Detroit Red Wings

Red Wings at Minnesota; Kane Honored by NHL

Published

4 months ago

December 27, 2023

Tim Robinson

Game Facts

Who: Red Wings at Wild

Where: Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, Minn.

When: 8:05 p.m.

TV/Radio: Bally Sports/97.1 FM

Records: Red Wings 16-14-4, Wild 15-13-4

What to Know

Patrick Kane, who had four goals and eight points last week, was named one of the NHL’s three stars for last week. Kane was joined by Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov and New York Rangers center Mika Zibanejad. All three had four goals last week. …

No word as to whether Michael Hutchinson or James Reimer will be in goal tonight for Detroit. Alex Lyon and Ville Husso are still on IR. …

Injury problems continue to bedevil the Wings, who put Christian Fischer on the IR Tuesday, retroactive to Dec. 23. The team recalled Simon Edvinsson, Jonatan Berggren and Austin Czarnik from Grand Rapids. Czarnik and Berggren have each had several stints with the Red Wings this season, while Edvinsson made his Detroit season debut on Friday. Berggren has two goals and four points in seven games, while Czarnik has one point in 16 games. …

The Red Wings are looking to reverse a slide which has seen them lose seven out of nine games and fall to the bottom of the Atlantic Division. The Red Wings have struggled on defense, allowing 18 goals in their last four games. Minnesota has struggled on defense, too, but goalie Filip Gustavsson has been a bright spot, with a 2.90 GAA and .905 save percentage. …

The last time the teams met, on Nov. 26, the Wings won 4-1 and then Minnesota coach Dean Evason was fired. Since then, the Wild have won 10 of 13 games, six of the last seven and the last three in a row. …

Four Red Wings draftees are off to strong starts at the IIHF World Junior Championships in Sweden. Nate Danielson, the No. 9 overall pick last summer, had a goal and an assist and was named player of the game in Canada’s 5-2 win over Finland. Goalie Trey Augustine, a second-round pick, was in net as the U.S. beat Norway 4-1. Axel Sandin Pellikka, drafted No. 17 overall, had an assist in Sweden’s 6-0 win over Latvia, while Anton Johansson, a fourth-round pick in 2022, had three shots in Sweden’s win.