DETROIT—Friday night at Little Caesars Arena, the Detroit Red Wings host the Carolina Hurricanes. They Red Wings have eight games left in their season with which to overturn a six-point gap between themselves and the Montreal Canadiens (who have played an extra game) for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Mar 14, 2025; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Detroit Red Wings center Tyler Motte (14) chases after the puck against center Seth Jarvis (24) during the second period at Lenovo Center. (James Guillory, Imagn Images)
Detroit hasn't beaten the Hurricanes since Mar. 30, 2023, but it can turn to two recent match-ups from last March to inform Friday night's game.
"When we do a pre-scout, we watch their current games and see if there's any changes in tendencies and changes in lines...but we've played them enough recently to use our own information, use our own video and clips about structure things and tendencies they might have, especially if it matches up to the cent play," said coach Todd McLellan after Friday morning's optional skate. "So that makes the pre-scout easier, but it doesn't make the task of playing them easier. They are collectively a tough team to play against [because of] the way they attack."
Added DeBrincat, "It's nice to have played them [recently]. I think you kinda know what works, what doesn't work, and know what kinda game it's gonna be...I would say they're a fast team with long sticks and big bodies, so we gotta come ready to play and play hard."
Expect to see a similar Detroit lineup to the one that lost in overtime in St. Louis on Tuesday night. However, forward Elmer Soderblom will fold back into the lineup after missing four of the last five for the Red Wings. Cam Talbot will remain the starting goaltender. With Soderblom returning to full health, the Red Wings sent forward Dominik Shine back down to Grand Rapids, though he did take part in Friday morning's skate.
Tonight's game (a 7 PM) puck drop will air on its usual broadcast homes: FanDuel Sports Network Detroit for in-market fans and ESPN+ for out-of-towners. 97.1 The Ticket will carry the radio broadcast
