PREVIEW: Red Wings look to bounce back against visiting Bruins on Saturday

DETROIT -- Seven days ago, the Detroit Red Wings struggled out of the gate en route to a 4-1 loss to the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. Fortunately, the Red Wings have an early opportunity to bounce back on Saturday night when the Eastern Conference-leading Bruins visit Little Caesars Arena for the first time this season.

“We know what they’re about,” Alex DeBrincat said about the Bruins on Friday. “They have a good team, work hard and play simple. We just got to be above them all night, not shoot ourselves in the foot and give them chances. I think they have a lot of skilled players who can bury those chances.”

Puck drop between Detroit (6-4-1; 13 points) and Boston (9-0-1; 19 points) is set for 7 p.m., with TV broadcast coverage on Bally Sports Detroit. 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).

The Red Wings impressed on the power play (12-for-29) through their first seven games this season but have come up empty (0-for-13) in the past three contests. Most recently, Detroit finished 0-for-5 on its man-advantage opportunities in Thursday’s 2-0 loss against the Florida Panthers.

Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde unveiled new power-play combinations during Friday’s practice, including a top unit comprised of DeBrincat, captain Dylan Larkin, Lucas Raymond, David Perron and Shayne Gostisbehere.

“We’re four games without a (power-play) goal,” Lalonde said. “I just think it was a change. If you recall, it was the other look we kind of had going through Training Camp. So it obviously made sense to get that look, and it looked good (Friday). It’s like anything within your group that’s not going well or clicking, just get a little change out of it.”

The Bruins extended their season-opening point streak to 10 consecutive games with a 3-2 shootout win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday, and have not suffered a loss in regulation. David Pastrnak leads in each of the club’s three main scoring categories (8-6—14) while captain Brad Marchand (5-5—10) is the only other Boston player with a double-digit point total this season. Goalies Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark have each made five starts, combining for a 1.58 goals-against average and .947 save percentage.

“I just think they’re a really good team,” Lalonde said of the Bruins. “Obviously, you don’t want to lose the two centers (Patrice Bergeron and David Krejčí) they did. They’re special players and have been for a long time, but that D-core is special. Their goaltending is excellent.”