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Around the rink - March 21; Wings and Pens renew hatred, Flames and Kings battle out west

Detroit Red Wings v Pittsburgh Penguins

PITTSBURGH, PA - JANUARY 18: Nicklas Lidstrom #5 of the Detroit Red Wings makes a pass against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Consol Energy Center on January 18, 2011 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

Justin K. Aller

All times Eastern

7:30 p.m.

Pittsburgh @ Detroit

Had both teams been at full strength, this would be a remarkable star-studded affair in the Motor City. Instead, you already know Pittsburgh is going to be without Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin but the Red Wings are going to be without Pavel Datsyuk, Johan Franzen and Jiri Hudler with separate ailments. That’s a lot of scoring punch missing from both teams and while we’ll potentially get a goalie showdown between Marc-Andre Fleury and Jimmy Howard, having a game between these two teams with that much firepower missing is a huge bummer. On the bright side, we’ll still have Nicklas Lidstrom and Henrik Zetterberg for Detroit along with Kris Letang and Jordan Staal for the Penguins so we’re not totally devoid of excitement here.

Still, the fire between these two teams still burns deep so what the game might lack in star power it will be made up with aggression, especially with the Peguins coming off a demoralizing defeat at the hands of the Rangers yesterday. One guy you likely won’t be seeing is Matt Cooke as he’s likely facing a suspension after his dirty hit against Ryan McDonagh.

10:30 p.m.

Calgary @ Los Angeles

Speaking of demoralizing defeats, the Flames and Kings are both coming off of tough overtime losses to the Ducks as both teams saw Corey Perry beat them in the extra period. Luckily for them there’s no sign of Corey Perry coming after them in this game but for Calgary they’re in real need of a win. The Flames have looked gassed of late and this swing through California could be the road trip that ends up keeping them from making the postseason. The Kings will need to pick up a win to help fend off the Blackhawks and help themselves catch up to the Coyotes in the Western Conference playoff race. A win would move the Kings to within a point of Phoenix for the fourth seed while another loss allows the rest of the pack chasing in the west to catch up.