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Around the Rink - Monday, November 8th

holmstrombattles

James O’Brien

It’s a very light slate tonight (I guess it won’t take very long to make our way around the rink or ride the Zamboni?) with only one game on the schedule. So, if you try to soften the blow of a long day back at a horrible job by watching hockey, well ... at least it’s on national cable TV so you have a decent chance of seeing it. Right?

This one and only game is on Eastern (ET) time.

7:30 pm

Phoenix @ Detroit

The Detroit Red Wings are already off to a pretty strong start (8-3-1 for 17 points) so far this season, as they found themselves in second place in the Central Division. The Phoenix Coyotes are in a familiar spot too ... unfortunately, that would be last place in the Pacific.

The Red Wings could gain some serious ground on the Central-leading St. Louis Blues since this game will begin their longest homestand of the season, with six games in a row in Detroit. They’re 4-1-1 at Joe Louis Arena so far in 2010-11, so chances are solid that they might put some wins together.

Phoenix shouldn’t be a pushover, unless they truly are plummeting right now being that they’ve lost six out of their last eight contests. On the bright side, the Coyotes have given the Red Wings a lot of trouble at home; Phoenix won four of the last five games in Detroit. They also handed the Red Wings their only home regulation loss on October 28th. (To be fair, Detroit won the game at Phoenix on October 16 though.)

One headache the Red Wings won’t have to deal with is the physical presence of ‘Yotes captain Shane Doan. After sitting out three games because of a suspension, a “lower body injury” will keep the power forward out on a week-to-week basis.

It might be early to say these two teams have a rivalry. Yet after slugging it out for a full seven games in their playoff series last season and splitting their first two matches in 10-11, it seems like the odds are in favor of a competitive contest.