The 29-22-and-6 Detroit Red Wings complete a home-and-home series with the 34-19-and-4 Minnesota Wild at the Xcel Energy Center this evening (8 PM EST start on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit/FanDuel SportsNet North/FanDuel SportsNet Wisconsin/97.1 FM).
Minnesota has been off since their 4-3 overtime victory over Detroit at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday; the Red Wings defeated the Anaheim Ducks in a 5-4 OT decision at LCA on Sunday, but the Red Wings headed to Minnesota without both Andrew Copp (upper-body, placed on IR) and Michael Rasmussen (upper-body, day-to-day).
Detroit recalled Sheldon Dries from Grand Rapids to help assuage the losses of Copp and Rasmussen, but the Wings’ roster is somewhat nebulous at present; after Monday’s practice, Red Wings coach Todd McLellan told the media that he’s considering splitting Marco Kasper off from the the Raymond-Larkin pairing (both Raymond and Larkin took “maintenance days” on Monday) to bulk up the Wings’ center corps, and we’ll find out more as to how Detroit’s lineup looks at today’s morning skate.
As far as the Wild are concerned, they practiced on Monday, and afterward, coach John Hynes stated that Filip Gustavsson will start in goal vs. Detroit, with center Jakub Lauko returning to the Wild lineup from injury.
The Wild have won 3 straight games, Saturday’s OT victory over the Red Wings included, and they’ve been on quite a roll of late, winning 6 of their past 8 games.
Field Level Media posted a game preview from the Wild’s perspective, noting that both Brock Faber and Matt Boldy elevated their respective statuses with strong Four Nations Face-Off performances…
A big part of Minnesota’s recent success has been the performance of defenseman Brock Faber and forward Matt Boldy. Both players shined on the international stage as they played prominent roles for Team USA in the 4 Nations Face-Off. This will be the first game for Faber and Boldy back in Minnesota since the tournament.
“It was nice to see (Faber) respond like that in a high-stakes environment in a best-on-best tournament, playing against the best and being relied upon five-on-five and on the penalty kill,” Wild coach John Hynes said. “It was nice to see that. … He and (Boldy) both did a good job and rose to the occasion and really got better and better as the tournament went on.”
The experience could make both players even stronger down the stretch in the regular season.
“Now when you come back here, now you’re playing, say, a top-six role or a top-three role, it’s understanding that is the intensity level and the game you need to bring regardless of who you’re playing with or what situation you’re in,” Hynes said.
Lucas Raymond leads the Red Wings with 63 points (22 goals, team-high 41 assists) in 57 games. Dylan Larkin ranks second with 53 points (24 goals, 29 assists) in 57 games, and Alex DeBrincat is third with 49 points (26, 23) in 57 games.
After Kaprizov, the Wild’s next-leading scorer is Boldy with 50 points (21, 29) in 57 games. Marco Rossi is third on the team with 49 points (20, 29), also in 57 games.
Filip Gustavsson is expected to start in net for Minnesota. He is 22-11-3 with a 2.63 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage this season.
Detroit will start either Cam Talbot or Alex Lyon in net. Talbot is 16-11-3 with a 2.88 GAA and a .906 save percentage, and Lyon is 11-6-1 with a 2.74 GAA and a .902 save percentage.
As previously noted, the AP posted a stats-and-more-stats Red Wings-Wild preview…
BOTTOM LINE: The Detroit Red Wings visit the Minnesota Wild after the Red Wings took down the Anaheim Ducks 5-4 in overtime.
Minnesota has a 34-19-4 record overall and a 13-12-1 record in home games. The Wild are 14-5-2 in games they score at least one power-play goal.
Detroit has a 29-22-6 record overall and a 13-10-3 record on the road. The Red Wings have a 5-7-3 record in games they serve more penalty minutes than their opponents.
The teams play Tuesday for the second time this season. The Wild won 4-3 in overtime in the previous meeting.
TOP PERFORMERS: Marco Rossi has 20 goals and 29 assists for the Wild. Marcus Foligno has five goals and two assists over the last 10 games.
Alex DeBrincat has 26 goals and 23 assists for the Red Wings. Dylan Larkin has scored four goals with six assists over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Wild: 6-4-0, averaging 2.7 goals, 4.4 assists, 3.9 penalties and 8.4 penalty minutes while giving up 2.7 goals per game.
Red Wings: 8-1-1, averaging 3.4 goals, 5.6 assists, 2.5 penalties and 5.8 penalty minutes while giving up 2.6 goals per game.
NHL.com and the Minnesota Star-Tribune’s Sarah McLellan both posted short game previews…
Detroit Red Wings at Minnesota Wild (8 p.m. ET; FDSNWIX, FDSNNO, FDSNDET)
Minnesota (34-19-4) goes for its fourth win in a row and second against the Red Wings (29-22-6) in four days after a 4-3 overtime win at Detroit on Saturday. Alex DeBrincat has scored in three straight and has 10 points (five goals, five assists) during a six-game point streak for the Red Wings, who have earned a point in nine of their past 10 games (8-1-1).
With McLellan noting that the Red Wings surrendered 4 goals against in both Saturday and Sunday’s games…
Red Wings update: Detroit fared better during its second trip to overtime in as many days. After botching a 4-on-3 power play in extra time before losing 4-3 to the Wild on Saturday, the Red Wings prevailed 5-4 against the Ducks on Sunday. Like the Wild, Anaheim rallied from a two-goal, third-period deficit to extend the action. But RW Patrick Kane nixed the Ducks’ comeback with his second goal of the game. Over his last 17 games, Kane has 21 points.
Injuries: Wild LW Kirill Kaprizov (lower body) is out. Red Wings C Andrew Copp (undisclosed), D Jeff Petry (undisclosed) and C Michael Rasmussen (upper body) are out.
The Wild’s PR department also posted a Tweet that reveals the following:
Minnesota going 8-2-and-0 in their last 10 games against Detroit is…ugly, as is their 7-1-and-0 record against Detroit at the Xcel Energy Center. Never mind the earning a point in 17 of the last 20 meetings in St. Paul statistic.
Anyway, here are today’s game notes:
