Inside the Article:
The Detroit Red Wings will continue a brief homestand as the Carolina Hurricanes come to town, with puck drop set for 7:30 PM. This is the Red Wings second matchup against the Hurricanes with Carolina winning the first one 1-0 in Detroit.
Detroit Red Wings (32-32-9) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (47-17-9)
When: Thursday, March 29
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Where: Little Cesar’s Arena (Detroit, MI)
Channel: ESPN+/HULU
Red Wings vs. Hurricanes Scoring Leaders
Red Wings vs. Hurricanes Goaltender Comparison
Why it matters
The last time these two teams met things were a little different. The Red Wings at the time were two points out of the wild card and Carolina was in second place in the Metropolitan division. Now fast forward 107 days later and the Hurricanes lead the Metropolitan Division and have the second-best record in the league while the Red Wings have dropped to 13th in the Eastern Conference.
That game, on December 13th, was a battle of the goalies with Ville Husso doing everything he could to keep the Red Wings in the game stopping 26 of the 27 shots he faced. Pyotr Kocketkov was just better on that night as he stopped all 27 shots he faced to pick up his third career shutout and it was back-to-back shutouts in back-to-back starts for Kocketkov.
The Red Wings at practice yesterday did see Ville Husso return to the ice but for tonight’s game, they will be starting Alex Nedeljkovic with Magnus Hellberg backing him up. Detroit’s head coach Derek LaLonde said he didn’t want Husso in for this back-to-back. Nedeljkovic spent his first four pro seasons with the Hurricanes before being traded to Detroit. Tonight will be Nedeljkovic’s fourth career start against his former team. Nedeljkovic is 2-1-0 against Carolina in his three starts with one of those wins being a shutout. Nedeljkovic has stopped 101 of the 108 shots he has faced against the Hurricanes.
Tonight will also see Simon Edvinsson return to the lineup for the Red Wings along with Ben Chiarot. Chiarot has been out since March 14th against Nashville with an upper-body injury. Derek LaLonde said this morning that Edvinsson may also see some time in tonight’s game in the top four and may also play alongside Chiarot.
Red Wings vs. Hurricanes by the numbers
Tonight’s Red Wings player to watch: Dominik Kubalik
Kubalik is off to a great first season with the Red Wings and seems to have made himself right at home. Kubalik has jumped through all four lines this season but has seemed to play well when on the top two lines. In his career, Kubalik has played in 274 games with 72 of those coming this season for the Red Wings. Kubalik has scored 19 goals and added 23 assists this season for Detroit. In his last three games, Kubalik has two points coming off a goal and an assist.
- Kubalik ranks tied for second on the team in goals.
- Kubalik ranks fifth on the team in assists.
- Kubalik ranks third on the team in points.
Kubalik’s line shifts v. Carolina
Kubalik is expected to play on the first line tonight with Dylan Larkin and David Perron. Kubalik will also play on the second power-play unit with Austin Czarnik, Joe Veleno, Jonatan Berggren, and Jake Walman.
- Kubalik has seven power-play goals, and nine power-play assists this season.
- Kubalik has 18 power-play goals, and 29 power-play assists in his career.
Kubalik’s career vs. Carolina
Kubalik has faced off against the Hurricanes 13 times and managed to rack up ten points coming off two goals and eight assists in those games. In his last three games against Carolina Kubalik has one point coming off an assist.
Wrap Up
There are now nine games left in the Detroit Red Wings season including tonight. After Tuesday’s 7-4 win over the Penguins, the Red Wings now sit nine points back of the Penguins for the final Wild Card spot. It looks like if the Red Wings lose their next three tough matchups against Carolina, Winnipeg, and Toronto they will be eliminated from playoff contention.
The one positive to take away from the last nine games is watching this Red Wings team compete against some of the better teams in the league, for instance watching the Red Wings beat the Penguins on Tuesday and put up more than five goals against them for the first time since January 14, 2017. It’s a nice building block for next season or even for their matchup in a week.
Another nice thing about Detroit lately is in their last five games against teams currently in a playoff spot the Red Wings are 2-2-1 and as for scoring they have scored a combined 19 goals in those games and allowed 19 goals in those games.
What is the Detroit Red Wings’ schedule?
Remaining Detroit Red Wings Schedule:
