PREVIEW: Red Wings set for showdown with Flyers on Wednesday

DETROIT -- The Detroit Red Wings have an opportunity to even their season series with the Philadelphia Flyers when the Eastern Conference clubs face off for the second time in three games, the latest at Little Caesars Arena on Wednesday night.

Puck drop between Detroit (12-14-4; 28 points) and Philadelphia (14-13-4; 32 points) is set for 7 p.m., with TV broadcast coverage airing exclusively on TNT and MAX. Hockeytown faithful can also tune into 97.1 The Ticket, the Red Wings’ flagship radio station.

Last Thursday, Detroit fell to Philadelphia, 4-1, at Wells Fargo Center.

“A unique situation in that we just played them,” Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde said. “A really good team. I like the depth of their lines...They have an ideal fourth line, so this will be a challenge for us.”

Detroit will try to meet that challenge head-on as it continues its three-game homestand, which began with a 4-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.

Activated from injured reserve after Wednesday’s morning skate, goalie Alex Lyon will start against the Flyers. Lyon hasn’t played since Nov. 25 because of a lower-body injury.

“It always stinks [missing time],” Lyon said. “Obviously, being healthy is tied to your livelihood so it’s an important factor. It’s important staying healthy, but at the same time, things happen. Really happy to be going now. Obviously, I’ve been out on the ice here the last few days and feeling pretty good."

In nine games this season, Lyon has posted a 4-4-0 record, 2.74 goals-against average, .911 save percentage and one shutout.

“When you have an injury and a setback later, there’s nothing worse,” Lyon said. “You just want to nip it in the bud, make sure everything is good. Obviously, mentally, you don’t want to just feel it out. I want to try to come in, hit the ground running and pick up where I left off. That’s where my focus is right now, just being the best goalie version of myself that I can be for this team.”

Like the Red Wings, the Flyers also played on Saturday, but they dropped a 4-1 road decision to the Minnesota Wild. Wednesday’s game marks the front end of a midweek back-to-back set for Philadelphia, which will host the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night.

“We have to play with a lot more energy,” Andrew Copp said. “It was a pretty quiet night in Philly [last Thursday], and we have to find a way to create our own jam. We didn’t get enough pucks on net to start and didn’t cause enough chaos. We were kind of to the outside too much. We have to get more, not necessarily traffic, but just more pressure around the net and make their goalie not at the top of his crease.”