PREVIEW: Red Wings open six-game homestand Sunday at 7 p.m. against Lightning

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings will kick off a six-game homestand with a Sunday night matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Little Caesars Arena.

Puck drop between the Red Wings (23-17-5; 51 points) and Lightning (24-17-5; 53 points) has been moved from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. (broadcast coverage on Bally Sports Detroit and WWJ Newsradio 950) following the Detroit Lions’ NFC Divisional Round clash against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers set for 3 p.m. at Ford Field.

“We’ll be watching (the Lions) closely,” Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde said. “Good on the league to move the game back. We will be very invested in the coach’s room on Sunday.”

With travel delays expected, fans are encouraged to arrive early, and parking at Olympia Parking locations can be reserved in advance at ParkWhiz.com. Before the Lions game, Mike’s Pizza Bar, The Mixing Board and PointsBet Sports Bar will open at 11:30 a.m. All restaurants are accessible from outside Little Caesars Arena for both ticketed and non-ticketed fans.

Doors for the Red Wings game will open at 5:30 p.m. The first 7,500 fans in attendance will receive the highly anticipated Jake Walman “Griddy” Bobblehead, presented by Little Caesars.

“I’m a Vikings fan through and through, but super happy for the Lions,” said Red Wings goalie Alex Lyon, a Baudette, Minn., native. “It’s pretty cool to be in the city. I think Sunday, the city will be buzzing for sure.”

After seven days on the road, which included four of a possible six points on their three-game swing, J.T. Compher said the Red Wings are excited to be back at Little Caesars Arena, where the club is 11-7-4 this season.

“We want to keep it rolling,” said Compher, who scored his 10th goal of the season in Friday’s regulation loss at Carolina. “We feel like we’re playing good hockey. A good chance to get home. It feels like we’ve been on the road for a couple weeks with the long road trip, so it will be nice to get home in front of our fans.”

Prioritizing good habits has led Detroit to a 6-1-1 record in the 2024 calendar year, according to Compher.

“It’s the attention to detail, playing the right way and for each other,” Compher said. “It’s blocked shots, playing right defensively and taking hits to make plays. It’s the little things that winning teams do. We’re still continuing to learn, grow and do all those things as consistently as possible.”

After Sunday's morning skate, Lalonde said Patrick Kane (lower body) and Ben Chiarot (upper body) both will be unavailable against Tampa Bay. Kane has missed the last two games, while Chiarot exited in the third period of Friday's game against the Hurricanes.

"Kaner was supposed to see the doctor yesterday, but we got in a little later than we expected," Lalonde said. "He will see the doctor today."

The Lightning, who rank third in the Atlantic Division with 53 points – two points clear of the Red Wings (51) – extended their season-long winning streak to five consecutive games with a 3-1 road victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday.

Nikita Kucherov is second in the NHL in points (75) and leads Tampa Bay in each of the club’s three main scoring categories (28-47—75) this season, while Brayden Point (21-26—47) has scored a goal in four of his last five games against Detroit. Lightning netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy is 13-9-0 with a 2.86 goals-against average and .899 save percentage in 22 games this season. The star Russian goaltender made his season debut on Nov. 24 after recovering from microdiscectomy surgery he underwent on Sept. 28.

The Red Wings won the first meeting this season against the Lightning, 6-4, in Detroit’s home opener on Oct. 14.

“It’s about us,” Lalonde said about the Red Wings’ focus heading into Sunday. “It’s playing the right way and finding our game. This is what you ask for. We want to start playing important games as a group, and here we are.”