Sharks at Red Wings preview
San Jose 2-8-2 in past 12; Athanasiou out for Detroit, bidding to end six-game skid
by Dave Hogg / NHL.com Independent Correspondent
SHARKS (17-20-3) at RED WINGS (9-28-3)
7:30 p.m. ET; FS-D, NBCSCA, NHL.TV
The Game
Andreas Athanasiou will not be in the lineup when the Detroit Red Wings host the San Jose Sharks at Little Caesars Arena on Tuesday.
The forward is expected to be out 2-3 weeks because of a lower-body injury.
The Red Wings look to avoid their seventh straight loss; they have been outscored 25-13 in six consecutive defeats and are 2-16-2 in their past 20 games.
The Sharks, 2-8-2 in their past 12 games after going 11-2-0 in their previous 13, are trying to win consecutive games for the first time since Nov. 29-30, following a 6-1 win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday.
Players to watch
Sharks center Joe Thornton needs one assist to pass Adam Oates (1,079) for sole possession of seventh place on the NHL all-time list.
Red Wings forward Tyler Bertuzzi, named to appear in his first NHL All-Star Game on Monday, leads Detroit with 30 points (14 goals, 16 assists) in 40 games.
They said it
"We liked a lot of things about what we did in our last game, and number one was our urgency and relentlessness. I think we need to pick that back up right off the start of this game because Detroit is a young team that plays hard regardless of their record. We certainly aren't in a position to take anyone lightly." -- Sharks coach Bob Boughner
"We've got nine wins at New Year's Eve, so we obviously have to find a way to start generating wins. That starts with our best players and our leaders, and that means me. I'm probably harder on myself than anyone, but that's OK. I know all of us are working to get better and better, and that's the only way to get out of this." -- Red Wings center Dylan Larkin
Sharks projected lineup
Evander Kane -- Timo Meier -- Barclay Goodrow
Logan Couture -- Tomas Hertl -- Kevin Labanc
Marcus Sorensen -- Joe Thornton -- Patrick Marleau
Melker Karlsson -- Joel Kellman -- Stefan Noesen
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Erik Karlsson
Brenden Dillon -- Brent Burns
Radim Simek -- Mario Ferraro
Martin Jones
Aaron Dell
Scratched: Antti Suomela, Tim Heed, Joachim Blichfeld
Injured: Dalton Prout (upper body)
Red Wings projected lineup
Tyler Bertuzzi -- Dylan Larkin -- Filip Zadina
Robby Fabbri -- Valtteri Filppula -- Brendan Perlini
Darren Helm -- Luke Glendening -- Adam Erne
Christoffer Ehn -- Frans Nielsen -- Givani Smith
Patrik Nemeth -- Mike Green
Trevor Daley -- Filip Hronek
Brian Lashoff -- Madison Bowey
Jonathan Bernier
Jimmy Howard
Scratched: Alex Biega, Justin Abdelkader
Injured: Danny DeKeyser (back), Anthony Mantha (upper body), Jonathan Ericsson (face), Andreas Athanasiou (lower body)
Status report
The Sharks recalled Blichfeld, a forward, from San Jose of the American Hockey League on Monday. … The Red Wings recalled Smith from Grand Rapids of the AHL on Tuesday.
Stat pack
Erik Karlsson has 22 points (five goals, 17 assists) in 23 games against Detroit. … San Jose will play 16 of its next 25 games on the road. … away from home. … The Red Wings have earned points in 17 of their past 20 New Year's Eve games (13-3-2-2).