Of Red Wings-related note ahead of tonight’s game against the Dallas Stars (8 PM EST start on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit/Victory+/Sportsnet/97.1 FM):
- NHL.com posted a short game preview as there are only 3 games on the schedule today:
Detroit Red Wings at Dallas Stars (8 p.m. ET; FDSNDET, Victory+, SN)
The Stars (28-16-1) have lost two in a row and three of four since winning seven straight and a nine-game point streak (8-0-1). The Red Wings (21-20-4) have lost two of three since their seven-game winning streak. Both teams played Saturday; Dallas lost 6-3 to the Colorado Avalanche with backup goalie Casey DeSmith in net, which means Jake Oettinger is likely to get the start against Detroit. Oettinger has allowed four goals in his past three starts and has given up two or fewer in nine of 12 since Dec. 14. Stars forward Jason Robertson has three goals in the past two games, four in four and seven in 11 since Dec. 29. The Red Wings lost 5-1 at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday. They’ll be playing the third of a four-game road trip that started with a 5-2 win at the Florida Panthers on Thursday.
2. MLive’s Tyler Kuehl also posted a game preview which discusses the divisional implications of tonight’s game (for both teams)…
After a huge statement win over the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers to kick off the road swing through the Sunshine State, the Red Wings received a little slice of humble pie on Saturday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Detroit fell behind early to their Atlantic Division rivals and were unable to recover, losing 5-1.
The defeat gives the Wings two losses in their last three games, also falling to the San Jose Sharks in the final game of their most recent four-game homestand last Tuesday. Detroit still sits seventh in the Atlantic Division, four points back of the last Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Stars are trying to do everything they can to avoid being in the Wild Card conversation. With the Colorado Avalanche nipping at their heels, Dallas is hanging onto third place in the Central Division, though the Avs closed the gap with a victory over the Stars on Saturday night.
With losses in three of the team’s last four games, Dallas is third in the Central, eight points back of the first-place Winnipeg Jets.
3. Detroit Hockey Now’s Tim Robinson also posted a game preview…
Each day, it seems, to be another teaching moment for the Detroit Red Wings. The Red Wings put 40 shots on the Tampa Bay goal in a 5-1 loss. Breakdowns on defense were a major contributor, as was a power play that lost its juice, at least for the night
Even the positive stat, 40 shots on goal, wasn’t indicative of a solid effort to Todd McLellan.
“I think you can get very fooled by our 40 shots,” he said. “We want to be a volume-shooting team and we were, but we had zero presence in and around their net. (Andrei) Vasilevskiy when he sees it, he’s going to have zero problems stopping it. We had maybe two or three screened shots, two or three quick rebounds.”
The Red Wings won’t have much time to dwell on the loss, not with a game tonight against the Stars, who have won the past 11 meetings between the teams in Dallas.
Both teams are on hot streaks. The Red Wings have won eight of their last 11, the Stars seven of their last 10. Both are coming off Saturday losses. The Stars lost at Colorado on Saturday, 6-3.
4. As did DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills…
On Saturday, in the second game of its current four-game road trip, Detroit fell to the Tampa Bay Lightning, 5-1. The Red Wings struggled to capitalize on their chances against the Lightning, tallying a season-high 40 shots on net and going 1-for-6 on the power play.
“It was what Tampa did, but it was also what Detroit was doing,” Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan said. “We were slow, sloppy. Passing was not crisp. We were looking off what was clean and trying the more difficult play. I think when you get one [power-play goal] in a game, you got to be fairly satisfied. We’re probably getting a little spoiled here expecting two or three a night, and that’s not the way it works in this league. The power play got us one. The penalty kill let us down because we gave up two, but over and above that it was our play around our paint that I was not happy with.”
Lucas Raymond, who scored Detroit’s lone goal in Tampa Bay to stretch his point streak to seven straight games, said Saturday’s loss was a good reminder that the club needs to play with a tighter defensive structure.
“That’s the way we need to play,” Raymond said. “That’s the way we know how to play to be successful. We need to play with pace, get pucks to the net, be strong defensively, get energy and momentum off that. Like I said, we got a great opportunity [on Sunday] to bounce back.”
…
Matt Duchene (18 goals, 25 assists) and Jason Robertson (14 goals, 26 assists) are the only Dallas skaters that have surpassed the 40-point mark this season, but Wyatt Johnston (10 goals, 25 assists) is not far from achieving the feat himself.
Stars goalies Jake Oettinger and Casey DeSmith have combined for 28 wins, a 2.46 goals-against average, .909 save percentage and two shutouts this season.
“With the ups always comes the downs,” said Red Wings netminder Alex Lyon, who stopped all six shots he faced in relief on Saturday and is expected to start on Sunday. “We just have to be prepared to stay even.”
5. And the Hockey News’s Adam Denker posted a preview from the Stars’ perspective…
The Stars have had Detroit’s number in recent years, winning their last seven games against the Red Wings, with the Motor City’s last win coming back in April 2021. Throughout that span, Dallas has thoroughly outplayed the Red Wings by outscoring Detroit 32-17.
The Stars are coming off a disappointing loss to the Avalanche, in which Dallas were unable to keep up with Colorado’s offensive attack. Jason Robertson kept up his scoring ways as he notched two goals and three points. Robertson comes into Sunday’s game with a four-game point streak, collecting six points, with four of those coming via goals.
The Detroit Red Wings will continue the trend of recent tough opponents as they come into Sunday’s game, winners of six in their last eight games. They hope to collect their seventh win in January after coming off a 5-1 trouncing to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Detroit currently ranks seventh place in the Atlantic Division, sitting four points back of a Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.
All eyes will be on Lucas Raymond as he comes into the contest riding a seven-game point streak. Raymond will be searching for his first career goal against Dallas. Detroit will also rely on forward Alex DeBrincat and captain Dylan Larkin to get things going in the offensive end. Larkin currently leads the team in goals with 20, while DeBrincat is currently tied with the aforementioned Raymond with 19 goals.
6. As did the Dallas Morning News:
Bottom line
The Dallas Stars host the Detroit Red Wings after Jason Robertson scored two goals in the Stars’ 6-3 loss to the Colorado Avalanche.
Dallas has a 16-6-1 record in home games and a 28-16-1 record overall. The Stars have a 9-4-0 record in games they convert at least one power play.
Detroit has a 9-9-2 record on the road and a 21-20-4 record overall. The Red Wings have a 3-6-2 record in games they serve more penalty minutes than their opponents.
The teams meet Sunday for the first time this season.
7. Here’s a bit more from the Hockey News’s Sam Stockton:
Unsurprisingly, the coach wasn’t interested in using the back-to-back as an excuse for another poor performance this evening, especially considering the Stars also played last night: “We can clarify that right now: both teams lost, both teams played back-to-back, both teams had to travel. And I think they’re playing three in four as well, so all those excuses can go out the window. They’re not gonna hear any of that from the coaching staff, and it’s another one of those unique opportunities that the new coaches have to see how we’re gonna respond.”
As Lucas Raymond summated after the loss last night, “We didn’t reach our standard by any means, and it’s on us. We need to come prepared in every game…Good thing we’ve got a new chance tomorrow.”
