PREVIEW: Red Wings return home to battle Devils for Star Wars Night on Thursday

DETROIT -- Coming off a successful two-game road trip, the Detroit Red Wings will go for their third consecutive victory when they host the New Jersey Devils at Little Caesars Arena on Thursday night.

Puck drop between the Red Wings (3-3-0; 6 points) and Devils (5-3-1; 11 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). Thursday’s game also marks the fan-favorite Star Wars Night at Little Caesars Arena.

Detroit wants to keep the positive momentum going on home ice after blanking the New York Islanders, 1-0, at UBS Arena on Tuesday. Patrick Kane scored the lone goal and netminder Alex Lyon stopped all 29 shots he faced for the Red Wings, who are 3-0-0 when leading after 40 minutes this season.

“We’ll take that game every time defensively,” Detroit head coach Derek Lalonde said. “I think we only gave [the Islanders] a couple Grade-As and dangerous slot looks all night. Obviously we didn’t produce much offensively, but we improved as the game went on.”

Christian Fischer said the players also know they didn’t have their best offensive performance on Tuesday, as the Red Wings recorded just 11 shots against the Islanders. But that doesn’t mean Detroit will apologize for leaving Long Island with two big early-season points.

“First two periods were a little sloppy,” Fischer said. “The third period, I thought we did a good job of really hunkering down. A 1-0 lead on a tough road trip, trying to close it out, I thought we did a really good job. A lot of guys made some really good plays. Penalty kill stepped up big, and I know we struggled on that the last couple games.”

Fischer added that finding ways to win those types of close contests will only benefit the Red Wings as they continue forward into the season.

“I guarantee you there’s going to be a game when we play our asses off and somehow, we end up losing by a goal,” Fischer said. “You’re going to be like, ‘How the heck did we lose that game?’ That happens so many times in the NHL. I guarantee you another team wins [Thursday] with very few shots. Funny things like that happen. Obviously it’s not sustainable in the long run but when you have those opportunities, you have to get those points.”

As for the Devils, who enter Thursday tied with the New York Rangers for first in the Metropolitan Division, they’re coming off an 8-5 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday.

Timo Meier (four goals, five assists) and Stefan Noesen (three goals, six assists) both have a team-best nine points this season, while three players (Nico Hischier, Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt) have eight points apiece. In net, goaltender Jacob Markstrom owns a 3-2-1 record with a 2.99 goals-against average and .902 save percentage in six games.

Fischer said Detroit is focused on limiting turnovers against New Jersey’s “high-flying offense.”

“You always watch their games or scores, and they’re always putting up a lot of goals,” Fischer said about the Devils, who lead the NHL in goals for (32) this season. “Usually when you play them, it’s a little bit of back-and-forth. They have some high-end, talented players with the Hughes [brothers] and Bratt. There’s a lot of guys with fast, transition games. You can’t turn the puck over with them. If you turn the puck over, you’ll be chasing it back to your own end the whole night.”