The Daily: Ovechkin Will Test Struggling Red Wings; Augustine Starts

As if the Detroit Red Wing don’t have enough problems trying to dig themselves out of basement of the Eastern Conference, they have an added challenge today when they have to figure out how to blank Alex Ovechkin.

Ovechkin returned to the Washington Capitals Saturday night after being out of lineup since Nov. 16 with a fractured fibula. He scored an empty-net goal to move him within 25 goals of tying Wayne Gretzky’ all-time NHL scoring record of 894 goals.

The Red Wings and Capitals play at 5 p.m. (FanDuel Sports Network).

Guess who 👀

Alex Ovechkin is just 26 goals shy of breaking Wayne Gretzky's all-time record! pic.twitter.com/lAtKlDmWge

— NHL (@NHL) December 29, 2024

With 16 goals in 19 games this season, Ovechkin seems driven to pass Gretzky this season. He came back from his injury earlier than expected.

We can guess Ovechkin is aware that he’s going up against a team that has been struggling defensively. Detroit has surrendered four or more goals in seven out of its last eight games. Coach Todd McLellan’s team now ranks 26th in the NHL with a 3.31 goals-against average per game.

Red Wings In Case You Missed It

Detroit 2023 first-round pick Nate Danielson has recorded 16 points in his past 20 games for the Grand Rapids Griffins. He’s scoring at higher rate than Marco Kasper did early last season.

Red Wings prospect Max Plante scored for USA in a 5-1 win against Latvia at the World Junior Championships. Latvia upset Canada on Friday. Prospect Jesse Kiiskinen scored for Finland.

Fired coach Derek Lalonde issued his first comment on his dismissal by the Red Wings

Paywall story:  DHN+ offers three suggestions for coach Todd McLellan as he tinkers with line combinations and roles on the Detroit squad. To subscribe to our DHN+ plus, and get ad-free content, click here. 

Red Wings Extra

Detroit is playing a Washington team that is 20 points ahead of the Red Wings in the standings. The Capitals are  the NHL’s No. 2 scoring team at 3.71 goals per game. They are going up against a Detroit squad that has given up 33 goals in their last eight games…Detroit prospect Trey Augustine is the starting goalie for USA against Finland at the WJC (2:30 p.m, NHL Network)

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