Inside the Article:
The Detroit Red Wings will finish their season tonight taking on the defending Eastern Conference Champion Tampa Bay Lightning with puck drop set for 7:00 PM. This is Detroit’s fourth matchup against the Lightning this season; Detroit won two of the three previous meetings winning 4-2 in Tampa Bay and 7-4 in Detroit and they lost 3-0 in Detroit.
Detroit Red Wings (35-36-10) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (45-30-6)
When:Â Thursday, April 13
Time:Â 7:00 p.m. ET
Where:Â Amalie Arena (Tampa Bay, FL)
Channel:Â Bally Sports Detroit
Why it matters
Tonight’s matchup will be a tough one for the Red Wings as Tampa Bay is gearing up for a playoff run hoping to return to the Stanley Cup for the fourth straight season winning two Stanley Cups in that run. During that Lightning run Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde was an assistant coach, Lalonde has two rings with the Lightning.
Dating back to last season the Red Wings are 3-2-2 against Tampa Bay in their last seven matchups, with the Lightning outscoring the Red Wings 24 to 23 over those seven games.
The starting goalie for today’s game will be Ville Husso who in his career against Tampa Bay has played in four games going 2-2-0 and stopping 124 of the 136 shots he has faced. Magnus Hellberg will serve as the backup to Husso as Alex Nedeljkovic is back in Detroit waiting for the birth of his baby. Hellberg has never appeared against Tampa Bay in his career.
Red Wings vs. Lightning by the numbers
The Red Wings rank in the middle of the league when it comes to the power play, penalty kills, and faceoff wins percentage but they rank in the bottom in terms of goals allowed per game and goals scored.
It is a different story for the Lightning which is why they are a playoff team, they rank in the middle of the league when it comes to goals allowed per game, penalty kills, and faceoff win percentage. Tampa Bay is towards the top of the league in terms of power play percentage and goals scored per game.
Red Wings vs. Lightning Scoring Leaders
Red Wings vs. Lightning Goaltender Comparison
Tonight’s Red Wings player to watch: David Perron
David Perron’s first season of his two-year contract he signed with Detroit will be coming to an end with tonight’s game and he will have played in all 82 games this season. Perron has scored 24 goals this season and added 32 assists while shifting throughout the lineup. Over the last five games, Perron has six points coming from four goals and two assists.
- Perron ranks second on the team in goals.
- Perron ranks fourth on the team in assists.
- Perron ranks second on the team in points.
Perron’s Predicted Line Shifts
Perron will play on the first line alongside Andrew Copp and Lucas Raymond. Perron will also play on the first power-play unit alongside Copp, Raymond, Alex Chiasson, and Moritz Seider. The lineup could change if Dylan Larkin does play tonight as he will replace Copp on both the first line and first power-play unit. Larkin did skate at practice this morning.
- Perron has six power-play goals, and 16 power-play assists this season.
- Perron has 77 power-play goals, and 147 power-play assists in his career.
Perron’s career vs. Tampa Bay
Perron in his career has only played Tampa Bay 17 times in his 16-year NHL career and he has 14 points against them coming on seven goals and seven assists. This season in the three games against Tampa, Perron has four points coming off two goals and two assists.
Wrap Up
This season has been a roller coaster for the Detroit Red Wings, as they were in a playoff spot after the first 25 games of the season but things changed in a hurry, they did see a rise back into the playoff chase after the all-star break but two games in Ottawa put an end to that.
There are a lot of things to be impressed with from this team after this season, we got to see some youngsters come up in Jonatan Berggren as well as Marco Kasper and Simon Edvinsson. When the clock hits zero in tonight’s game the Red Wings’ season will come to an end but they have seen themselves have their best record since the 2016-17 season so Detroit is taking a step in the right direction for the future.
What is the Detroit Red Wings’ schedule?
Remaining Detroit Red Wings Schedule:
