Game Preview: Detroit Red Wings vs. Tampa Bay Lightning 01/21/2024

The Detroit Red Wings are coming in off a loss to the Hurricanes on Friday night 4-2, while the Lightning are coming in off a 3-1 win over the Sabres yesterday.

Detroit Red Wings (23-17-5, 51 Points) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (24-17-5, 53 Points)

When: Sunday, January 21
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Where: Little Caesars Arena (Detroit, MI)
TV: Bally Sports Detroit

Scoring Leaders

Detroit Red Wings

Points: Alex DeBrincat – 40
Goals: Dylan Larkin – 18
Assists: Shayne Gostisbehere – 24

Tampa Bay Lightning

Points: Nikita Kucherov – 75
Goals: Nikita Kucherov – 28
Assists: Nikita Kucherov – 47

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Expected Line Combinations

Detroit Red Wings

David Perron – Dylan Larkin – Lucas Raymond
Alex DeBrincat – J.T. Compher – Robby Fabbri
Michael Rasmussen – Andrew Copp – Christian Fischer  
Daniel Sprong – Joe Veleno – Klim Kostin
Jake Walman – Moritz Seider
Ben Chiarot – Jeff Petry
Olli Maatta – Shayne Gostisbehere

Tampa Bay Lightning

Steven Stamkos – Brayden Point – Nikita Kucherov
Brandon Hagel – Anthony Cirelli – Nick Paul
Michael Eyssimont – Tyler Motte – Conor Sheary
Austin Watson – Luke Glendening – Waltteri Merela
Victor Hedman – Darren Raddysh
Calvin de Haan – Nicklaus Perbix
Emil Martinsen-Lilleberg – Maxwell Crozier

By The Numbers:

League Ranking

Detroit Red Wings

PP%: 21.6 (14)
PK%: 80.8 (14)
GF P/G: 3.55 (4)
GA P/G: 3.32 (23)
Faceoff %: 49.5 (19)

Tampa Bay Lightning

PP%: 30.3 (1)
PK%: 81.0 (12)
GF P/G: 3.37 (10)
GA P/G: 3.33 (22)
Faceoff %: 51.4 (9)

Red Wings Player to Watch: Alex DeBrincat

DeBrincat, in his first season with the Red Wings, has played in 45 games and recorded 40 points on 17 goals and 23 assists. On the Power Play, he has 13 points on seven goals and six assists.  He has six points on the power play, three goals, and three assists. He has one assist in his last three games.

DeBrincat’s Line Assignments

DeBrincat is playing on the second line alongside J.T. Compher and Robby Fabbri. He will also play on the second power-play unit with Fabbri, Daniel Sprong, Joe Veleno, and Moritz Seider.

DeBrincat’s career vs. Tampa Bay

DeBrincat, in his career against the Lightning, has played in 19 games and has 21 points on 12 goals and nine assists. He had three points in the matchup earlier this season on two goals and an assist.

Between The Pipes

Detroit: Alex Lyon (10-5-1, 2.57 GAA) / James Reimer (4-6-2, 3.30 GAA) / Ville Husso (9-5-2, 3.53 GAA)

Lyon last started on Friday against the Hurricanes, and he suffered the loss, giving up three goals on 29 shots. He has never faced Tampa Bay in his career.

Reimer’s last start came on Sunday against Toronto as he picked up the win, stopping 28 of the 30 shots. In his career against the Lightning, he is 7-12-4 in 25 games.

Husso is returning to the Red Wings net tonight, having last played on December 18^th against the Ducks when he left due to injury after allowing two goals on eight shots. In his career against the Lightning, he is 3-3-0 in six games, and in the matchup earlier this season, he stopped 21 of the 25 shots he faced.

Tampa Bay: Andrei Vasilevskiy (12-9-0, 2.86 GAA) / Jonas Johansson (10-6-5, 3.34 GAA)

Vasilevskiy last started on the 13^th against the Ducks, and he got the win, stopping 19 of the 20 shots he faced in a 5-1 win. In 16 games over his career against Detroit, he is 14-2-0.

Johansson last played yesterday against Buffalo and stopped 26 of the 27 shots, picking up the win. In his career against Detroit, he is 0-1-1 in two games; he faced Detroit earlier this year and took the loss giving up five goals on 41 shots.

Wrap Up

The Red Wings suffered their first regulation loss of 2024 on Friday. The loss also snapped their seven-game point streak. Tonight’s game will be a tough one as they are fighting with the Lightning for a playoff spot as well as playoff positioning. A win tonight would be a massive two points, as well as securing the season series over the Lightning for Detroit. 

In their last ten games against Tampa Bay, the Red Wings are 4-4-2 and have been outscored 35-30 in those games ten games. The Red Wings won the last matchup against Tampa Bay earlier this season, 6-4.

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