Detroit Red Wings battle it out against San Jose Sharks (9:00 pm ET, Versus) on Thursday at HP Pavilion, San Jose, California. It is the first game of the seven series and both the teams would want to prove a point in their first game.

Wings bagged a brilliant 6-1 victory against the Phoenix. The Wings need to repeat the same against the Sharks. Sharks have done pretty well against Colorado recently.

“They play a similar style to us,” Wings forward Henrik Zetterberg said. “We’ve been facing them a lot in the last few years in the playoffs. It’s usually a really good series. It’s well-played hockey and it’s exciting for the fans.”

For the Wings, Zetterberg is the key. He has scored 6 goals and 11 points in the seven games. Nicklas Lidstrom, Pavel Datsyuk, Brian Rafalski and Johan Franzen are some of the players Sharks have to watch out for.

Goaltender Evgeni Nabokov of San Jose has been impressive. He made the team win against the Colorado by allowing just a pair of goals. Joe Pavelski with five goals has been impressive for Sharks.
Sportsbooks and other NHL betting odds have set the line at San Jose -135 TOTAL: 5.5 WIN-LOSS-OTL Detroit Red Wings 48-27-14 San Jose Sharks 55-22-11.

Detroit Red Wings fight against Phoenix Coyotes (9:00 pm ET, TSN) in the 7th game of NHL playoffs at Jobing.com Arena, Glendale, Arizona. The series is tied at 3-3. The game 7 will surely be tough on players and exciting for fans.
Detroit looked to be in total control after Game 4 at Joe Louis Arena to draw even. They managed to push Coyotes to the brink by scoring three times in the final 10 minutes of Game 5 for a 4-1 win. There lackluster play in the later games made them land back to the desert.

Mathieu Schneider and Robert Lang are the key players for the Red Wings. The Red Wings haven’t won a Game 7 on the road since a 1964 victory at Chicago in the opening round.

Shane Doan is unsure to play and it will be a big setback for Coyote if he sits out in Game 7. Although he practiced with the team on Monday and it seems he intends to be in the team for this do-or-die battle.
“Doaner’s been really good around the dressing room while he’s not in,” Derek Morris said.

The Coyotes are 0-4 all-time in Game 7 and Doan is the only player remaining from their most recent seventh game, against St. Louis in 1999.
Sports betting sites and handicappers have set the line at PHO 106 TOTAL: 5 WIN-LOSS-OTL Detroit Red Wings 47-27-14 Phoenix Coyotes 53-28-7. Detroit Red Wings 24-20 +707 profit and Phoenix Coyotes 17-27 -501 loss as PICK RECORD – SIDE VALUE.

On Friday, a heated NHL rivalry is set to continue as the Minnesota Wild head to Detroit to face the Red Wings. This game is important for both teams as they are both still fighting for a spot in the 2010 playoffs.

With a record of 35 wins, 32 losses, and 6 overtime losses, the Minnesota Wild, who are favored by the sport betting community, have accumulated 76 points so far this season. Unfortunately for them, to make the playoffs, they will need to pick up steam very quickly. With 9 games remaining, the Wild trail 8th seeded Red Wings by 11 points. There are also three other teams that the Wild would need to pass in order to claim the last spot.

The Red Wings, on the other hand, look to be in good standing to make the playoffs. The Red Wings has a record of 37 wins, 23 losses, and 13 overtime losses. Their record adds up to 87 points, which is good for the 8th and final spot in the playoffs. While they are presently in the playoffs, the Red Wings could drastically improve their positioning with a few more wins. They are presently only 3 points behind the 5th seeded Los Angeles Kings. On the other hand, the Red Wings are only 4 points ahead of the Calgary Flames.

The Red Wings and Wild have met three times already this season. In the previous meeting, the Red Wings won two games and the Wild won one. The Wild will look to even up the season series and improve its sports betting odds on Friday.

It doesn’t get much better than an Original Six matchup on Hockey Night in Canada.

The Detroit Red Wings will be looking for their fourth-straight win when they visit the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday (7 pm ET, CBC, NHLN-US, FS-D).

Detroit is a -170 favorite in NHL Betting Odds at BookMaker.

The teams have split the past 10 meetings, each winning five. Two of Toronto’s wins were in shootouts.

Detroit and Toronto haven’t met since Oct. 9 last season, when the Maple Leafs edged the Red Wings 3-2 in Detroit.

After struggling out of the gate, the Red Wings have reeled off three straight wins, the latest a 2-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Thursday. Detroit was a -145 home favorite.

After winning its first game of the season on the road against the Anaheim Ducks on Oct. 26, Toronto has lost four straight, the latest a 2-1 setback against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday.