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Lightning-Red Wings Preview

Dec 17, 2009 - 12:35 AM By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO STATS Writer

Tampa Bay (11-13-9) at Detroit (17-11-5), 7:30 p.m. EDT

Injuries continue to mount for the Detroit Red Wings, but a three-game winning streak and a matchup with the reeling Tampa Bay Lightning may soften the blow.

The Red Wings will try to overcome another injury and continue their dominance of the Lightning on Thursday night at Joe Louis Arena.

Detroit (17-11-5) matched its season high with a third consecutive win Monday, beating Phoenix 3-2. However, the team suffered another injury, as defenseman Jonathan Ericsson hurt his knee on a hit by Coyotes' captain Shane Doan in the first period.

He's out indefinitely, and joins fellow defenseman Niklas Kronwall (knee), right wings Johan Franzen (knee), Jason Williams (leg) and Danny Cleary (shoulder) and centers Valtteri Filppula (wrist) and Darren Helm (wrist) on the injury list for the Red Wings.

"It seems like it never stops around here, that's unfortunate," center Kris Newbury said. "But everyone steps up and that's good to see."

Newbury did his part against the Coyotes, scoring the opening goal in his season debut, hours after being recalled from Grand Rapids of the AHL due to Helm's injury.

Detroit is getting contributions from deep in its roster. Nine players have combined for 15 goals and seven others have had at least a point during a 4-1-1 stretch.

"If we don't have secondary scoring, we're not going to win," coach Mike Babcock said. "Most of our primary scoring is out."

Detroit has had little problem with Tampa Bay (11-13-9), holding a 22-5-0 advantage with two ties in the all-time series. The Red Wings are also 11-1-0 with a tie against the Lightning at Joe Louis Arena, posting eight wins and the draw in the last nine meetings there since a 4-2 loss on Jan. 12, 1994.

They took the lone meeting at Tampa Bay last season, winning 4-3 on Nov. 13, 2008.

The Lightning, losers of nine of 10 (1-7-2), are looking to end a season-high five-game skid after allowing five second-period goals in a 7-4 loss at Nashville on Tuesday.

"We didn't clear the front of the net, but I thought overall the guys really worked hard," coach Rick Tocchet said. "The effort was hard. That is what I saw. I really enjoyed watching the effort. There were some goals there because we weren't clearing the front of the net."

Tampa Bay's 81 goals rank among the fewest in the NHL, and its been outscored 34-17 over its last 10 games.

Steven Stamkos scored his team-leading 18th goal in Tuesday's loss to end a personal eight-game goal drought. The second-year center ranks among the league leaders in goals and is second on the Lightning with 31 points.

Stamkos had 23 goals and 46 points as a rookie last season.

Martin St. Louis has been a bright spot of late, tallying one goal and six assists in six contests. The right wing, however, has managed just two assists in 13 meetings with Detroit.