The Detroit Red Wings look to get back to .500 tonight against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Red Wings have lost three straight and are 5-12-3 on the road.
Before losing 2-1 in OT against Seattle last night, the Penguins had won seven straight games.
Game time tonight is 7:00 PM ET in Pittsburgh, PA.
Player Focus: Top Scorers
Dylan Larkin and Tyler Bertuzzi have been terrific for the Detroit Red Wings this season. They started the season on the same line with rookie Lucas Raymond. Recently, they were split up in a successful attempt to get a second line going. They play together on the top power play unit. They are currently tied for the Red Wings scoring lead.
Dylan Larkin looks rejuvenated this season. After a down season one year ago, Larkin is healthy and seems to be on the score sheet every night. In 38 games, Larkin has 20 goals, 18 assists, and 38 points with a +4 rating. One year ago, Larkin played 44 games and scored nine goals, 14 assists, and 23 points with a -14 rating.
Tyler Bertuzzi has been outstanding when he has been in the lineup for Detroit. Last season, Bertuzzi played the first nine games of the season and had five goals and seven points. With Bertuzzi healthy for most of this season, he is tied with Larkin with 20 goals, 18 assists, and 38 points in 35 games. He has also been the team leader in +/- all season and currently has a +13 rating.
Red Wings Notes
- Detroit are currently 5th in the Atlantic Division with an 18-19-6 record
- The Red Wings special teams are currently ranked 28th in the NHL, PP 15.2%, PK 77.7%
- Dylan Larkin and Tyler Bertuzzi lead Detroit with 20 goals and 38 points each
- Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond lead the Red Wings with 23 assists each
- Seider leads all Detroit defensemen in scoring with 27 points in 43 games
- Bertuzzi continues to lead the Red Wings with a +13 rating
- Alex Nedeljkovic is expected to start and has a 12-11-5 record, 2.89 GAA, and .912 SV% in 31 games
Detroit Projected Lineup
Forwards
Vladislav Namestnikov – Dylan Larkin – Lucas Raymond
Robby Fabbri – Pius Suter – Tyler Bertuzzi
Filip Zadina – Michael Rasmussen – Adam Erne
Givani Smith – Joe Veleno – Sam Gagner
Defensemen
Danny DeKeyser – Moritz Seider
Marc Staal – Filip Hronek
Nick Leddy – Jordan Oesterle
Goaltenders
Alex Nedeljkovic (starter)
Calvin Pickard
Not in lineup
Riley Barber (lower body), Carter Rowney (undisclosed), Thomas Greiss (COVID-19), Gustav Lindstrom (undisclosed)
Penguins Notes
- Pittsburgh are currently tied for 1st in the Metropolitan Division with a 27-10-6 record
- The Penguins special teams are currently ranked 7th in the NHL, PP 19.4%, PK 88.6%
- Jake Guentzel leads Pittsburgh with 21 goals and 40 points in 36 games
- Kris Letang leads the Penguins with 33 assists in 39 games
- Letang also leads Pittsburgh with a +18 rating
- Backup goaltender Casey DeSmith is expected to start and has a 3-3-1 record, 3.58 GAA, and .886 SV% in 9 games
- Penguins veteran forward, Jeff Carter, signed a new two-year contract extension with the team on Wednesday
Pittsburgh Projected Lineup
Forwards
Jake Guentzel – Sidney Crosby – Bryan Rust
Danton Heinen – Evgeni Malkin – Kasperi Kapanen
Evan Rodrigues – Jeff Carter – Brock McGinn
Zach Aston-Reese – Brian Boyle – Dominik Simon
Defensemen
Brian Dumoulin – Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson – John Marino
Michael Matheson – Chad Ruhwedel
Goaltenders
Casey DeSmith (starting)
Tristan Jarry
Not in lineup
Mark Friedman (healthy), Radim Zohorna (healthy)