The Detroit Red Wings are hosting the Calgary Flames for the first time in over 600 days. The Flames are looking for their first win of the season, while the Wings have not lost in regulation.
Detroit is coming off one of their most impressive team performances in years, where they dominated the Columbus Blue Jackets in every facet of the game.
The Opponent
Projected Lineup
Johnny Gaudreau – Elias Lindholm – Matthew Tkachuk
Blake Coleman – Mikael Backlund – Tyler Pitlick
Milan Lucic – Sean Monahan – Trevor Lewis
Andrew Mangiapane – Dillon Dube – Brett Ritchie
Oliver Kylington – Christopher Tanev
Noah Hanifin – Rasmus Andersson
Juuso Valimaki – Erik Gudbranson
Nikita Zadorov – Michael Stone
The Flames have had a rough start to the season. They’ve played just two so fair, but Calgary lost 5-2 on the road against the Oilers and were then defeated in overtime at home against the rebuilding Anaheim Ducks. Their penalty kill has been pretty terrible, killing just half of opposing power play attempts (however, keep in mind, it’s an extremely limited sample size). The unit needs to step up on the road, especially if penalties start to build against a scrappy Detroit team.
Players to Watch
Lucas Raymond. Get used to seeing Raymond’s name on the “players to watch” section of our previews. However, tonight will be especially interesting, as Raymond managed to nab his first NHL goal of his career a couple days ago in the Red Wings 4-1 win over the Blue Jackets. He’s already developing plenty of chemistry with Dylan Larkin and Tyler Bertuzzi.
Speaking of, Tyler Bertuzzi is the next player to keep on eye on. He’s been electric in his return from injury, scoring five goals (tied for first in the league) and an assist in three games. Bertuzzi’s scoring is just one dimension of what he’s brought to the team so far; he’s been an important part of the team’s new scrappy identity, often finding himself in the fray. Whether it be an inolvi
Danny DeKeyser. DeKeyser has had a rough couple of years, facing back surgery and a long road to recovery. So far, he’s had an extremely rough start to the season. Through three games, the veteran defenseman has a corsi-for relative percentage of -19.2. DeKeyser has had a tough three games in what is likely his last season as a Red Wings, let’s hope he can pull it together and look a little more like pre-injury DeKeyser.