Red Wings & 'Hawks ready for big match at the Joe tomorrow afternoon

**Admin** Sat Jan 22, 2011 12:41 am

The Detroit Red Wings may have found an answer to their injury woes in net.

It’s possible Evgeni Nabokov will be on the roster as early as Saturday, when the Red Wings try to avoid dropping three straight at home to the well-rested Chicago Blackhawks for the first time in 10 years.

Detroit won’t have veteran goaltender Chris Osgood until March as he recovers from a recent hernia surgery, and starter Jimmy Howard has been hampered by a bruised right knee. That led to the Red Wings signing Nabokov to a one-year deal this week.
The 35-year-old netminder, who played the past 10 seasons in San Jose, still needs to clear waivers because he started this season in Russia’s KHL. Nabokov has won 293 games but suffered four straight losses to the Blackhawks in last season’s Western Conference finals.

The Red Wings (29-12-6) might be able to use his help after giving up 19 goals during a 2-2-1 stretch. Expected to miss two weeks, Howard returned after a two-game absence Thursday night in St. Louis but couldn’t hold on to a three-goal lead as Detroit lost 4-3 in overtime.
The Red Wings also are without star winger Pavel Datsyuk, Tomas Holmstrom, Dan Cleary, Brad Stuart and Mike Modano. Coach Mike Babcock said Datsyuk, Cleary and Holmstrom could return after next week’s All-Star break.

Without those players, the Red Wings might have trouble against the Blackhawks, who are 4-0-1 in their last five. Chicago, 10 points behind first-place Detroit in the Central Division, also has had five days off since a 6-3 win over Nashville on Sunday night.
Chicago is 1-3-2 in its last six road games but won its final two contests at Joe Louis Arena during last season’s Stanley Cup-winning campaign. Howard was in net for both of those losses and is 2-2-1 with a 2.94 goals-against average all-time versus the Blackhawks.