The Detroit Red Wings look to string together their first four-game winning streak since February, when they won seven straight just before the Four Nations Face-Off break. They faced a tough test Wednesday as they faced off against the back-to-back Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers and were still able to edge out a 4-1 victory. They'll be tasked with another difficult opponent on Friday in taking on another Florida-based team in the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Detroit's homestand to start the season has helped them get out to an early 3-1-0 record on the season as they currently sit second in the Atlantic Division. For the Bolts, their start to the campaign has been more troubling with a 1-2-1 record that will motivate them to bounce back.
On offense, Detroit will look to kick things off with the always lethal Alex DeBrincat, who is normally known for being a deadly goal scorer. However, he's not found the back of the net this season. The Michigan native is still averaging over a point-per-game with six assists through the first four games. Tampa Bay's offense will be led by familiar faces in forwards Brayden Point and Jake Guentzel, who both have five points to start the season despite their team's lackluster start.
With both offenses looking to leave their mark, it should culminate in a divisional showdown of the ages with both teams looking for a big win that would go a long way in nabbing a potential playoff spot.
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While DeBrincat searches for his first goal, a handful of others are also looking for their first tally of the season as the Red Wings' notable trio of rookies have all still not scored their first NHL goals. The veteran J.T. Compher has also failed to find the scoresheet through four games and finds himself at the bottom of the team with the rookies (excluding Emmitt Finnie) and defenseman around him in terms of point production. He would love to turn things around and could be looked at for a breakout game versus the Bolts.
A surprising start to the season for the Red Wings has been free agent add Mason Appleton, who scored a pair of goals in Detroit's win over the Panthers on Wednesday and now leads the team with three on the season. Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman brought in Appleton as a veteran presence to bolster the team’s scoring depth. After making his mark as part of one of the league’s most effective lines with the Jets, Appleton has continued to deliver a similar impact early in his time with Detroit.
The Red Wings' battle for the crease has been predominantly owned by veteran goaltender Cam Talbot to start the season but former all-star John Gibson will seemingly get a chance to redeem himself against Tampa Bay. After being acquired through a draft day trade, Gibson was expected to be Detroit's leading netminder but his debut didn't go according to plan. With five goals allowed through the first two periods, Gibson was pulled in the season opener despite most of the goals arguably not being his fault and more a cause of defensive lapses.
Gibson Takes the Heat, But Detroit’s Defensive Lapses Deserve the Blame in Montreal RoutA closer look at Montreal’s five goals in Thursday’s victory over <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/detroit-red-wings">Detroit </a>and an assessment of how many can truly be pinned on John Gibson.
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Following the loss, Talbot caught fire with three impressive starts including a stunning 38-save performance to help edge out a 3-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs this past Monday. Gibson will look to catch a similar flame on Friday or he may start to lose more playing time than he expected due to Talbot's hot start.
On Tampa's end, their storylines run through their backend as they currently sit with a -3 goal differential, spearheaded by 16 goals allowed over their first four games. Their 4.00 goals against per game average is bottom five in the league, which is surprising for a team that made three straight Stanley Cup finals off the strength of their backend with physical, elite defending complemented by exceptional play out of starting goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Unfortunately for the Bolts, their future Hall-of-Fame netminder has seen a brutal start to the season with a 0-2-1 record with a 4.08 goals against average. If the Red Wings are going to take advantage of the Lightning’s slump, now’s the moment to do it.
Player & Betting Trends (Presented By BetMGM)
DET ML (+125) | TBL ML (-149)
DET +1.5 (-189) | TBL -1.5 (+154)
O/U 6.0 Goals
The matchup presents a solid opportunity for the aforementioned Compher to finally find the scoresheet. We mentioned the Lightning have been struggling with their defensive side of the game and Compher could take advantage. Historically, the 30-year-old winger has done well versus the Bolts with a goal and five assists for six points over his last seven games against Tampa Bay. Vasilevskiy will be tough to beat as his numbers against Detroit are superb but maybe the Red Wings offense can catch him off guard and continue his skid.
Detroit has gotten the better of Tampa Bay as of late with wins in five of their last seven matchups with most of the games being won with their offense rather than their defense. This should work well for a Red Wings team that is within the top ten in offense to start the season with a 3.50 goals per game average. This should help them repeat with three or more goals for the fourth time in their last seven matchups versus the Lightning.
On the defensive side, the Red Wings will need to do their best to prevent the eventual breakout game for Bolts superstar Nikita Kucherov. The former 144-point player has just three points through four games so far and it's only a matter of time before his first game-breaking performance of the season. With 21 goals and 31 assists for 52 points in 40 career games against the Red Wings, they've struggled to limit the Russian winger in the past but will need to try their best once again if they want to emerge with their fourth straight win.
"He Hasn't Relinquished Anything": Todd McLellan Firmly In John Gibson's Corner Detroit Red Wings coach Todd McLellan believes that John Gibson still has every right to the crease, and he'll make his second start of the campaign on Friday evening against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Goalie Matchup
Detroit: John Gibson (VS TBL: 4-5-1 record, 2.13 GAA, .932 SV% in 10 Games)
Tampa Bay: Andrei Vasilevskiy (VS DET: 16-5-1 record, 2.16 GAA, .929 SV% in 22 Games)
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