Game Preview: Pittsburgh Penguins @ Detroit Red Wings 12/31/2024
The Pens are getting ready to ring in the New Year in the Motor City.
Who: Pittsburgh Penguins (17-16-5, 39 points, 4th place Metropolitan Division) @ Detroit Red Wings (14-18-4, 32 points, 7th place Atlantic Division)
When: 8:00 p.m. ET
How to Watch: SportsNet Pittsburgh and FanDuel Sports Network Detroit for the locals, national stream on ESPN+
Pens’ Path Ahead: The Penguins start out 2025 on the road this Friday against the Florida Panthers, followed by a Sunday away game against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Opponent Track: The Red Wings opened December on a six-game losing streak and have struggled throughout the month. Most recently Detroit ended a four-game losing stretch with a 4-2 win over Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals.
Season Series: Tonight’s game will be the last time the Pens and Red Wings meet this regular season. So far the two teams have split the season series, with the Pens claiming a 6-3 road win in October followed by a 3-2 overtime loss at home in November.
Hidden Stat: The Red Wings are averaging 2.58 goals per contest heading into tonight’s game, good for the fourth lowest rate in the NHL.
Getting to know the Red Wings
Projected lines
FORWARDS
Joe Veleno - Dylan Larkin - Lucas Raymond
Alex DeBrincat - Andrew Copp - Patrick Kane
Vladimir Tarasenko - J.T. Compher - Jonatan Berggren
Michael Rasmussen - Marco Kasper - Tyler Motte
DEFENSEMEN
Ben Chiarot / Mortitz Seider
Simon Edvinsson / Jeff Petry
Erik Gustafsson / Justin Holl
Goalies: Alex Lyon, Cam Talbot
Potential Scratches: Albert Johansson, Christian Fischer
IR: None
- Patrick Kane scored his 1,300th career point during Sunday’s win over the Caps. He is the second U.S.-born player after Mike Modano to reach the milestone.
The new-look Wings
The Reds announced the firing of former head coach Derek Lalonde and named Todd McLellan their next head coach on Dec. 27.
McLellan started out his first practice as head coach by telling his team to “play f—king hockey.”
That message didn’t seem to take during Friday’s lackluster 5-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. McLellan called the team “kind of mechanical” after the loss.
But he added that the Wings’ two late goals in the blowout were a sign of “spirit,” which the Wings showed again with an explosive first period during their 4-2 win over the Caps on Sunday.
As Andrew Copp said about McLellan’s hiring, per Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press: “We were down in the dumps a little bit as a group and how we were feeling, and I think it’s provided a little bit of a fresh start.”
It’s been an underwhelming season so far for a team that, like the Pens, fell just short of the playoffs last season. The Red Wings are hoping that will start to change behind McLellan.
Player stats
(via hockeydb)
- Former All-Star Vladimir Tarasenko, who is playing for his fifth team in three seasons, is off to a slow start to the 2024-25 campaign. He has four goals in his first 35 games, and is averaging under 15 minutes on the ice for the first time since 2013.
McLellan gave Tarasenko a vote of confidence in his third day as the team’s head coach. Tarasenko skated on J.T. Compher’s third line during Sunday’s win and was there again during Monday’s practice.
“He’s been on a number of different lines, so if we can just find him a solid home, that would be nice,” McLellan said on Monday (h/t The Hockey News’ Sam Stockton.) “Somebody that he can connect with. We haven’t been able to do that yet, but maybe J.T. can be that guy.”
- Joe Veleno was skating on the Red Wings’ fourth line prior to McLellan’s hiring. Now he’s playing alongside Larkin and Raymond, where he recorded an assist during Sunday’s win. Tonight’s game could be part of his opportunity to campaign for a regular first-line role going forward.
- Cam Talbot got pulled in the third period of the Red Wings’ Saturday loss to the Maple Leafs. The Wings have since gone with Alex Lyon, who stood tall as the Wings were outshot 12-7 in the third period of his win over the Caps.
And now for the Pens
Projected lines
FORWARDS
Rickard Rakell - Sidney Crosby - Bryan Rust
Michael Bunting - Evgeni Malkin - Drew O’Connor
Anthony Beauvillier - Cody Glass - Philip Tomasino
Matt Nieto - Blake Lizotte - Noel Acciari
DEFENSEMEN
P.O. Joseph / Kris Letang (?)
Matt Grzelcyk / Erik Karlsson
Ryan Graves / Ryan Shea
Goalies: Tristan Jarry, Alex Nedeljkovic
Potential Scratches: Kevin Hayes, Nathan Clurman
IR: Marcus Pettersson, Owen Pickering
- The Pens placed Jesse Puljujarvi on waivers Monday. He last played on Dec. 7 before losing his spot in the bottom six.
- After an off day on Monday, we’ll keep an eye out for injury news today, especially regarding Kris Letang and Marcus Pettersson.
- Letang missed Sunday night’s game after suffering a lower-body injury on Saturday. The Pens went with Grzelcyk/Karlsson and Graves/Joseph as the top two pairings in his absence, then called up Nate Clurman to skate alongside Shea on the bottom pairing.
- Pettersson was cleared for contact before joining the Penguins for their morning skate on Saturday, but has not yet rejoined the team since suffering a lower-body injury against the Senators on Dec. 14.