PREVIEW: Red Wings host Islanders for Pavel Datsyuk Hockey Hall of Fame Night on Thursday

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings will celebrate Pavel Datsyuk Hockey Hall of Fame Night when they host the New York Islanders at Little Caesars Arena on Thursday.

Puck drop between Detroit (7-9-2; 16 points) and New York (7-7-5; 19 points) is set for 7 p.m., with broadcast coverage on FanDuel Sports Network Detroit and the Red Wings Radio Network (97.1 The Ticket in Detroit).

Fans are encouraged to arrive early for Thursday’s game, as the first 5,000 in attendance will receive a Datsyuk commemorative coin, presented by Nexstar Digital. More information about all of Thursday’s special festivities can be found here.

Datsyuk, nicknamed the “Magic Man,” spent his entire 14-year NHL career with the Red Wings after being selected by the club in the sixth round (171st overall) of the 1998 NHL Entry Draft. The skilled Russian forward’s impressive career was highlighted by two Stanley Cup championships (2002, 2008), four straight Lady Byng Memorial Trophies for sportsmanship (2005-06 to 2008-09) and three consecutive Frank J. Selke Trophies as the league’s top defensive forward (2007-08 to 2009-10).

A four-time NHL All-Star, Datsyuk was named one of the NHL’s 100 Greatest Players and on Nov. 11, was enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame as part of the 2024 Induction Class.

“He definitely got me a couple times throughout the years,” Patrick Kane said about Datsyuk. “In those days, it was a great rivalry, Chicago [Blackhawks] and Detroit. It was fun to play against those guys, especially with the success they were having. We were trying to build something of our own, and that was the team we had to get through.”

Dylan Larkin enjoyed watching Datsyuk growing up, then had the opportunity to play with him in 2015-16, when the current Red Wings captain was just a rookie.

“[Datsyuk] was in the last year of his NHL career, and he was still playing 1-on-1 with guys for 30-40 minutes after morning skate,” Larkin said. “He loved the game. He loved to put a puck through a guy’s triangle, go on in and make the play.”

As for the 2024-25 Red Wings, they’re looking to snap a three-game winless streak after falling to the San Jose Sharks in overtime, 5-4, on Monday.

“It’s a long season,” J.T. Compher said. “You’re going to have ups and downs sometimes. You need to work your way out of the downs, and that’s where we’re at right now. We have a really good opportunity in this homestand to get back on track. I think this room believes we all can do that.”

Currently ranked fifth in the Metropolitan Division, the Islanders kicked off a two-game road trip with a 2-1 shootout loss to the Calgary Flames on Tuesday. Kyle Palmieri leads the club in scoring with 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) this season, while Bo Horvat is second with 14 points (five goals, nine assists) and Anders Lee is third with 13 points (seven goals, six assists).

New York’s goalie tandem of Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov have combined for a 2.65 goals-against average and .908 save percentage this season.

Meeting for the second time this campaign, the Red Wings previously blanked the Islanders, 1-0, at UBS Arena on Oct. 22. The Eastern Conference foes will conclude the season series in Elmont, N.Y., this coming Monday (Nov. 25).

“We’ve had signs of some quality play, but we need to be more consistent with it and keep fighting to get there,” Detroit head coach Derek Lalonde said. “We have an opportunity [on Thursday] against a team that we’ve beaten once already this year. A team that’s in a similar situation as us.”