Dec. 19 :: You Look for Oil?

WHEN AND WHERE?
Oh hey there. Nice to see you again. You may remember me as one of the folks who writes things around here. How are things? Good? Excellent. Let’s get to it.

Red Wings and Oil, 9:30 PM Eastern. FSD has you covered.

WHERE WERE WE?
:: Detroit crushed the Kings on Saturday, 8-2.
:: The Oil lost 3-2 to the Sharks on Saturday, and have lost eight of their last ten.
:: This is the second of four meetings between these two Western Conference foes, with Detroit posting the 3-0 shutout in Motown on November 11th. Drew Miller, Niklas Kronwall and Valtteri Filppula were your goal scorers.

BEST NAME NOMINEE
Magnus Paajarvi took home the crown in the first meeting this season, so we’ll give it to Petrella’s evil twin, Lennart Petrell this time around.

‘MEMBA ME?
No former Wings on the Oil.

OH, HI AGAIN
Ty Conklin and Dan Cleary have both spent time with Edmonton. So has Chris Minard, but, whatever.

THE LINEUP (Assumed)
Franzen :: Datsyuk :: Bertuzzi
Filppula :: Zetterberg :: Hudler
Cleary :: Helm :: Abdelkader
Miller :: Emmerton :: Holmstrom

Nicklas Lidstrom :: Ian White
Brad Stuart :: Niklas Kronwall
Jakub Kindl :: Riggy Shitbox

Tiberius Howard
Ty Conkblock

SCRATCHES
Eaves [face]
Conner [hand]
Mursak [left ankle]
Commodore [commode’ing]

The TPL Name Game “Three Stars”
Just like last season, submit your nickname suggestions (follow the theme!), and we’ll use our Facebook page to allow people to vote for the best… the winner gets a free TPL t-shirt!
PETRELLA: Mike “I Have A Competition In Me. I Want No One Else to Succeed. I Hate Most People” Babcock
STEVIE: Illari “You’re Not the Chosen Brother” Filppula
HOLLIS: Pavel “That Was One Goddamn Helluva Show” Datsyuk
DISCH: Fabian “I’d Like You to Tell Me That You Are, and Have Been, A False Prophet” Brunnstrom

5 HOLE
:: It’s the first trip up to Edmonton this year for the Wings, which is a place that always gives me the heebie-jeebies. I don’t know what it is, but playing in Edmonton and Calgary always makes me uneasy. Chalk it up to playoff matchups over the last ten years, but there’s something about playing in the cold loneliness of Canada that makes me tie my shoes a little tighter. That said, the Wings have run off seven straight against Edmonton, so perhaps I’m just getting worked up over nothing.
:: Remember when Edmonton was the toast of the Western Conference last month? Yea, not so much anymore. They’re now tied with the Dive for last place in the Northwest Division and have sagged all the way to 12th in the conference.
:: What up Todd Bertuzzi? Five game point streak and an assist in four straight. After a sluggish start, it’s nice to see Bert get it cranked up a bit.
:: JIMMAH goes for his 20th win of the season between the pipes tonight. Get some.
:: Match-up trouble tonight? Jordan Eberle. Five goals and five assists in his last 10 games. Somebody cover him.
:: BONUS: BRAD WATSON ALERT! Our old friend in stripes is on the ice tonight. (No, I’ll never get over my infatuation with his screw-up against Anaheim in the playoffs.)