The Detroit Red Wings (2-3-2) are home to face the San Jose Sharks (4-3-0) tonight. This ends the Red Wings stretch of seven home games in their first eight games. The much-improved Sharks are tied in points for a wildcard spot in the Western Conference. They have a four-game road trip starting Tuesday in Seattle.
Where: Little Caesars Arena
Red Wings lines tonight: projected lineup and starting goalie →
When: 7 p.m. ET
TV/Radio: DSN/97.1 FM
Odds: San Jose (+1.5, -218), Detroit (-1.5, +180), DRAFTKINGS
Hot: Goalie Daniil Tarasov boasts an NHL-leading 0.80 goals-against average with a 1-0-1 record and .965 save percentage. He’s among the team’s early season surprises.
Not: Lucas Raymond doesn’t have a goal going into his eighth game of the season
Spotlight: Rookie Michael Brandsegg-Nygard is second in Detroit scoring (five points) and first in hits (27). He is playing at a high level.
Story: Daniil Tarasov has earned the right to start a second consecutive game in net. . . Carter Mazur has only played three of Detroit’s first seven games. Is he a candidate to be sent down? He would have to clear waivers. . . Defenseman Justin Faulk has four points (1-3–4) in his past five games. . . DeBrincat needs just two goals to become the fourth Michigan native to score 300 goals in the NHL. He currently trails Mike Modano (561), Brian Rolston (342) and Kyle Connor (329) on the Michigan goals list. DeBrincat can become the second player from the 2016 draft list to score 300, joining Auston Matthews (432). . . Todd McLellan has 667 NHL coaching wins, tying him with Claude Julien for 16th on the league’s all-time list. Injuries: Marco Kasper (upper body, week-to-week). Mason Appleton (upper body), week-to-week. JT Compher (undisclosed), day-to-day
Detroit Projected Lines
Nate Danielson — Dylan Larkin — Victor Arvidsson
Alex DeBrincat — Emmitt Finnie — Michael Brandsegg-Nygard
Michael Rasmussen – Andrew Copp — Lucas Raymond
Keegan Kolisar –Sheldon Dries – Carter Mazur
Defense Pairings
Albert Johansson — Moritz Seider
Ben Chiarot — Anton Johansson
William Wallinder — Justin Faulk
Axel Sandin-Pellikka
Goalies
Daniil Tarasov (John Gibson backup)
Subs: Carter Mazur, Jacob Bernard-Docker, Andreas Englund
San Jose Sharks
Story: G Yaroslav Askarov has played five of San Jose’s seven games, but back former Red Wings goalie Alex Nedeljkovic (2.0, 1.90 GAA) is making a case to play more. Nedeljkovic had 32 saves in a 3-2 shootout win against Nashville Thursday. Macklin Celebrini had the decisive shootout goal. . . The Sharks are only averaging 2.57 goals per game, and their power play is clicking at 20% efficiency. Injuries: D Darnell Nurse, day-to-day, game-time decision; LW Quentin Musty and G Kyle Keyser (both upper body), on IR.
Lines
Igor Chernyshov – Macklin Celebrini – Will Smith
Mason Marchment – Alexander Wennberg – Tyler Toffoli
Ivar Stenberg – Michael Misa – Kiefer Sherwood
Barclay Goodrow — Zack Ostapchuk — Collin Graf
Defense Pairings
Dmitry Orlov –- Michael Kesselring
Sam Dickinson –- Jacob Trouba
Nolan Allan –- Luca Cagnoni
Goalies
Former Red Wings player Alex Nedeljkovic (Yaroslav Askarov backing up)
Subs:
Stefen Noesen, Remi Poirier
Kevin has written professionally for almost 50 years. He was USA TODAY’s lead hockey writer from 1986 to 2019. … More about Kevin Allen