The Detroit Red Wings return home for a set of games against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday, the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday, and the Los Angels Kings on Monday, all at Little Caesars Arena.
That’s a bit of a gauntlet as the Wings try to earn some points in the Eastern Conference’s Wild Card race, and the Associated Press posted an early game preview of the Wings-Habs affair:
BOTTOM LINE: The Detroit Red Wings head into a matchup with the Montreal Canadiens after losing three in a row.
Detroit is 5-8-1 against the Atlantic Division and 21-21-5 overall. The Red Wings are 3-6-3 in games they serve more penalty minutes than their opponents.
Montreal is 24-19-4 overall with a 9-4-0 record against the Atlantic Division. The Canadiens have committed 201 total penalties (4.3 per game) to rank third in league play.
The teams meet Thursday for the third time this season. The Canadiens won the last matchup 5-1.
TOP PERFORMERS: Lucas Raymond has 19 goals and 32 assists for the Red Wings. Dylan Larkin has seven goals and seven assists over the past 10 games.
Cole Caufield has 24 goals and 20 assists for the Canadiens. Patrik Laine has four goals and three assists over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Red Wings: 6-3-1, averaging 3.4 goals, 6.2 assists, two penalties and four penalty minutes while giving up 3.1 goals per game.
Canadiens: 7-2-1, averaging 3.1 goals, 5.1 assists, 4.6 penalties and 10.6 penalty minutes while giving up 2.8 goals per game.
