Mar. 3 :: His brother was a ’59, Fred Dorfman.

Unreleased photo of Ruslan Salei after last night's game...

He said legacies usually get asked to pledge automatically.
Ten pledge games down with only a pair of chances left to send your moneyz to the children. Last night’s tilt with the Ducks didn’t do a whole lot to pad the coffers and the pledges are pretty darn thin for tonight’s game, so we are looking for you guys to pump up the volume and make some shit happen.

Shoot us an e-mail and let us know, we’ll get you added to the chart.

WHAT’S ALL THIS THEN?
Red Wings and SanJo, Thursday at 10:30pm Eastern.

NOW WHERE WERE WE?
It’s the last of four meetings this season, and the visiting team has won every single time. The last meeting was an uninspired 20 minute performance from the Wings, resulting in a 4-3 San Jose victory at Joe Louis Arena on Feb. 22.

BEST NAME NOMINEE
Brandon Mashinter. Sounds like something you do after a heavy meal. Or before you prepare to go into battle.

THEIR LAST GAMES
:: Detroit lost 2-1 in an early, one-team shootout last night against Anaheim.
:: San Jose dropped the Avs 2-1 in a more traditional, two-team shootout on Tuesday.

EXPECTED LINEUP
By special request, the TPL Glossary is ready to jailsex your eyes.
Mulo — Zetterberg — Thunderchief
Scuttles — Datsyuk — Cleary
Filppula — Modano — Holmstrom
Draper — Helm — AbdelMiller (One of the two will play.)

Lidstrom — Stuart
Kronwall — Ericsson
Cirque — Kindl

MacDonald
Howard

Holy Shit, There’s a Scratch?!
Whoever loses the coin flip between Justin Abdelkader and Drew Miller

Injuries
Brian Rafalski [back/day-to-day]
Patrick Eaves [leg/day-to-day]
Chris Osgood [groin/March]

The TPL Name Game ”Three Stars”
Disch: <<off the reservation, on vacation>>
Petrella: Ville “May I Have Ten Thousand Marbles Please” Leino
Hollis: Jiri “It’s Not Gonna Be An Orgy! It’s A Toga Party” Hudler
*Now it’s up to you! Think up your best names and throw them in the comments — the best one will be shared for all to enjoy on the TPL Facebook Page. The best of the best will be pitted against one another at season’s end, and the winner takes home a TPL Shirt of their choice.*

TIDBITS
:: After all the hype about Johan Franzen being motivated by the birth of his son, The Mule tried to do his part to spark the Wings last night, leading the team with 7 shots. Sadly, he was also -1 in 16:39 of ice time.
:: Somebody needs to cover Devin Setoguchi.
:: After taking to the road for most of February, the Sharks are settling in to the Tank for the rest of the season. They just started a six game home stand, and 12 of their final 18 games will be played in front of the teal clad fans. Oh yea, they’ve won six in a row at home. On the bright side, the Wings have won three straight regular season decisions at HP Pavillion, so something’s gotta give tonight.
:: Unfortunately, that “give” may be between the pipes, as Joey Mac gets the nod from Babbles tonight. MacDonald has lost both career decisions against the Sharks.
:: PREDICTION: I want to say that the Wings will come out firing and make a statement, but I’m just not feeling it. The Wings are surrendering an average of  35 shots per game to the Sharks this season, which means you need a goalie who can keep you in the game between the pipes. I like Joey Mac…but not in this one. 5-2 Sharks with the curbstomp.

WHAT WE LEARNED AGAINST THE DUCKS
If you fail to take advantage of the power play, the power play advantage will fail you. Write that down.