The Detroit Red Wings (35-20-7) are home today to play the Florida Panthers (30-29-3). The Red Wings are in third place in the Atlantic Division. They are five points ahead the Columbus Blue Jackets who are the top team below the Eastern Conference wildcard cut line. The two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers are 10 points out of a playoff spot

Where:  Little Caesars Arena

When: 7 p.m. ET

TV/Radio: FanDuel Sports Network/97.1 FM

Odds:  Florida (+1.5, -198), Detroit (-1.5, +164), DRAFTKINGS

Hot: Defenseman Moritz Seider shows 35 points (6-29-35) and a plus-15 rating in 46 games since Nov. 13 vs. the Anaheim Ducks

Not: Elmer Soderblom hasn’t played since the Olympic break. Dominik Shine has taken his spot. Travis Hamonic hasn’t played since Feb. 4.

Spotlight: DeBrincat has 199 points (98-101-199) in 226 games since joining the Red Wings. DeBrincat can become
the fifth player in franchise history to reach the 100-goal mark in 230 games or fewer, joining Mickey Redmond (175 games), Frank Mahovlich (178 games), Ray Sheppard (191 games) and Brendan Shanahan (224 games).

Story:  John Gibson returns to the net after missing one game with injury.  The Red Wings sent Sebastian Cossa back to Grand Rapids. . . Detroit is 18-10-3 at home and has fallen to 12th on the power play at 22.5%. The Red Wings are 18th on the penalty kill (78.5%) . . . Defenseman Simon Edvinsson has three goals in his past five games. He has four points and is plus-3 over those five contests. . .The Red Wings (minus-2) are the only team in an Eastern Conference playoff position that has a negative goal-differential. . . The Red Wings are 14-1-1 this season when ahead after one period, and 6-0-1 when doing so on home ice. . . GM Steve Yzerman gave the Ottawa Senators a conditional fourth-round pick for David Perron Thursday night.  Injuries: David Perron (sports hernia surgery)

Detroit Projected Lines

Michael Rasmussen — Dylan Larkin — Patrick Kane

Alex DeBrincat — Andrew Copp — Lucas Raymond

Emmitt Finnie — Marco Kasper — Mason Appleton

James van Riemsdyk — JT Compher — Dominik Shine

Defense Pairings

Simon Edvinsson — Moritz Seider

Ben Chiarot — Axel Sandin-Pellikka

Albert Johansson– Jacob Bernard-Docker

Goalies

John Gibson (Cam Talbot backing up)

Subs: Travis Hamonic, Elmer Soderblom

Florida Panthers

Story: The Panthers lost 4-2 to Columbus last night and they complete a four-game road trip tonight in Detroit. The Panthers have lost four in a row and five of their last six games. They have all but raised the white flag on their playoff hopes. . . Sergei Bobrovsky, the likely starter in goal, is a possible trade candidate. His contract is expiring. The Buffalo Sabres are a possibility. Buffalo GM Jarmo Kekalainen previously had Bobrovsky in Columbus. . . The Panthers traded former Red Wings player Jeff Petry to Minnesota Thursday night. Injuries: Seth Jones (collarbone), Aleksander Barkov (knee), Jonah Gadjovich (upper body), Cole Schwindt (lower body)

Projected Lines

Eetu Luostarinen — Anton Lundell — Sam Reinhart

Carter Verhaeghe — Evan Rodrigues — Brad Marchand

Mackie Samoskevich — Sam Bennett — Matthew Tkachuk

Sandis Vilmanis — Tomas Nosek — A.J. Greer

Defense Pairings

Gustav Forsling — Aaron Ekblad

Niko Mikkola — Uvis Balinskis

Tobias Bjornfot — Dmitry Kulikov

Goalies

Sergei Bobrovsky (Daniil Tarasov backing up)

 

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