The Red Wings arrive in Tampa carrying a five-game losing streak, a short-handed lineup, and not much margin for error. Tonight’s matchup at Benchmark International Arena comes after Detroit’s road trip turned ugly fast, with the latest loss the most painful of the bunch: a 4-1 lead slipped away in a 5-4 defeat to the Panthers.
That’s the backdrop for a game that could easily turn into trouble for the Lightning if they’re not sharp. Tampa Bay is favored at -220 and has won eight straight at home, but this is also a team coming off a demanding road trip and dealing with some injury issues. Detroit, meanwhile, has been hanging around in most of these losses rather than getting buried.
The Red Wings’ problems start with offense. They’ve scored only nine goals during the five-game skid, and only Lucas Raymond and J.T.
Compher have scored more than once. The top line of Alex DeBrincat, Emmitt Finnie, and Viktor Arvidsson has been silent through the streak, with no points at all.
That group had generated a team-high six scoring chances against Tampa Bay in the previous meeting, but the lineup looks different now with Marco Kasper back in the mix and Arvidsson moving out of that spot. Kasper has been a problem for the Lightning before, with four goals in eight career games against them.
The last time these teams met, Detroit had just beaten Florida and pushed Tampa Bay into a competitive game after falling behind early. Ryan McDonagh finished that one with an empty-net goal.
Since then, the Wings have dropped home games to Vegas and then gone 0-for-3 on the road with losses to Colorado, St. Louis, and Florida.
Tampa Bay’s Friday off came after a productive stretch that lifted the club to the top of the Atlantic Division standings. The trip was successful, but it also came with some bumps.
Brayden Point, Erik Cernak, and Anthony Cirelli all missed time with injuries, while Yanni Gourde was held out of Thursday’s 3-1 win over Columbus as a planned maintenance day after hip surgery. Gourde is expected to have a chance to return tonight.
Point is out because he remains on injured reserve. Cernak is day-to-day, and there’s no update yet on Cirelli, who is dealing with a lower-body injury. More clarity is expected after the morning skate.
With those forwards unavailable against Columbus, Jon Cooper leaned hard on the Z.I.P Line and the Hagel/Guentzel/Kucherov trio. That second line was the engine of the night.
Jake Guentzel and his linemates controlled play, out-attempting the Blue Jackets 30-18, out-chancing them 18-6, and outscoring them 3-0 while they were on the ice. On the road trip, that group was Tampa Bay’s biggest source of offense, accounting for 12 of the team’s goals, with Brandon Hagel leading the way with five.
So yes, this has the feel of a quiet trap game. The Lightning are heavy favorites, they’re at home, and they’re rolling there.
But they’re also beat up, and Detroit is the kind of desperate opponent that can make things messy. The Wings have speed, and they have enough offensive talent to bother Tampa Bay if the Lightning aren’t on point.
The first meeting showed what that looks like. Tampa Bay got a strong start, but Detroit still found chances, and it took big saves from Andrei Vasilevskiy to keep the Lightning in front.
The Wings also missed the net on several prime looks. With Tampa Bay’s defense still a work in progress, the formula can’t be passive.
The Lightning need to attack in the offensive zone and disrupt Detroit’s breakouts.
Do that, take care of business, and then get healthier.
They’ll also be unveiling their Hometown Remix jerseys tonight.
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