The Detroit Red Wings (3-1) are home tonight to play the Tampa Bay Lightning (1-2-1)
Where: Little Caesars Arena
When: 7 p.m.
TV/Radio: FanDuel Sports Network/97.1 FM
Odds: Tampa (-1.5, +160), Detroit (+1.5,-190) ESPNBet
Hot: Alex DeBrincat has been unlucky when it comes to scoring in the first four games, but he’s leading the team with 15 shots on goal and six points.
Not: Forward J.T. Compher has no points, and only two shots on goal, in four games.
Spotlight: Rookie Axel Sandin Pellikka continues to earn his keep as a second pairing defenseman. He’s averaging 20:43 minutes per game. ASP is looking for his first NHL point.
Absence: Lucas Raymond (upper body) is still day-to-day. He did practice Thursday. “Wasn’t a hard, strenuous, physical practice, so I’m sure he handled himself well,” Coach Todd McLellan said.
Story: John Gibson (0-1, 8.07 GAA, .615 save percentage) starts in goal for Detroit, his first outing since losing 5-1 on opening night. “He didn’t have a bad outing. We had a bad outing,” McLellan said. “He just happens to wear different equipment than everybody else.”,.. Patrick Kane is six goals from becoming the fifth U.S.-born player in NHL history to score 500 goals, joining Mike Modano (561), Keith Tkachuk (538), Jeremy Roenick (513) and Joe Mullen (502). Kane (1,348 career points) is also 27 points away from passing Mike Modano (1,374) for the most NHL points by a U.S.-born skater. Kane boasts 14 game-winning goals since Jan. 13, 2024, trailing only Sebastian Aho (15), Matt Boldy (15), Leon Draisaitl (15) and Brayden Point (15) for the most among all NHL skaters in that time period… Cam Talbot is 3-0 with a 1.78 GAA and .932 save percentage.
Detroit Projected Lines
Emmitt Finnie — Dylan Larkin — Mason Appleton
Patrick Kane — Marco Kasper — Alex DeBrincat
Andrew Copp — J.T. Compher — Michael Brandsegg-Nygard
James van Riemsdyk — Michael Rasmussen — Jonatan Berggren
Defense Pairings
Ben Chiarot — Moritz Seider
Simon Edvinsson — Axel Sandin-Pellikka
Albert Johansson-Jacob Bernard-Docker –
Goalie
John Gibson (Cam Talbot is backup)
Tampa Bay
Story: Tampa Bay’s 4.00 goals against average ranks 28th in the NHL… Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy has started slowly (0-2-1, 4.08 GAA, .870 save percentage) Brayden Point has five points on the season, but he’s minus-5… Injuries: Nick Paul, Zemgus Girgensons and Niko Huuhtanen are on injured reserve. Defenseman Max Crozier is day-to-day.
Projected Lines
Brandon Hagel – Brayden Point – Nikita Kucherov
Jake Guentzel – Anthony Cirelli – Gage Goncalves
Pontus Holmberg- Yanni Gourde – Oliver Bjorkstrand
Mitchell Chaffee – Conor Geekie – Curtis Douglas
Defense Pairings
Victor Hedman – J. J. Moser
Ryan McDonagh- Erik Cernak
Emil Lilleberg – Darren Raddysh
Andri Vasilevskiy (Jonas Johansson backing up)