Red Wings vs. Flyers: Notes, Lines, Goalies, How to Watch

The Red Wings are beginning an important stretch of the season tonight. For them, anyway.

They’ll play host to the Philadelphia Flyers tonight, then a home-and-home with Montreal Friday and Saturday.

Detroit is currently six points out of a playoff spot, but only a point ahead of the last-place Canadiens in the Eastern Conference.

So, this week’s games are a chance for the Red Wings to both move up in the standings and a way to ensure they stay out of last.

Alex Lyon will be available tonight in goal, but his participation might be a game-time decision. Derek Lalonde wouldn’t divulge his thinking yesterday.

One way to get there  is to start getting more pucks on the net.

Sounds obvious, but the team has had trouble generating offense this season. Lately the defense has been finding the back of the net a little more often.

The Flyers are in the thick of a playoff run as well. Philly is currently in 10th place in the East, and will play four games in the six days before Christmas Eve.

That could mean an uptick in physical play tonight, for sure, and more of the same this weekend.

A little more sense of urgency couldn’t hurt the Wings, either.

The Matchup

Who: Flyers at Red Wings

Where: Little Caesars Arena

Time: 7 p.m.

TV/Radio: TNT/97.1 FM

Detroit Lines

Tarasenko – Larkin – Raymond

DeBrincat – Copp – Kane

Rasmussen – Compher – Motte

Veleno – Kasper – Berggren/Fischer

Defensive Pairings

Edvinsson – Seider

Chiarot – Petry

Johansson/Gustafsson – Holl

Goalies

Husso -Lyon

Philadelphia Lines

Farabee –  Couturier – Konecny

Tippett – Frost – Michkov

Foerster –  Cates – Brink

Laughlin – Poehling – Hathaway

Defensive Pairings

York – Sanheim

Zamuka – Ristolainen

Seeler- Drysdale

Goalies

Ersson – Kolosov