Avs-Wings Not Rivalry It Was, But Still A Big Game Tonight

Plus: Landeskog and trade deadline gossip

Scott Grau/Icon Sportswire

Apologies for being AWOL the last couple days. Some nagging health stuff pretty much sidelined me.

Avs-Detroit tonight at Little Caesars Arena, the site of none of the old games between the teams when these two formed pretty much the best, nastiest rivalry in pro sports in that era. Ahem, one might even call it a “Blood Feud.”

All the stories from the rivalry are in the book, so not going to retell them here. That was the past, and the present tonight is a big game for both teams. The Red Wings are currently fifth overall in the Eastern Conference, while the Avs enter today two points back of Dallas for the Central Division lead, and four points back of Vancouver for tops in the West.

This will be a good test for the Avs, who have been off since beating the Canucks at home. Can they start to build some momentum off that game? Or, are they still going to struggle on the road, as they have of late?

Things seem pretty positive around the Avs, though. As I’ve tweeted lately, I’m hearing of cautious optimism about Gabe Landeskog and the playoffs.