PREVIEW: Red Wings back on home ice Thursday against Panthers

DETROIT -- The Detroit Red Wings have crossed the 10-game mark of the 2023-24 season, and while head coach Derek Lalonde said it’s still too early to glean much from the first month of play, his club earning its best 10-game start since 2014-15 is encouraging.

“As a coaching staff, you’re constantly reevaluating where you’re at through segments of either five or 10 games,” Lalonde said. “If you would have told us when the season started that we’d be 6-3-1 with the type of schedule we had, we obviously would have taken it in a heartbeat. So we’re here. Now we got to keep building on it.”

The Red Wings (6-3-1; 13 points) will kick off their November slate Thursday night against the Florida Panthers (4-3-1; 9 points) at Little Caesars Arena. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m., with TV broadcast coverage on Bally Sports Detroit Extra. Longtime Grand Rapids Griffins announcer Bob Kaser will continue filling in for Ken Kal (illness), joining Paul Woods and Daniella Bruce on the Red Wings Radio Network (97.1 The Ticket in Detroit).

On Monday, Detroit rallied from a two-goal, third-period deficit on the road to beat the New York Islanders, 4-3, in overtime. Daniel Sprong, J.T. Compher, Jake Walman and Lucas Raymond all scored for the Red Wings, who lead the NHL with 40 goals through 10 games this season.

“We’ve come into third periods being down a couple games in a row and haven’t been able to pull it through,” Raymond said after Monday’s win. “To be able to come out with this one, I think that means a lot.”

Lalonde said Detroit hopes to use Monday’s game, which marked its first multi-goal comeback win this season, as a springboard.

“It’s something we’ll tap back into,” Lalonde said. “You have to keep trying, pushing and playing the right way. I thought for the most part, we did. That was not the case the previous two outings. I thought we got what we deserved.”

Florida enters Thursday’s game – the second of a four-game road trip – looking to rebound from a 3-2 overtime loss against the Boston Bruins on Monday. Sam Reinhart leads the defending Eastern Conference champions in goals (eight) and points (11), while Aleksander Barkov and Evan Rodrigues have identical stat lines (2-6—8). In seven starts this season, goalie Sergei Bobrovsky owns a 3-3-1 record with a 2.87 goals-against average and .904 save percentage.

“A team that makes a run like that to the finals is elite,” Lalonde said about the Panthers. “You could argue Barkov is one of the better players at his position and the same with (Matthew) Tkachuk. Just like any superstar high-end guys, if you let those players beat you, they will.”