DETROIT -- The Detroit Red Wings will make a couple of lineup changes tonight as they try to stave off elimination against the San Jose Sharks in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals.



Forward Mattias Ritola is expected to make his playoff debut, replacing Jason Williams. And on defense, Andreas Lilja will go back in for Brett Lebda.



Ritola is expected to play on a line with Justin Abdelkader, his former linemate on the Grand Rapids Griffins, and Kris Draper.



"It's real exciting. I've been waiting for it. It feels great to be in,'' Ritola said. "I played with Abby all year when he got down there. Hopefully I'll get in and grind the D out and keep holding onto the puck and take the play to the net and create some scoring chances.''



Ritola (6-foot, 192) provides a little more grit than Williams.



"Keep it simple, get the puck deep,'' Ritola said. "I played seven games here this year, that's going to help me a lot.''



Ritola, 23, had 19 goals, 23 assists and 50 penalty minutes in 73 games this season with the Griffins. He had 41 goals and 65 assists in 211 games during his three years in Grand Rapids.



He is a restricted free agent who likely will be re-signed after the season. But he must earn a roster spot with the Red Wings next season because he is out of minor league options and would need to clear waivers to be send down to the AHL.



The Red Wings had an optional skate Thursday, and almost all of the regulars did not practice.



They might make one switch on their top two lines, as Valtteri Filppula practiced with Pavel Datsyuk and Tomas Holmstrom on Wednesday. So the lines, at least at the start, might look like this:



Filppula-Datsyuk-Holmstrom

Franzen-Zetterberg-Bertuzzi

Miller-Helm-Cleary

Draper-Abdelkader-Ritola



Coach Mike Babcock said Patrick Eaves (elbow) is the only player out due to an injury. So defenseman Brian Rafalski (back) is good to go.



Tonight's referees are Chris Lee and Bill McCreary.



