Everything you need to know ahead of tonight's match-up between the Red Wings and Flyers at Little Caesars Arena
Tonight, the struggling Detroit Red Wings (15-13-4) will host the Philadelphia Flyers (18-11-3), with the Red Wings looking to snap a nasty four-game skid that featured a 1-0 loss in Philadelphia last Saturday.
Wednesday's loss in Winnipeg was the season's nadir, with Detroit suffering from not just blunders but epic blunders, with calamitous defensive zone coverage providing the Jets with goals befitting the season of giving.
"The other day [against the Jets] we talked about having cleaning up some things and having a focus in the first, and we did," said Derek Lalonde after this morning's skate. "And then, [the malaise] found us in the second, and it was disappointing. It's not only that we had blow-ups; we had screaming blow-ups that were easy offense...We're gonna ask them again today to get out of this: Simplify things, clean up some things in the D zone, stay positive, and find some energy correctly, and hopefully it goes in the right direction here."
To veteran defenseman Jeff Petry, who has seen his share of slumps in his 14-year career, breaking out of this rut has to begin in the defensive zone.
"You don't want to open things defensively to try to create offense," he told The Hockey News standing in front of his stall after today's skate. "You have to focus on your own end first, make sure you're playing a strong defensive game, and then, kind of build it from your end out."
When asked why he believes defending rather than offense is the path out of doldrums like these (a run of one win in eight games to put a fine point on the present state of affairs), Petry said, "I don't think you want to be chasing games. If you focus on making it hard for the other team, making it tough in them, I think that just creates opportunity offensively, where they don't have the time, the space to make plays. They're the ones turning it over, and we can capitalize on their mistakes.
"The way I see it is making them try to force things and then capitalizing on that. We've got the skill in here to create plays and do things offensively. Given those opportunities, we have the ability to score goals. When you get in trouble is when you're playing that kind of chance-for-chance game."
Dec 16, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Detroit Red Wings defenseman Jeff Petry (46) skates with puck against Philadelphia Flyers right wing Cam Atkinson (89) during the third period at Wells Fargo Center. Lines Shaken Up, Questions on D, Reimer Starts
Detroit showed some different wrinkles to its lineup at this morning's skate, with a top line of Alex DeBrincat, Dylan Larkin, and Patrick Kane. That trio enjoyed positive results in a limited role on Wednesday night in Winnipeg, so perhaps their coming together can help spark the sputtering Detroit attack.
On defense, it was also notable that Jake Walman appeared to be the odd-man out, with Shayne Gostisbehere assuming Walman's customary role on the top pairing beside Moritz Seider.
Lalonde explained this morning that he hasn't yet decided on which six defensemen will dress this evening, noting that several players are dealing with "some bumps and bruises and some sickness." He suggested that the Red Wings may end up dressing seven D for warm-ups and making a game-time call on which six will play.
Meanwhile, James Reimer will get the start in net, with Michael Hutchinson as his back-up. Lalonde wouldn't rule out the possibility that Reimer plays again tomorrow night in New Jersey (which would be three starts in four nights in three different cities), but he did say that doing so would be taxing, suggesting that Hutchinson is the likely option for tomorrow's Devils game.
Perron Reflects on His Suspension Ahead of Return
Tonight, the Red Wings will get a boost in the form of David Perron, who has now served the entirety of his six-game suspension. Officially, Perron's appeal of that suspension remains ongoing, though of course all that can be recovered now is the salary he lost from the tail end of that ban not actual games on the ice.
In speaking to the media from his stall in the Detroit dressing room for the first time since the incident, Perron said, "I understand there was some discipline that needed to be done there, [but] on my side, I felt like it was pretty excessive for the comparables, the history, my career, a lot of things really that played into it."
He explained that he'd mistakenly believed Artem Zub was responsible for injuring Dylan Larkin, so he acted swiftly to retaliate, noting that incidents like this one play out quickly and that it certainly wasn't his intent to inflict injury. Fortunately, Zub didn't even miss a shift.
"I'm not trying to injure anyone," he said. "On a personal level, I've missed close to two seasons worth of games with head, neck, concussion [issues]. Even tonight, it'll be a situation where you go to hit someone, and you're trying to be physical, you're trying to play the right way, you're trying to win the game. It doesn't mean you're trying to hurt the guy. I never want to do that. I want to make that very clear."
When asked whether he believed the NHL factors in the context of Larkin's injury in assessing his own actions, Perron said, "I don't want put words into what they factor as far as the Dylan incident. I respect the process, and I wanna see what comes out of it. I think they do understand that the response in the league the way things are right now—right or wrong—there's a response to be done there right away, and we assume that all 31 other teams would do something there."
Meanwhile, Perron acknowledged that there is a disappointment to serving the full suspension without a resolution to his appeal, while also noting that he understands the NHL's system for adjudicating this sort of incident: "There's some frustration with the process, but at the same time, you have to respect the precedent that it creates for the NHL PA. And then you flip on the NHL's side, I respect it that Gary [Bettman] took the time to meet with me as well."
Detroit went 1-5 in his absence, and, while that isn't all about Perron missing from the lineup, it will certainly provide a boost to restore his scoring touch, energy, and intensity to the Red Wing lineup.
Flyers' Tight-Checking as a Model for Detroit
Last Saturday's loss in Philadelphia was Detroit's best defensive performance from its recent losing skid, and when Lalonde reflects back on that game, he sees something of a model for what the Red Wings should look like when things are clicking."
"When we had our little run there, six [wins] of seven, that's how we looked," he said of the "simple" and "sharp" Flyers. "Not a lot of risk in their game. They defend properly. They were very comfortable in that 1-0 game the other day." For the year, John Tortorella's team is 7-4-3 in one-goal games.
He added that in taking that 1-0 result, Philadelphia showed that it can be right at home in a game with thin margins because of its structure and defensive prowess.
"They didn't create a ton, they didn't give up a ton, and they were comfortable getting that bounce," assessed Lalonde. "They're playing with good structure. They're playing with confidence. They're comfortable being in a tight game."
Entering tonight's game yielding just 2.66 goals-per-game, Philadelphia is the sixth stingiest defensive team in the league. They did, however, play last night (falling 4-2 at home to the Nashville Predators), so perhaps the Red Wings can take advantage of a team dealing with some fatigue that might be looking ahead to a holiday break as it plays its final game before Christmas.
Where to Watch
Tonight's game is a 7 PM start, and it will be on its usual home of Bally Sports Detroit and the BSD+ app. For out of market fans, that means it can be found on Hulu and ESPN+.