The Detroit Red Wings travel to Tampa tonight to face the Florida Panthers at Benchmark International Arena. The puck drops at 7 p.m.
Detroit enters the matchup with a 7-5-3 record, holding one point fewer than a Lightning squad that owns one of the wildcard spots with 18 points. DraftKings lists the Red Wings as 1.5-goal underdogs at -115, while Tampa Bay sits at -1.5 with +105 odds. Fans can catch the broadcast on DSN or listen on 97.1 FM.
How Are the Red Wings Handling Recent Roster Turmoil?
The squad has pushed past surrounding pessimism brilliantly, thanks to leadership from players like Moritz Seider, Alex DeBrincat, and Lucas Raymond. Despite Dylan Larkin requesting a trade before departing the club alongside Simon Edvinsson sitting out due to a contract dispute, the Red Wings have captured at least one point in nine out of their previous 11 matchups. Detroit is 6-2-3 in that span.
Up front, Emmitt Finnie brings a hot stick into Tampa. He has scored three goals in his past four games and accumulated 10 points (6-4-10) across 10 contests since October 6.
While Keegan Kolesar wasn’t brought aboard for his scoring talents, the Red Wings hoped he might spark some production within the lower forward pairings. Thus far, he only has one goal and no assists in 15 games. He is on a pace for roughly 230 hits. He has had 230 hits or more for each the past five seasons.
Who is Expected in Net and on the Scoreboard for Detroit?
With Detroit playing for the second consecutive night, John Gibson is the likely starter in net. Daniil Tarasov was winning goal Monday against Florida. Carter Mazur scored his first NHL goal in the win over Florida. Michael Brandsegg-Nygard scored his first NHL career game-winning goal Monday. He became the sixth Norwegian player in NHL history with a game-winning goal. At 21 years old, MBN is the youngest of the group to score a winning tally.
Injury trouble continues to test Detroit’s depth. Marco Kasper and Mason Appleton are both sidelined with upper-body injuries but could return in just over a week, while Albert Johansson is not expected to play tonight due to an undisclosed issue.
What Challenges Do the Lightning Present at Home?
Tampa Bay returns to the ice after dropping a 5-4 shootout decision to Nashville on Halloween. The Lightning have given up 20 goals in their past four games. Andre Vasilevskiy currently records an .884 save percentage alongside a 3.00 goals-against average over the course of the current campaign. Like Todd McLellan, Tampa Bay coach Cooper doesn’t mind playing with seven defensemen and 11 forwards.
The Lightning’s injury report lists forward Zemgus Girgensons out with a lower-body injury and Yanni Gourde sidelined with a hip issue.
Detroit and Tampa Bay Release Projected Player Lineups
Detroit Red Wings Projected Lines:
- Alex DeBrincat — Emmitt Finnie — Victor Arvidsson
- Michael Brandsegg-Nygard — Andrew Copp — Lucas Raymond
- Michael Rasmussen – J.T. Compher — John Leonard
- Carter Mazur – Sheldon Dries — Keegan Kolesar
Detroit Defense Pairings:
- Ben Chiarot — Moritz Seider
- Andreas Englund — Anton Johansson
- William Wallinder — Justin Faulk
Tampa Bay Lightning Projected Lines:
- Jake Guentzel — Brayden Point — Nikita Kucherov
- Brandon Hagel — Anthony Cirelli — Pontus Holmberg
- Ilya Mikheyev — Dominic James — Gage Goncalves
- Jeffrey Viel — Conor Geekie
Tampa Bay Defense Pairings:
- J.J. Moser — John Carlson
- Ryan McDonagh — Erik Cernak
- Victor Hedman — Emil Lilleberg
- Charle-Edouard D’Astous
Opening faceoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET at Benchmark International Arena.
