Everything you need to know ahead of Red Wings-Hurricanes tonight at Little Caesars Arena
Tonight, the Detroit Red Wings (15-9-4) will host the Carolina Hurricanes (15-12-1) at Little Caesars Arena. Here's everything you need to know ahead of the evening's game.
Mar 30, 2023; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Carolina Hurricanes center Jesperi Kotkaniemi (82) and Detroit Red Wings center Joe Veleno (90) battle for the puck in the first period at Little Caesars Arena. Lineup and Injuries
For the Red Wings, injuries remain a central storyline, and this morning's skate at LCA provided reason for optimism that Detroit's wounded are nearing returns, though not necessarily immediate relief.
Captain Dylan Larkin skated for the first time since suffering a frightening injury Saturday night. Larkin is on the injured reserve list, which means he won't be eligible to return to game action through Saturday night's game in Philadelphia, but even in a gray non-contact jersey, his presence was an uplifting one. Coach Derek Lalonde said "Monday he's potentially available for us, but I think that'll probably be a little aggressive, but it's a day-to-day type thing."
"I want to be careful with Dylan's privacy, and when he went on the IR, I think a lot of people think the worst, but from him being completely out cold to being helped off the ice made it an optimistic scenario for us," Lalonde added. The nature of Larkin's injury does not invite a neat timeline for his return to action, but Lalonde sounded hopeful that it's at least possible his captain will return before the Red Wings break for Christmas.
Meanwhile, J.T. Compher (who has not played since December 5th in Buffalo) took part in his first practice without a non-contact since suffering his injury, but he will not be available tonight against the Hurricanes.
"He's close," said Lalonde. "I wasn't trying to lie to anyone when I said he was day-to-day. It's just a reoccurring, nagging [injury]. He's good one day, not great the next, so hopefully he makes some strides here for Saturday." Meanwhile, Klim Kostin will also remain out of action tonight, but Lalonde expressed optimism that he too could return for Saturday's game.
With the caveat that Compher will not be available this evening, here's how the Red Wings lined up at this morning's skate:
In the absence of Larkin and Compher, one major positive for Detroit has been Joe Veleno's emergence—a trend that stretches back to when Larkin and Compher were healthy but has only been accentuated by their absence.
"Obviously not ideal having your top two centers out and asked a lot of everyone, and [Veleno] was especially one that played 23 minutes the other night and did great," Lalonde said. "Probably a little too much [ice time] for him, but he's handled it well, and obviously he's had a really good start of the season."
Lalonde credited Veleno's confidence, skating, and battle-winning, adding that Veleno is "processing things a little quicker, and he's playing a little more fast twitch in the D zone because of it."
Another player taking advantage of increased opportunity because of the lengthy injured list is Jonatan Berggren—who has goals in each of the last two games.
"Needed the offense, but for him, both goals are similar in that they're at the net," Lalonde said of the young Swede. "Developing him and growing him a little bit—like a lot of young skilled players have a tendency to gravitate toward the perimeter a little bit, and I think it's a credit to him that both his goals were around the blue paint."
Meanwhile, the slew of injuries (along with David Perron's suspension) has meant an increase in Patrick Kane's workload as he acclimates to Detroit and re-settles into NHL life after a major surgery. Lalonde noted this morning that Kane has already exceeded expectations—in raw usage, recovery and results.
"We were not gonna play him on the back-to-back, and he played over 20 [minutes] the other day," Lalonde noted. "I'm concerned, and he said he felt great, which is a good sign heading forward."
Finally, Ville Husso will get the start in goal tonight for Detroit, with Lalonde crediting his "great third period" against the Blues on Tuesday as part of the reason for his decision. "Even though his numbers for the season are towards the bottom of the league, his win-loss is not. He's competing extremely hard for us," he said of the Fin.
Canes in (Relative) Crisis
Since being named head coach of the team he once captained to its lone Stanley Cup championship, Rod Brind'Amour has been among the best bench bosses in the NHL. He has taken a listless franchise, struggling with budgetary constraints and fan apathy, and transformed it into a perennial contender and gold standard for over-achievement around the league. In a sport dominated by group think, he has coached the Hurricanes to a unique style defined by relentless forechecking and overwhelming underlying numbers.
This season, Carolina remains one of the league's best teams by the advanced metrics (6th in the NHL by five-on-five expected goal share per MoneyPuck at 53.35%), but the results have not been quite so smooth. The Canes are coming off a 4-1 bounce-back victory over Ottawa, but that win came on the heels of being swept over four games across western Canada. They entered the year as a common Cup pick and instead sit fourth in the Metropolitan Division.
Injuries have been a clear factor in Carolina's troubles, most notably to Andrei Svechnikov, who has been able to play just 16 games this year and is currently out indefinitely. However, an even more glaring weakness has been goaltending. Brind'Amour has used three different netminders this season, and none has found much of a rhythm.
Pyotr Kochetkov is 5-6-1 with an .883 save percentage, Antti Raanta is 6-5-0 with an .860 SV%, and Frederik Andersen is 4-1-0 with an .894 SV%. Combined, the three goalies have allowed 3.25 goals per game and accrued an .876 SV %. Regardless of your coach or skaters, it's awfully hard to win with goaltending like that.
So, at the end of the day, perhaps there is something to the idea that Brind'Amour's message has begun to grow stale in Raleigh, but finding a reliable goaltender appears a much more pressing matter.
Where to Watch
Tonight's game (another 7:30 start) will be broadcast exclusively by ESPN+ and Hulu; there will be no Bally Sports Detroit broadcast for this game. Mike Monaco will serve as the play-by-play announcer, with Ryan Callahan as color analyst.