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Photo: AP

The Rangers are in Detroit, and they are finally starting to get healthy. Rick Nash makes his long awaited return to the lineup after missing six weeks with a leg injury. Marc Staal is also returning after missing a few games with back spasms. But perhaps most importantly, Henrik Lundqvist is back after Ryan McDonagh’s latest attempt to hurt a teammate. But the Rangers are without Derick Brassard, who has the flu.

As for Detroit, they are struggling right now. They are 4-4-2 in their last ten. They are barely holding off the Flyers for the final wild card spot. And they desperately need two points this afternoon. While the team may be desperate, they severely lack offensive depth to score consistently. Don’t get me wrong, they have a great top-six, and their third line can score, but they don’t match up with the better teams. Plus their defense is pretty rough.

Wings Systems

For those that don’t follow Prashanth Iyer, you should. He does a great job breaking down everything Detroit.

The Wings run a 1-2-2 forecheck, which is fairly standard. But Blashill is very aggressive, and encourages the first defenseman to get involved at the blue line, instead of the red line. That means more pressure on the Rangers blue liners to make proper decisions with the puck. The Rangers deploy a similar forecheck, but are less aggressive with their defensemen, preferring to pressure at the red line, instead of the blue line. The risk of Blashill’s scheme is that quick passing can lead to odd-man rushes with that aggressive defenseman.

In the defensive zone, the Wings play a hybrid overload/low zone collapse. They overload the strong side, much like the Rangers. When the puck gets below the goal line, the forwards collapse into low zone coverage. That’s where the Rangers differ, as they switch to man coverage when the puck gets below the goal line. Although it was admittedly hard to see what kind of scheme the Rangers ran early in the year, they’ve been significantly better at their switches lately.

The Wings run a variety of breakouts, all detailed here. This is common for a lot of teams, and the way Prashanth breaks it down is very relevant, as the Rangers play a 1-2-2 forecheck. The Rangers have had a strong forecheck the last few games, so expect them to pressure those first two passes on the breakouts. For more breakout plays, see this post from Suit.

On special teams, the Wings run a 1-3-1 powerplay. This has been standard for multiple teams since the Bolts started using it a few years ago. The Wings don’t have that one sniper they try to feed, so they rely on quick passes to breakdown the penalty kill. Considering how amazing the Rangers’ PK has been, the best bet is to stay out of the box.

On the PK, the Wings are one of the few teams that don’t run some form of hybrid system.They run a straight wedge+1, which is similar to the diamond force the Rangers use. Both have a “roamer” designed to force the play, while the remaining three defenders take out the high percentage shots. The difference is that the Wings will only use their forwards as the “+1” whereas the Rangers will rotate out based on puck location, including defensemen. The wedge is simpler to execute and more conservative, but the diamond force creates more turnovers.

Wings Lines

Justin AbdelkaderHenrik Zetterberg-Dylan Larkin
Tomas Tatar-Pavel Datsyuk-Andreas Athanasiou
Gustav Nyquist-Riley Sheahan-Teemu Pulkkinen
Darren Helm-Luke Glendening-Brad Richards

Kyle Quincey-Danny Dekeyser
Niklas Kronwall-Mike Green
Jonathan Ericsson-Brendan Smith

PP1: Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Abdelkader-Larkin-Green
PP2: Nyquist-Tatar-Pulkkinen-Helm-Smith

PK: Glendening, Abdelkader, Sheahan, Athanasiou, Helm, Quincey, Dekeyser, Smith, Ericsson, Kronwall

Petr Mrazek gets the start.

Rangers Lines

JT MillerDerek StepanMats Zuccarello
Rick Nash-Eric Staal-Viktor Stalberg
Chris KreiderKevin HayesJesper Fast
Oscar LindbergDominic MooreTanner Glass

Ryan McDonagh–Dan Girardi
Keith Yandle–Kevin Klein
Marc Staal-Dan Boyle

PP1: Yandle-Klein-Miller-Hayes-Fast
PP2: Zucc-Boyle-Kreider-Stepan-Brassard

PK: Stepan, Moore, Lindberg, Fast, Glass, McDonagh, Staal, Klein, Girardi

Henrik Lundqvist gets the start.

Scratches/Injuries: Derick Brassard (flu), Dylan McIlrath (knee)

Crazy Prediction: A perfect penalty kill.

Be sure to check out our ticket link if you’re looking for tickets to the game. Game time is 2pm on MSG. All gifs will be on nyrgifs.com.

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