Everything you need to know ahead of tonight's game between the Red Wings & Devils at Little Caesars Arena
DETROIT, MI—After an unconventional win two nights ago on Long Island, the Detroit Red Wings (3-3-0) will look to extend their first winning streak of the season to three games this evening, with the New Jersey Devils (5-3-1) in town for a tangle this evening at Little Caesars Arena.
It's not often a hockey team will win a game with just 11 shots on goal, but the Red Wings managed it Tuesday night against the Islanders. "Obviously it was quite a weird game: You're not really supposed to win games when you only have 10 shots on net, but hey two points is two points, especially on a little road trip like that," forward Joe Veleno told The Hockey News yesterday of the performance and result.
Moritz Seider offered a similar perspective after this morning's skate. "I think we're very honest with ourselves, but in the end, two points is two points, and no one will care down the stretch how we got those," he said of Tuesday night's effort. "It's another step in learning. Even though you might not play your best game, you can still find a way to win hockey games, and that's what good teams do."
Seider went on to point out that the Red Wings don't want to make a habit of spending so much time in the defensive zone, but as long as they limit the quality of an opponent's chances, they will have a shot to win. "You're not trying to shut down your own offense and just trying to defend, but sometimes things are just not going your way," he explained. "We just couldn't find a way to sustain the puck in the O zone and find ways to be a dominant force on the other side of the red [line]...The more we can keep good teams like that to the outside and don't let them penetrate the slot and get 'A' chances, I think we're doing a job, and I think we'll get out of those games more often than people expect."
The Devils skate into tonight's game with a point to prove after giving up eight goals in a home loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning Tuesday night. While there is clearly room for defensive tightening, New Jersey is without doubt one of the most potent offensive teams around the league. To Seider, the key to slowing the Devils down is physicality.
"You gotta play hard against their skilled forwards," he told THN. "They don't like to be hit and they wanna play an easy offensive game. And if we can [be physical], check them, be above them, just make 'em earn every single thing, if we can do that, I think we'll frustrate them and get our chances on the other side."
So tonight's game ought to bring a clash of styles, between the Red Wings emphasis on physicality and defending and New Jersey's eagerness for quicksilver offense, yet both sides also will be looking to prove a point about the other side of their game, with Detroit keen to apply more attacking pressure than it managed Tuesday and the Devils looking to improve on a porous defensive performance in its last time out.
Red Wings' Lineup Dealing with "Moving Parts" as Bug Continues Through Locker Room
Per Derek Lalonde after morning skate, the Red Wings are dealing with some lineup uncertainties heading into tonight's game. "We're gonna have some moving parts," he said. "We've got a little bit of a bug going through the team, so I think we're gonna have one forward unavailable. Don't know yet, but if that happens, might even be a call-up to give us 12 [forwards, with an addition from] GR." Five skaters, all of them forwards, were absent from morning skate: Patrick Kane, Vladimir Tarasenko, Andrew Copp, J.T. Compher, and Christian Fischer. "If we can't get a forward with where we are with moving some money around, we might have to move a D out for a D in," Lalonde added, before saying. "That'll be contingent on bathroom stops this afternoon for a couple forwards."
The Red Wings have some options for creating an extra roster spot for tonight, should it prove necessary. They could retroactively place Tyler Motte on Injured Reserve (and he would still have missed the requisite week to play in either of this weekend's game). They could also send Justin Holl (who would not need to clear waivers) back down to Grand Rapids (perhaps as merely a paper transaction). In all likelihood, Austin Watson would be the forward called up from the Griffins should it be necessary.
Talbot Starts, as Red Wings Look to Preserve Freshness in Goaltending Rotation
Despite two excellent performances back-to-back from Alex Lyon, Cam Talbot will start tonight in goal for the Red Wings. As Derek Lalonde explained, the decision is based on (1) managing Lyon's workload and (2) keeping both netminders active as part of the rotation.
"We want them to be in rhythm," Lalonde explained this morning. "We still trust them [both]...Obviously Cam didn't look comfortable [against the Rangers], but he shut out Nashville the previous game, and he's had a strong camp. We do need to get two guys rolling. We've gotten in a situation last year where Alex was playing at such a high level, we didn't really have a comfortable option at the time outside of Alex, and we over-played him. It was pretty obvious, and it affected his play. We want to be able to manage that throughout the season."
Where to Watch
Tonight's game, a 7 PM start, will be on its new television home of FanDuel Sports Network Detroit for in-market fans and its usual streaming homes of Hulu/ESPN+ for out-of-town supporters.
Also from THN Detroit
Lyon Stars, Detroit Seeks Chemistry, Seider & Edvinsson Shine: Red Wings 1, Islanders 0 Game Notes
Thanks to Lyon, Red Wings Survive Long Island for 1-0 Win
What Is the State of the Red Wings Goaltending Room Through Five Games?