The Detroit Red Wings (7-9-3) are on the road, playing the Florida Panthers (10-7-2) tonight in Sunrise, Fla. The Panthers hold the last wildcard position in the Eastern Conference. They have a five-point lead over the Red Wings.
Where: Amerant Bank Arena
When: 7:30 p.m. ET
TV/Radio: DSN/97.1 FM
Odds: Detroit (+1.5, -185), Florida (-1.5, +154), DRAFTKINGS
Detroit Red Wings
Hot: While the Red Wings are struggling, Lucas Raymond has a goal and three assists over his past five games. He assisted on both goals in a 3-2 loss at St. Louis Tuesday.
Not: Alex DeBrincat, Viktor Arvidsson and Michael Brandsegg-Nygard are all pointless during Detroit’s four-game losing streak.
Spotlight: Carter Bear, the Red Wings’ 2025 first-round pick, has three goals and 10 assists for 13 points during his ongoing six-game points streak for the Grand Rapids Griffins. The Red Wings will have to consider promoting him, even though the original plan was to give him time to gain some AHL experience and get stronger.
Story: Daniel Tarasov was in goal on Nov. 2 when the Red Wings upended the Panthers, 5-3. The Red Wings haven’t won a game since then. Tarasov, who played for Florida last season, isn’t getting the start tonight against the Panthers. Detroit is going with John Gibson. . . The Red Wings rank 27th in scoring (2.58 goals per game) and 13th in goals-against (3.00). . . The Red Wings are back under 70% in penalty killing effectiveness, ranking 27th at 69.5%. . . Forward Michael Rasmussen will be a healthy scratch for the first time this season. Carter Mazur draws back into the lineup.
Injuries: . Albert Johansson (undisclosed) is on the injured list. No timetable for his return.
Detroit Projected Lines
Alex DeBrincat — Emmitt Finnie — Victor Arvidsson
Michael Brandsegg-Nygard — Marco Kasper — Lucas Raymond
Mason Appleton – Andrew Copp — J.T. Compher
Carter Mazur – Sheldon Dries — Keegan Kolesar
Defense Pairings
William Willander — Moritz Seider
Andreas Englund — Anton Johansson
Ben Chiarot — Justin Faulk
Goalies
Daniil Tarasov (John Gibson is the backup)
Subs: Jacob Bernard-Docker, Mason Appleton
Florida Panthers
Story: The Panthers are 2-3 in their last five games. They beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-1 in their last game. Before that game, they had given up 16 goals in their previous four games. . . Before stopping 38 of 39 against Columbus, goalie Jacob Markstrom had given up three or more goals in his previous four outings. . .The Panthers have a top-10 power play at 24.4%.
Injuries: Sandis Vilmanis (undisclosed) day-to-day, Brad Marchand (knee), Aleksander Barkov (knee) and Jonah Gadjovah (neck). Gadjovic and Barkov are both on LTIR, while Marchand isn’t expected to be back until just before Thanksgiving
Projected Lines
Brady Tkachuk — Sam Bennett — Matthew Tkachuk
Carter Verhaeghe — Sam Reinhart — Lars Eller
Eetu Luostarinen — Anton Lundell — Jack Devine
Bokondji Imama — Cole Schwindt — Garnet Hathaway
Defense Pairings
Gustav Forsling — Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola — Seth Jones
Dmitry Kulikov — Radko Gudas
Goalies
Jacob Markstrom (Akira Schmid is the backup)
Sub: Uvis Balinskis, Cole Reinhardt
Kevin has written professionally for almost 50 years. He was USA TODAY’s lead hockey writer from 1986 to 2019. … More about Kevin Allen