Sheldon Dries, who was one of three forwards recalled from the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins on Wednesday, said he’s prepared to slot into Detroit’s lineup and embrace that next-man-up mantra.
“I’m not the tallest guy, but I like to be a little water bug out there,” the 31-year-old said. “Tenacious on the puck, strong defensively and chip in offensively. “
Owning a 19-11-0 record at home but having dropped six of their last seven games overall, the Lighting are coming off a 5-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets at Benchmark International Arena on Tuesday.
Nikita Kucherov is currently tied with Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche for the second-most points (104) in the NHL and leads Tampa Bay in points, goals (34) and assists (70). Jake Guentzel follows with 67 points (27 goals, 40 assists) and Brandon Hagel has 59 points (30 goals, 29 assists). Between the pipes, goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy has compiled a 29-11-3 record with a 2.32 goals-against average and .913 save percentage along with two shutouts in 43 starts.
“I expect our guys to show up and play,” Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan said. “Morning skate was good. A lot of times, you can feel ‘Woe is us.’ If that creeps in, then we have a lot of work to do but I didn’t sense that at all. I expect our guys to play. We know the opponent we’re playing against. They’re a very, very good hockey club. They can get after you in so many different ways, so everybody’s got to pull on the rope and be ready to play. That’s what I expect.”