Broken Wings look to shock best team in the East

The ship has barely set sail and it is already sinking fast. What will it take to steady it tonight in the divisional match against the first place team in the Atlantic, the Buffalo Sabres in Detroit?

It is certainly going to take a group effort as two of veterans, Danny DeKeyser and Luke Glendening, are out long-term with injuries and another, Justin Abdelkader, is uncertain to suit up for the Wings tonight. it will be up to a few youngsters to fill the shoes of the three long-time Red Wings.

Christoffer Ehn who was a healthy scratch for the past few games will integrate the lineup along with Givani Smith who was called up from Grand Rapids today. Smith, a former second round pick is performing well in the AHL this season with 4 points in as many games and will get his NHL debut tonight.

Ehn and Smith will fill in for Glendening and Abdelkader and form a 4th line with centerman Jacob De La Rose. On defense, Dennis Cholowski will make his way back into the lineup to replace DeKeyser.

Coach Blashill will mix things up on the first offensive line as Darren Helm will take the place of Anthony Mantha who will play on a strengthened second line alongside Filppula and Athanasiou. Jimmy Howard will be the starting netminder as he and Jonathan Bernier seem to be splitting the task evenly so far this season.

Here is the projected lineup for Detroit according to NHL.com correspondent Dave Hogg:

Forwards:

Tyler Bertuzzi - Dylan Larkin - Darren Helm

Anthony Mantha - Valtteri Filppula - Andreas Athanasiou

Evgeny Svechnikov - Frans Nielsen - Taro Hirose

Christoffer Ehn - Jacob De La Rose - Givani Smith

Defensemen:

Patrik Nemeth - Trevor Daley

Mike Green - Filip Hronek

Dennis Cholowski - Madison Bowey

Goaltenders:

Jimmy Howard

Jonathan Bernier

Both d-man Alex Biega and forward Adam Erne will be healthy scratches for tonight's game.

It won't be easy for the Wings to avoid losing a 7th game in a row against the Sabres who are currently sitting at the top of the eastern conference. But nothing is won yet for Buffalo as light often shines brightest in the darkest of places. We are in for an interesting game of hockey.