Preview: Red Wings will try to break losing streak against Ottawa

The Detroit Red Wings look to break their four game losing streak when they host the Ottawa Senators tonight at LCA. The Red Wings played much better on Wednesday night, but still fell short in a 5-4 OT loss to the New York Rangers. The Senators are on a one-game losing streak after losing 4-1 to Nashville on Tuesday. The Senators are 3-6-1 in their last 10 games.

This is the first of three meetings between the Red Wings and Senators this month. Game time is 7:30 PM ET at LCA in Detroit, MI.

Player Profile: Jake Walman

Jake Walman was recently acquired by Detroit as a part of the trade for Nick Leddy. Walman was originally drafted by St. Louis in the 3rd round of the 2014 draft. Prior to turning professional, the Toronto native played three years at Providence College where he was an alternate captain during his junior year.

Walman played 189 games covering four seasons in the AHL before he became a regular in the NHL. Known more for his defensive abilities, scored 17 goals, 46 assists, 63 points, and a -32 rating while playing in the AHL.

Walman is currently in his 2nd full season playing in the NHL. In 37 games this year, Walman has scored three goals, three assists, six points, and an even +/- rating. In 62 career NHL games, Walman has scored four goals, four assists, eight points, and a -6 rating.

Walman is in the final year of his two-year extension which carries a cap hit of $725,000. Walman is a RFA this summer and is looking to make a strong impression with his new team so that he can sign an extension with Detroit.

Red Wings Notes

Detroit are currently 5th in the Atlantic Division with a 26-32-9 record
The Red Wings are currently 27th in PP (18.2%) and 32nd in PK (72.1%)
Dylan Larkin leads Detroit with 28 goals and 62 points in 62 games
Moritz Seider leads the Red Wings with 39 assists in 67 games
Seider continues to lead all Detroit defensemen in scoring with 44 points
Lucas Raymond remains 2nd in NHL rookie scoring with 50 points in 67 games
Defenseman Marc Staal continues to lead the Red Wings with a +7 rating
Goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic is expected to start and has a 17-20-8 record, 3.30 GAA, and a .900 SV% and two SO in 50 games

Detroit Projected Lineup

Forwards

Tyler Bertuzzi – Dylan Larkin – Lucas Raymond

Jakub Vrana – Joe Veleno – Sam Gagner

Adam Erne – Pius Suter – Oskar Sundqvist

Taro Hirose – Michael Rasmussen – Filip Zadina

Defensemen

Danny DeKeyser – Moritz Seider

Marc Staal – Filip Hronek

Jake Walman – Gustav Lindstrom

Goaltenders

Alex Nedeljkovic (starter)

Thomas Greiss

Scratched: Olli Juolevi, Jordan Oesterle

Injured: Robby Fabbri (lower body), Carter Rowney (lower body), Mitchell Stephens (lower body), (upper body), Calvin Pickard (undisclosed), Givani Smith (undisclosed)

Senators Notes

Ottawa are currently 7th in the Atlantic Division with a 23-37-6 record
The Senators special teams are currently 25th in PP (18.5%) and 14th in PK (80.1%)
Brady Tkachuk leads Ottawa with 47 points in 63 games
Josh Norris leads the Senators with 26 goals in 50 games
Defenseman Thomas Chabot leads Ottawa with 28 assists in 55 games
Chabot also leads all Senators defensemen in scoring with 34 points
Defenseman Artem Zub leads all Ottawa players with a +3 rating
Anton Forsberg is expected to start and has a 15-14-3 record, 2.74 GAA, a .919 SV% and one SO in 35 games