The Red Wings and Blues meet tonight in St. Louis with both teams trying to stop the slide.
Detroit comes in at 7-8-3, while St. Louis is 7-8-2, and each club has dropped three straight.
The Red Wings are three points back of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, and the Blues sit five points out of a wild-card position in the West.
Detroit’s attack still has some bite, but the scoring numbers tell the bigger story. The Red Wings are averaging 2.69 goals per game, which ranks 27th in the NHL.
Only Calgary, Columbus, San Jose, Philadelphia and Chicago are below them. Lucas Raymond has been one of the bright spots anyway, piling up 55 shots on goal in 18 games and tracking toward 252 shots over the season.
His previous high for shots in a season was 192 in 2024-25.
The goaltending setup is also a key part of the night. John Gibson gets the start for Detroit, with Daniil Tarasov backing him up. Tarasov has posted a 2.10 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage in eight games this season, while Gibson carries a 3.46 GAA and .860 save percentage.
Detroit also gets some help back in the lineup. The Red Wings activated Mason Appleton and Marco Kasper from the injured list, and both are expected to play.
The club is 4-1-1 when tied after 40 minutes. Albert Johansson remains out with an undisclosed injury, and there is no timetable for his return.
The projected Detroit lines have Alex DeBrincat with Emmitt Finnie and Victor Arvidsson on the top unit, followed by Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, Andrew Copp and Lucas Raymond. Michael Rasmussen, J.T.
Compher and Marco Kasper make up the third line, with Mason Appleton, Sheldon Dries and Keegan Kolesar listed on the fourth. The defense pairs are Ben Chiarot with Moritz Seider, Andreas Englund with Anton Johansson, and William Wallinder with Justin Faulk.
Jacob Bernard-Docker and Carter Mazur are the extras.
St. Louis is turning to Joel Hofer in net, with Jordan Binnington backing him up.
The Blues are also getting a notable debut, as Logan Mailloux is set for his regular-season debut. Jimmy Snuggerud, the son of former NHLer Dave Snuggerud, leads St.
Louis with nine goals.
Special teams have been a strength for the Blues. They have allowed only seven power-play goals in 17 games, while Detroit has given up 18 in 18 games.
St. Louis also owns the NHL’s eighth-best penalty kill at 84.7%.
The Blues’ projected forward groups feature Dylan Holloway, Robert Thomas and Jimmy Snuggerud on the top line, with Jake Neighbours, Mason McTavish and Jonatan Berggren behind them. Dalibor Dvorsky, Connor McMichael and Pavel Buchnevich form the third line, and Alexey Toropchenko, Pius Suter and Ross Johnston are listed on the fourth. On defense, the pairings are Philip Broberg with Logan Mailloux, Justin Barron with Colton Parayko, and Cam Fowler with Brandon Carlo.
St. Louis is also dealing with injuries to Torey Krug, who is out for the season with an undisclosed issue, Dillon Dube, who is out for three weeks with an undisclosed injury, and Tyler Tucker, who is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.
The game is set for TNT, HBO Max and 97.1 FM. Detroit is listed at +1.5 (-192), while St.
Louis is -1.5 (+160) at DraftKings. The Blues beat the Red Wings 5-4 on Halloween after coming from behind, and Gibson was in goal for Detroit in that game.
In Other News...
Red Wings Still Have One Roster Problem They Need To Solve
The Red Wings keep running into the same issue in the lower half of their forward group: the bottom-six has not given them enough scoring punch, and that has shown up in the teams overall offensive consistency. Over the past few seasons, Detroit has cycled through different players in those spots, but the production has lagged well behind what the club gets from its top scorers, leaving a roster hole that has lingered longer than the front office would like.
There are a few ways the Wings could address it, starting with a call-up from the AHL if they want to inject some energy and skill into the lineup. The return of injured forwards Marco Kasper and Mason Appleton should help, and the trade market remains another avenue if Detroit decides the answer has to come from outside the organization. For now, the question is less about whether the problem exists and more about which fix the team chooses first. [Read more 🡒]
Red Wings Get A Key Piece Back And Still Can't Stop Sliding
John Gibson was back in net for Detroit on Monday night after missing time with a lower-body injury, and the veteran goalie gave the Red Wings a chance with 30 saves in a 3-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues. Andrew Copp and Moritz Seider scored for Detroit, but the result still extended the slide to four straight defeats and five losses in six games, a stretch that has made every small positive feel a little harder to hold onto.
The timing only adds to the pressure, because the road trip rolls on with games against the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning still ahead. Detroit has been looking for a way to steady itself, and getting Gibson back was part of that equation, but the latest result showed there is still plenty more to sort out before the trip turns around. [Read more 🡒]
Red Wings And Dylan Larkin Are Now Locked In An Ugly Standoff
Dylan Larkins standoff with the Red Wings has moved well beyond a routine trade request. After asking out of Detroit and then refusing to play, the captain has been suspended without pay, while the organization has responded by taking down his banners and pulling his merchandise from circulation. For a franchise that has spent years trying to build around Larkin, the split is now public, messy and unmistakably personal.
The part that makes this situation especially tense is how little movement there has been on either side. Larkin has held firm on the destinations he would accept, even as interest around the league has started to surface, with the Blues among the teams reportedly keeping tabs. Detroit appears ready to move on, but until the trade list changes or another team meets the price, the Red Wings are stuck in a standoff that shows no sign of easing. [Read more 🡒]