Detroit City Wire

The Detroit Red Wings are set to host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night at Little Caesars Arena, marking the start of a crucial stretch with four of their next five games at home before the NHL's holiday break. This matchup is part of an Original Six rivalry, and both teams are looking to capitalize on the opportunity.

Patrick Kane expressed optimism about the upcoming games, stating, “It’s a good stretch for us to hopefully get some momentum. Use the building and the energy to our advantage and try to get something going here.”

The Red Wings (11-14-4; 26 points) will face off against the Maple Leafs (18-9-2; 38 points) at 7 p.m., with coverage available on FanDuel Sports Network Detroit and Red Wings Radio Network (97.1 The Ticket in Detroit). The two Atlantic Division rivals will meet again in Detroit on December 27 and conclude their regular-season schedules in Toronto on April 17.

In their recent game, Detroit suffered a 4-1 road loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. Ben Chiarot scored late in the third period, while goalie Cam Talbot made 32 saves in his first start since December 1 due to a lower-body injury.

Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde announced that Talbot will be unavailable against Toronto after reaggravating his injury during practice. “He’d be in the day-to-day range, I hope,” Lalonde said regarding Talbot's condition. Ville Husso is set to start in net on Saturday as Alex Lyon remains sidelined with a lower-body injury.

Lalonde commented on Lyon's progress: “He took a full practice [on Friday], moving post to post very well.”

Toronto currently shares the top spot in the Atlantic Division with Florida Panthers at 38 points each. The Maple Leafs secured their second consecutive win by defeating Anaheim Ducks 3-2 on Thursday.

Mitch Marner leads Toronto with 28 assists and 38 points. William Nylander follows with 29 points (18 goals, 11 assists), while John Tavares has accumulated 25 points (12 goals, 13 assists). Since returning from an upper-body injury on December 2, Auston Matthews has contributed six points over six games.

Kane acknowledged Toronto's talent: “They have some really special players over there, four or five of them. Seems like they’re playing a more disciplined game this year too, so it’ll be a tough challenge.”