Detroit City Wire

The Detroit Red Wings have returned home after a challenging four-game road trip, during which they secured three out of a possible eight points. The team is now focused on capitalizing on their upcoming home-heavy schedule.

“There was a lot to work on today, and I think that’s what we did,” J.T. Compher stated following practice at Little Caesars Arena's BELFOR Training Center. “We got a good practice in and worked on some of the details, especially defensively, that really showed the last couple of games on the road trip. Positives are we have a good homestand here to try to collect points.”

The Red Wings will play five of their next six games at Little Caesars Arena through December 1st, starting with Thursday's game against the New York Islanders. Head coach Derek Lalonde sees this as an opportunity for Detroit to gain momentum and improve their current home record of 3-4-1.

“We have to be better at home, and we’ve been better at home,” Lalonde commented. “The one positive is with us battling through some things, five teams in the division are under .500, and half of the teams in the entire conference are under .500. That’s probably more big picture, but luckily it hasn’t gotten away from us.”

Patrick Kane echoed Lalonde’s sentiments: “We got to be a good home-ice team here,” he said. Despite recent challenges, Kane remains optimistic about climbing up the standings with consistent performance on home ice.

Lalonde made adjustments to the forward lines during Wednesday's practice by promoting Vladimir Tarasenko alongside captain Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond on the first line. Marco Kasper joined Alex DeBrincat and Kane on the second line while Andrew Copp centered Michael Rasmussen and Christian Fischer on the third line. Joe Veleno alternated with Tyler Motte next to Jonatan Berggren and Compher on the fourth line.

“We knew we were going to have a fluid six, nine [forwards],” Lalonde explained. “It’s the makeup. Sometimes it feels like a negative, but I think sometimes it’s a positive."

Regarding his decision to move Kasper to the second line, Lalonde noted Kasper's playmaking abilities could benefit both Kane and DeBrincat: “Marco is playing very well,” he said. “He’s assertive in his game... Especially on home ice, maybe some favorable matchups.”