there’s a good chance he’ll get one going tonight as well.
Matt over at On the Wings has his Gameday Post up as well.
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[…] Update (10:00 AM): Dave at Gorilla Crouch points out that Johan Franzen saw time on the second line Tuesday night and suggests that he’ll see more minutes there tonight against a physical Calgary team. […]