Hockeytown Gameday Preview: Red Wings Looking to Bounce Back Tonight vs Senators
Senators come to town as the Red Wings look to bounce back from Thursday letdown.
In case you missed the BIG news THW is now offering all of our great newsletters in one place AND you can subscribe to as many as you want.
We are also making it easier to upgrade to our Premium Subscriptions, which gets you exclusive subscriber-only reports, analysis, long-form commentary, podcasts, video recaps, and much more. AND you can sign up for as many of those as you want FOR ONE LOW PRICE!
Check it all out today!
Welcome to the THW Detroit Red Wings Substack newsletter, with all the latest from our team of Red Wings writers.
Shortly, game previews will only be available to paid subscribers of THW Substack. Get access to all of The Hockey Writers’ premium content, including exclusive subscriber-only reports, analysis, long-form commentary, podcasts, video recaps, and much more… all with one subscription!
The Red Wings welcome in their division foe, the Ottawa Senators for a weekend matchup. The Wings come into the game tonight looking to bounce back from a disappointing overtime loss to the Sharks on Thursday night. The Wings held a 4-0 lead before giving it up and dropping the game in overtime.
The Senators come into the matchup tonight having lost their last two games while being outscored 9-2 in the games. Overall, they have gone 2-3 in their last five games and have fallen to the bottom spot in the Atlantic Division.
Red Wings Tentative Lineup
Fabbri- Larkin- Raymond
DeBrincat- Veleno- Kane
Rasmussen- Copp- Perron
Kostin- Fischer- Sprong
Gostisbehere- Seider
Chiarot- Petry
Walman- Holl
Goalie: Alex Lyon
Senators Tentative Lineup
Tkachuk- Norris- Giroux
Tarasenko- Stutzle- Batherson
Kubalik- Greig- Joseph
Smejkal- Chartier- Kelly
Sanderson- Bernard-Docker
Chychrun- Zub
Brannstrom- Hamonic
Goalie: Joonas Korpisalo
Recent Matchup History
Tonight’s matchup will mark the third time that the Red Wings and Senators have met this season, with both teams with a win to their record. The Red Wings have been led by Shayne Gostisbehere (five points) and Dylan Larkin (three points) while having James Reimer and Ville Husso splitting goaltending duty in the two prior matchups. They have also been helped out by a solid penalty kill that killed 10 of the 12 powerplay opportunities that the Senators had on the man advantage.
For the Senators, they have been carried by strong play from defenseman Jake Sanderson and forward Tim Stutzle who have both tallied three points in two games against the Red Wings while Joonas Korpisalo has been in between the pipes for both games. He has stopped 55 of the 64 shots he has taken.
Key’s to Victory for Red Wings
Coming into tonight the Red Wings will continue to look to put together a full 60-minute game instead of falling into “complacency” and allowing their opponents to get back into the game or take over the game. Playing a full game will be crucial against a team like Ottawa that possesses high-level and high-energy players like Sanderson, Stutzle, and Brady Tkachuk among others.
As mentioned above, the Wings have been on the penalty kill 12 times in two games against the Senators this season. This will have to be remediated to keep the scoring chances for the Senators to a minimum. Taking untimely penalties and getting roped into extracurriculars after the whistle will play a big part in this. If the Wings can stay away from the penalty troubles, it will go a long way toward a successful night for them.
Tied in with the penalty kill comes the Red Wings powerplay, which has seen another shake-up as of late. With the addition of Patrick Kane to the lineup there is added excitement for the powerplay. With Ottawa being one of the league’s most penalized teams, the powerplay could easily become a big factor in the game for the Red Wings. If the second unit consisting of Kane and DeBrincat can get themselves on track, it could make for an exciting night for Red Wings fans.
Here’s to hopefully a bounce-back night for the Red Wings against the Senators and that they can send their fans home happy by night’s end.