Playoff Race: Red Wings vs. Predators; Lines, Notes, How to Watch

When the Detroit Red Wings started preparing for today’s game against the Nashville Predators, it was challenging to know where to start. It’s not one thing that has allowed them to go 14-0-2 in their last 16 games. It’s everything.

“They start from the net up,” Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said. “Their goaltending (Juuse Saros) is getting back to that world-class form that he has shown in the past. I think that brings confidence to the group, and then they’re clicking in all areas. Their superstars are playing like superstars. Checkers are checking. Offense is playing well. Their special teams. It’s been pretty impressive to watch.”

As impressive as the Predators have been of late, the Red Wings need to crack their code. They desperately need a win tonight. The Washington Capitals are only one point behind them in wild card race, and the Capitals have one game in hand.

They always say it’s about the team that’s heating up at the right time👀#nhl #hockey #nashville #nashvillepredators #predators #preds #smashville #playoffs #josi #trotz #oreilly #coach

Are you sold on the Preds? 👀 pic.twitter.com/Qkezn24QuA

— P.K. Subban (@PKSubban1) March 21, 2024

Game Time/How to Watch

5 p.m., ET, Bally Sports

Red Wings Preview

Alex Lyon will be in goal today for the Red Wings, his first start since last Sunday when the Pittsburgh Penguins scored five against him… Defenseman Jake Walman is still sidelined with an undisclosed injury. That means Simon Edvinsson is still playing in Detroit’s top four defenseman..The Red Wings lines are expected to be David Perron-Dylan Larkin-Lucas Raymond, Alex DeBrincat-J.T. Compher-Patrick Kane, Michael Rasmussen-Andrew Copp-Christian Fischer, Robby Fabbri-Joe Veleno-Daniel Sprong…Raymond has a six-game points streak (7-2-9).

The Red Wings, with three wins in four games, feel like they have some momentum.

“I think it’s the way we’ve done it, too,” David Perron said. “Obviously winning is big. That’s really all that matters in the end. I think the way we’ve done it, we felt like our team game has been excellent. We want to keep building on this. Especially I think the start we had (against the New York Islanders), we stayed patient throughout, no matter what happened. We stayed to our structure, the game plan that we wanted to execute and we did it honestly to a T and we got rewarded because of it.”

Predators Preview

Kevin Lankinen is coming off a 33-save shutout against Florida, but Juuse Saros plays 78.5% of Nashville’s games. He’s the projected starter….Nashville is 7-2-1 in its last 10 games against the Red Wings…Nashville’s top line consists of Filip Forsberg, Ryan O’Reilly and former Red Wings player Gustav Nyquist. He is having the best season of his career (62 points in 70 games). He has six points in his past four games. Forsberg has 15 points in his past eight games…The Predators are entrenched in a Western Conference wild card position, holding a nine-point lead.