The Detroit Red Wings are set to play their first game in Salt Lake City against the Utah Hockey Club at Delta Center on Monday night. This matchup marks the beginning of a back-to-back road series for the Red Wings.
Monday’s game will begin at 9 p.m. ET/7 p.m. MT and will be broadcasted on FanDuel Sports Network Detroit and 97.1 The Ticket. The Red Wings, with a record of 32-31-6, have accumulated 70 points so far this season, while Utah holds a record of 32-27-11 with 75 points.
“Every game is big,” said Lucas Raymond. “Every point you can get is big. You try to do whatever you can to contribute to that. I think these games are fun. These are the games everyone wants to play in.”
After losing to the Vegas Golden Knights with a score of 6-3 on Saturday, Detroit aims to secure victories against both Utah and Colorado during this road trip.
“I thought our offensive game throughout the entire game was good,” Raymond commented after Saturday’s loss. “We got a ton of looks… It’s about bearing down on those.”
Detroit’s defense is expected to strengthen as Jeff Petry returns from an undisclosed injury that has kept him out since January 2nd.
“When [Petry] is playing really well, we have a pretty good idea of what we have there,” stated head coach Todd McLellan.
Currently, Detroit trails Montreal by five points for the Eastern Conference’s second Wild-Card spot with 13 games remaining in their schedule.
Utah has been performing well recently, winning three out of their last four games, including a victory over Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday. Clayton Keller leads Utah in points (77) and assists (53), while Dylan Guenther has scored a team-high of 25 goals.
Goaltender Karel Vejmelka improved his stats recently with two consecutive wins and holds a record of 21-18-6 this season.
“We want to play a good, solid game,” said Ben Chiarot ahead of Monday’s clash. “Get our game going in the right direction.”
