Seattle Projected Lines:
Schwartz – Beniers – Kakko
Tolvanen – Stephenson – Bjorkstrand
McCann-Wright- Burakovsky
Kartye -Stephens – Tanev
Defensive Pairings
Dunn – Larsson
Oleksiak – Montour
Mahura – Fluery
Goalies
Daccord – Stezka
Todd McLellan has been nothing but a breath of fresh air for the Detroit Red Wings since he was named coach the day after Christmas.
They’ve won more games under McLellan than they did under Derek Lalonde. McLellan says, correctly, that the Wings are essentially at the starting line as they begin the final third of the season.
They’ve won six in a row for the second time under McLellan, but they have what could be another trap game tonight in Seattle.
The last time they won seven in a row the Wings played host to San Jose, a team that’s struggling,. and lost. They couldn’t afford a loss then, and they can’t afford a loss now.
Not with Tampa Bay and Boston just a point behind them. Not while being tied with Columbus for seventh place in the Eastern Conference.
The good news is that McLellan has achieved when the Red Wings’ braintrust was hoping for — what appears to be a complete turnaround. Those are fairly uncommon. More often than not, a sinking team makes a change at the coaching position, and after a short revival, the team resumes sinking in the standings.
That doesn’t appear to be the case for the Red Wings, and it could be as simple as a new outlook from a veteran coach with a singular focus on today.
It certainly makes staying up for a game a lot more worthwhile than it was five weeks ago.
Meanwhile, defenseman Jeff Petry recently underwent surgery for the unspecified upper-body injury sustained on Jan. 2. He’ll be out 6-8 weeks.
Who: Red Wings at Kraken
Where: Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle
When: 10 p.m.
TV/Radio:Â Fan Duel/97.1 FM
Detroit Projected Lines
Kasper – Larkin – Raymond
DeBrincat – Copp – Kane
Soderblom – Rasmussen – Tarasenko
Fischer– Veleno – Berggren
Defensive Pairings
Chiarot – Seider
Edvinsson –Johansson
Gustafsson – Holl
Goalies
Talbot – Lyon
Seattle Projected Lines:
Schwartz – Beniers – Kakko
Tolvanen – Stephenson – Bjorkstrand
McCann-Wright- Burakovsky
Kartye -Stephens – Tanev
Defensive Pairings
Dunn – Larsson
Oleksiak – Montour
Mahura – Fluery
Goalies
Daccord – Stezka