Game One: Red Wings – Blackhawks Pregame Notes

Just three days after wrapping up their second-round series with the Anaheim Ducks, the Detroit Red Wings kick off their Western Conference Finals matchup with the Chicago Blackhawks.

The two teams haven’t met in the playoffs since the 1995 WCF, which Detroit won in five games, three of which went to overtime.

Detroit coach Mike Babcock experimented with a set of updated lines in Sunday’s practice, shifting rookie Justin Abdelkader to the top line with Pavel Datsyuk and Tomas Holmstrom while Holmstrom moved down to the fourth line with Kris Draper and Darren Helm.

Draper returned to the Wings’ lineup for Game Seven of the series against the Ducks, after having missed the entire playoffs to that point. He replaced Kirk Maltby, who is expected to remain out for Game One.