The Detroit Red Wings (7-7-3) launch a five-game road trip tonight with a game against the Colorado Avalanche in Denver. The Avalanche (9-6-2) hold a wildcard spot in the Western Conference and sit 13th in the overall standings. The Red Wings rank 20th in the league overall.
Where: Key Arena
When: 9 p.m. ET
TV/Radio: DSN/97.1 FM
Odds: Detroit (+1.5, -130), Colorado (-1.5, +110), DRAFTKINGS
Detroit Red Wings
Hot: Carter Mazur seems finding his confidence, producing three points (1-2-3) in four games since Halloween.
Not: Alex DeBrincat has one goal in his past eight games. The offensively challenged Red Wings struggle when he goes a couple games not on the scoresheet.
Spotlight: Detroit leads the NHL in rookie scoring with 23 points (8-5-23) in 17 games. Since 1967-68, the Red Wings have led the NHL in rookie scoring twice. They did it in 1990-91 (70-119-189) and 2021-22 (38-90-128 in 82 games),
Story: John Gibson seems recovered from the injury he suffered in his last appearance, but Daniil Tarasov deserves back-to-back starts. Among goalies with five or more starts, Tarasov is tied with Igor Shesterkin for the NHL’s third-lowest GAA (1.79) behind Linus Ullmark (1.33) and Pyotr Kochetkov (1.64). Tarasov’s .929 save percentage is the NHL’s second-highest. . . The Red Wings are 4-1-1 when tied after 40 minutes. . .Todd McLellan’s team ranks fourth in the NHL with 22 third-period goals.
Injuries: Marco Kasper (upper body). Mason Appleton (upper body), both could be back during this road trip. . . John Gibson (undisclosed) seems ready to return to the lineup; Albert Johansson (undisclosed) is on the injury list.
Detroit 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
Defense Pairings
Ben Chiarot — Moritz Seider
Andreas Englund — Anton Johansson
William Wallinder — Justin Faulk
Goalies
Daniil Tarasov (Michal Postava is the backup)
Subs: Jacob Bernard-Docker, Nate Danielson
Colorado Avalanche
Story: Colorado has lost two in a row, including a 3-2 overtime decision at home to Nashville on Thursday. . . .The Avalanche score an average of four goals per game, compared to Detroit’s 2.76. The Avalanche give up 3.26 goals-per-game. . . Colorado’s power play percentage (20%) is below Detroit’s (22.8%).
Injuries: Josh Manson (ankle) will be out two months. Zachary L’Heureux (undisclosed) out until the end of the month
Projected Lines
Artturi Lehkonen — Nathan MacKinnon — Martin Necas
Gabriel Landeskog — Nazem Kadri — Nicolas Roy
Jaden Schwartz — Brock Nelson — T.J. Hughes
Parker Kelly — Fedor Svechkov — Logan O’Connor
Defense Pairings
Devon Toews — Cale Makar
Brett Kulak — Noah Juulsen
Sam Malinski — Brent Burns
Goalies
MacKenzie Blackwood or Scott Wedgewood
Subs Raphael Lavoie, Viliam Kmec,
Kevin has written professionally for almost 50 years. He was USA TODAY’s lead hockey writer from 1986 to 2019. … More about Kevin Allen