Scoring Options
The Detroit Red Wings have a number of strong options on offense. Most of them have factored into the club’s current win streak.
The Red Wings take one of the NHL’s deepest lineups to Rexall Place, where they’ll go for their sixth straight victory Tuesday against the Edmonton Oilers.
Oddsmakers from SBG Global have made Detroit -200 money line favorites (NHL Odds) for today’s game, the over/under has been set at 5.5 goals (Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 50% of bets for this game have been placed on Detroit -200 (View NHL Bet Percentages).
Eleven different players have scored at least one goal for Detroit (9-2-1) during a five-game winning streak. The Red Wings have outscored opponents 20-9 in that stretch.
Their depth was evident on Sunday, when the second line of Jiri Hudler, Mikael Samuelsson and Valtteri Filppula outshone the top line of Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk and Tomas Holmstrom in a 3-2 victory at Vancouver. Hudler scored the game-winning goal in the final minute of the second period, and Samuelsson and Filppula combined on another score late in the first.
"Hud’s is a really talented kid," Wings coach Mike Babcock said of Hudler, who has a four-game point streak against Edmonton. "Him and Filppula and Samuelsson give us a line no one ever talks about, but pretty dynamic players. You can’t rely on one line, especially on the road, to do all your scoring."
Detroit goalie Chris Osgood started his second straight game Sunday with Dominik Hasek sidelined by a hip injury. Osgood made 27 saves to improve to 5-0-0 with a 1.60 goals-against average. The veteran hasn’t given up more than two goals a game this season.
"He’s really stepped it up and shows he can easily be a No. 1, too," Samuelsson said.
Osgood is 15-8-2 with four ties and a 2.28 GAA in 30 career games – 28 starts – against the Oilers.
The Red Wings have matched their longest win streak since a nine-game run from Oct. 25-Nov. 14, 2006. A victory on Tuesday would also match their season-best four-game road winning streak from 2006-07.
The Red Wings, though, have just two wins at Edmonton since January 1999. The Oilers (5-7-0) have recorded a point in 14 of their last 15 home games against the Red Wings, going 8-1-1 with five ties in that stretch, including 2-0-0 last season.
The Oilers’ success didn’t extend to Detroit, where four different Red Wings players scored in a 4-2 win when these teams met Oct. 8. That was the first loss of the season for the Oilers, who opened the season with a pair of wins before the Wings sent them on a 1-6-0 skid.
Edmonton, though, has shown signs of bouncing back with two shootout wins in its last three games. Ales Hemsky scored in regulation and had the game-winning shootout goal in a 3-2 victory at Anaheim on Sunday.
The Oilers continued to struggle on the power play. They failed to convert on any of their four opportunities Sunday, and are an NHL-worst 3-for-48 with the man advantage.
Oilers goalie Dwayne Roloson is just 6-12-1 with three ties and a 2.76 GAA in 22 career games against the Red Wings.
by: Staff Writers – Email Us
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