Feb. 5 :: I Owe You From the Thing With the Guy In the Place

WHAT’S ALL THIS THEN?
The Wings look to pick up the offensive intensity in Nashville tonight after getting a rough and unpleasant Beej last night at home.

WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA?
The high of the Muletrick quickly wore off last night and our very own Michael Petrella reports that Holmstrom and Datsyuk are still out of the lineup. Bollocks.

NOW WHERE WERE WE?
This is the third of six matchups with the Norris Division rivals, as Petrella would say. The Red Wings have gone 1-1-0 against Smashville so far this season, outscoring the Preds 7-5 in the process. The last game was December 8th, a 3-2 loss at the Joe. Datsyuk and Franzen tallied for the good guys, but rookie Anders Lindback held on for the win. Minka Kelly and Jed Hill were your loss candy.

OH, HI AGAIN / MEMBA ME?! / BEST NAME NOMINEE
Lest we forget: no one on either team spent time on the other; Cody “Don’t call me Johan, but please let me score like him” Franson is your name winner.

THEIR LAST GAMES
:: Wings rocked everyone in the Joe to sleep last night, losing to CBJ 3-0 (unless you are WIIM, who initially reported it as 3-2).
:: Smashville fell to the Flyers in Philly on Thursday, 3-2.

EXPECTED LINEUP
By special request, the TPL Glossary is ready to jailsex your eyes.
Mulo — Zetterberg — Thunderchief
Scuttles — Filppula — Cleary
Draper — Helm — Eaves
Miller — Abdelkader — Mursak

Lidstrom — Kronwall
Rafalski — Ericsson
Cirque — Kindl

McGillicutty
Tiberius

Injuries
Mike “My Doctor Says I Need To Take More Vitamins” EModano [wrist/March]
Pavel “Where The Fuck You Been” Datsyuk [hand/Monday]
Brad “Of Course, He Was Breathing Out Of A Hose For The Next Three Weeks” Stuart [jaw/March]
Chris “I’ve Got A Duplex Now. Wall-to-Wall. Goldfish.” Osgood [groin/March]
Tomas “You Gotta Walk Before You Crawl” Holmstrom [hand/Next Week]

Honorable Mentions
Valtteri “Blew It All On The Suit” Filppula
Todd “Now, They Tell Me I Paid My Debt To Society” Bertuzzi
Henrik “I’m Not Sure What The Four Nines Do, But The Ace, I Think, Is Pretty High” Zetterberg
Darren “That’s Wonderful. Now Get In The Goddam House” Helm
Jiri “We Either Stay Sharp Or We Get Sloppy” Hudler

*If there are any that you think I missed, throw them in the comments — the best one will be shared for all to enjoy on the TPL Facebook Page*

THE FIVE HOLE
1. Mac Attack: Joey Mac gets the nod tonight in a game that actually means something in the standings. Bust out the Pepto Bismol. Or the Scotch.
2. Get A Watch: The Wings will try and shake off the stink of yet another slow start last night. Babcock says they’ll be ready. We’ve heard that song and dance before.
3. Smashville Threatening: Yes, they are still 8 back of the Wings in the Central, but with three more matchups on the docket after tonight, the Preds will have plenty of chances to chase down a Wings team that is struggling to get their motor running consistently. Lose tonight and the Preds gain the points and the confidence.
4. Petrella-itis: Petrella was on hand for the loss to CBJ last night. He’s in Nashville tonight. If the Wings fall, can we start the fund to buy Petrella a double-wide outside of JLA for H2H2?
5. Prediction: Hank tallies, but Joey Mac gets overwhelmed early and often. Preds roll 5-2.

WHAT WE LEARNED AGAINST THE BJ’s
Dump and retreat doesn’t get it done. But it’s “fairly impressive” says Petrella.