PREVIEW: Ducks at Red Wings (1/23/16) - Escape From DC

Stop if you've heard this before: something named 'Jonas' lead to disappointment for Anaheim Ducks fans. While Calgary worries about the goalie, Anaheim worried about the snow storm that lead to the postponing of their game in Washington DC and sent them hurrying to Detroit to face the Red Wings.

Last Games:

Ducks: Wednesday, January 20 vs Minnesota (3-1 W) "Ducks Out-Grit Wild For Home Stand Ending 3-1 Win"

Red Wings: Friday, January 22 at Buffalo (3-0 W) "Dylan Larkin, Luke Glendening Lift Red Wings In Dominating 3-0 Win Over Sabres"

Notes:

Ducks

After dealing with the first postponed game in franchise history as winter storm Jonas blew in to the east coast, the Ducks face the uncertain prospect of when the game will be made up. On one hand, it's a bit of fortune to not have to face the league's top offense while still without top defensemen Cam Fowler (who is on the trip with the team but still recovering from a knee injury) and Simon Despres (who is on a conditioning stint with the San Diego Gulls) in the lineup. On the other, with the league's All Star weekend coming up and the two remaining major east coast swings essentially full, it's a head scratcher when the game will be made up.

The delay also meant tonight will be the Ducks debut for Ryan Garbutt, who will become the 9th player in franchise history to don the #28. Niclas Havelid is the most tenured #28 in club history with 310 regular season games, while Mark Fistric is the most recent wearer. Garbutt debuts against an old rival who took the previous meeting this season at Honda Center by a 2-1 margin thanks to a late turnover by Ryan Getzlaf. Anaheim is 3-1-0 since that defeat on January 10, while Getzlaf bagged assists in the next three games to put together a five game point streak. It was snapped when Chris Stewart was credited with redirecting Shea Theodore's shot for the opening goal against Minnesota, shifting the secondary assist from Getzlaf (when it was given as Theodore's goal) to David Perron.

Red Wings

The fawning over rookie Dylan Larkin has reached McGuire-esque (even if Pierre doesn't know who Detroit's coach is) levels over at Red Wings SBN site Winging It In Motown, but for good reason. The lone All Star rep for the Red Wings has been caught by Henrik Zetterberg for the team points lead since the two teams last met, but remains the squad's top goal scorer. He and Luke Glendening each had a goal and an assist in the game against Buffalo, as Detroit bombarded the Sabres net with 45 shots while forcing Petr Mrazek to make only 19 saves to earn his third shutout of the season.

Detroit is dealing with a couple injuries, with Niklas Kronwall out for the next two to four weeks after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery, as well as penalty kill specialist forward Drew Miller for the next four to six months. Though their penalty kill had struggled since the loss of Miller, it's now been three games since the Red Wings have last allowed a power play goal, killing off their last nine odd man chances. After winning just three times in their first 36 visits to Joe Louis Arena, the Ducks have a three game regular season winning streak in the 46-year old building. Detroit is expected to have a new arena built by 2017.

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Two hours before face off we'll have the game thread up, featuring the full Stat Pack, and of course your Numbers For Nerds.