Sharks Vs. Red Wings, Game 3: Desperate Detroit Looks To Avoid Giant Hole

The Detroit Red Wings played well in both Game 1 and Game 2 of their playoff series against the San Jose Sharks, but not well enough to win. It could have been the Shark Tank, some dumb luck, or the Sharks being just plain better that tipped the scales in San Jose's favor. Whatever it was, the Red Wings are going to have to reverse it, down 2-0 headed into Game 3.

Conventional wisdom is that a series is not over until a team loses at home. By that logic, the Red Wings are still very much in this series. Lose at home tonight, and the series is very much over. Pavel Datsyuk has been stunning so far, but his teammates have not risen to the occasion.

So far, the story has been penalties. Detroit has committed a lot of them, and their power play conversion rate has been poor going the other way. Despite Henrik Zetterberg's power play goal in Game 2, the Sharks' penalty kill has been brilliant, and their power play has been solid as well. Playoff series often come down to special teams, and Detroit's stellar special teams has not yet shown up in this series.

The Wings will make one change to their lineup, bringing in veteran Kris Draper and scratching Drew Miller. San Jose are not expected to make any lineup changes. The game starts at 8 pm ET, and coverage will start on Versus at the conclusion of the game between the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers.