Who: Detroit Red Wings (39-26-8, 86 points, 6th place Atlantic Division) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (37-21-16, 90 points, 2nd place Metropolitan Division)
When: 7:00 p.m. eastern
How to Watch: Locally broadcast on Sportsnet Pittsburgh and FanDuel Sportsnet Detroit, streaming on ESPN+
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Pens’ Path Ahead: The Pens are headed to Tampa Bay to pay the Lightning on Thursday before returning home for a back-to-back set against the Florida Panthers on Saturday and Sunday.
Opponent Track: The Red Wings most recently let the Philadelphia Flyers back into the playoff race on Saturday, when Detroit started out the matchup by giving up four straight goals to Philadelphia. A late comeback push of three goals in three minutes wasn’t enough to overcome the early deficit, and now the Flyers are officially part of the late-season race for a Wild Card spot.
Season Series: The Penguins are looking to sweep the season series after claiming back-to-back wins (a 4-3 OT win and a 4-1 victory padded by two empty-netters) in a home-and-home set on Jan. 1 and Jan. 3.
Hidden Stat: Monday’s win over the New York Islanders marked the first time the Penguins have had 15 different players record a point in a game since March 27, 2022, per NHL Stats. That game, coincidentally, took place against the Red Wings.
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Getting to know the Red Wings
Projected lines
FORWARDS
Emmitt Finnie – Dylan Larkin – Lucas Raymond
Alex DeBrincat – Andrew Copp – Patrick Kane
David Perron – J.T. Compher – Carter Mazur
James Van Riemsdyk – Marco Kasper – Mason Appleton
DEFENSEMEN
Simon Edvinsson / Moritz Seider
Ben Chiarot / Justin Faulk
Albert Johansson / Jacob Bernard-Docker
Goalies: John Gibson (starting), Cam Talbot
Potential scratches: Michael Rasmussen (injured), Travis Hamonic, Michal Postava
Injured Reserve: None
The Red Wings are mixing things up after Saturday’s loss to the Flyers. Here’s what the lines looked like during that game. The changes could be an effort to mix up a bottom six that struggled during Saturday’s loss to the Flyers.
John Gibson is slated to make his 12th straight start tonight against the Penguins. He’s seeking redemption, both after getting pulled for allowing four goals on 21 shots last Saturday against the Flyers and giving up two early goals in his last meeting with the Pens on Jan. 3.
Season stats
via hockeydb
The Red Wings had wildly different results in their most recent back-to-back set, following a 5-2 win over the usually-dominant Buffalo Sabres with their collapse against the Flyers. That game was a hugely disappointing swing for a team that traded a package including a first-round pick in order to acquire Justin Faulk ahead of a hopeful playoff push.
Slow starts
Detroit has overall had trouble building much momentum since returning from the Olympic break. This team hasn’t put together a three-game win streak since January.
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Part of the reason why could be a lingering issue with slow starts, which showed in Saturday’s loss to the Flyers. The Red Wings have overall been outscored 54-43 (and outshot 663-595) in first periods this season, per Hockey Reference.
Both of their recent losses that have weakened the team’s playoff position— a 3-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators last Tuesday and the Saturday defeat by the Flyers— involved the Red Wings giving up three straight goals to start the game.
The Penguins would love to put up some early goals against this team, which is 15-21-6 when their opponent scores first (5-10-4 on the road).
The Red Wings, who have lost three of their last four and know exactly what playoff implications are on the line here, will be similarly motivated to strike first. As Lucas Raymond said after his team’s loss to the Flyers, “we’ve got to play with a lot more desperation and jump if we want to win hockey games” (h/t The Athletic’s Max Bultman).
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Playoff implications
Tonight is another game with major implications for the Eastern Conference playoff race, per MoneyPuck. The Pens could take another step toward clinching a playoff spot with a win, while the Red Wings’ postseason hopes would plummet with a loss.
Checking in on the East’s Wild Card race, via NHL.com. The Red Wings are two points back of the Wild Card line, the same position as the Ottawa Senators and Flyers. All three teams have a game in hand over the current WC2 Columbus Blue Jackets.
And now for the Pens
Projected lines (from Monday’s game)
FORWARDS
Egor Chinakhov – Sidney Crosby – Bryan Rust
Anthony Mantha – Rickard Rakell – Justin Brazeau
Tommy Novak – Ben Kindel – Avery Hayes
Elmer Soderblom – Connor Dewar – Noel Acciari
DEFENSEMEN
Parker Wotherspoon / Erik Karlsson
Sam Girard / Kris Letang
Ryan Shea / Connor Clifton
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Goalies: Stuart Skinner (Arturs Silovs started yesterday)
Potential Scratches: Evgeni Malkin* (injured), Ilya Solovyov, Blake Lizotte (injured), Kevin Hayes, Ryan Graves, Ville Koivunen, Rutger McGroarty
IR: Filip Hallander, Jack St. Ivany
Dan Muse did some line-shuffling last night, including placing Chinakhov on the first line and shuffling Tommy Novak to the third. Mantha and Brazeau looked good together on the second line, but that could change if Evgeni Malkin is able to return.
Speaking of Malkin: He was a full participant in practice the day before Monday’s game, so it seems there is at least a possibility he returns for tonight’s home matchup. In that case it could be Avery Hayes drawing out of the lineup as Rickard Rakell slides back to wing.
Elmer Soderblom is reuniting with his former team after coming one assist short of a Gordie Howe hat trick last night in his best game as Penguin so far.
The Penguins seem to know the playoff implications of a win tonight, based on their reaction to last night’s victory:
Sidney Crosby climbed the all-time NHL leaderboards for both assists and multi-point games in Monday night’s win over the Islanders.