Detroit City Wire

The Detroit Red Wings are preparing for a matchup against the Minnesota Wild at the Xcel Energy Center on Tuesday night. The game, which is the season series finale between Detroit and Minnesota, will start at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT. It will be broadcast on FanDuel Sports Network Detroit and the Red Wings Radio Network.

Detroit's Erik Gustafsson commented on the upcoming game against the Wild, stating, “They play a fast game. They have some speed up front, so we got to be ready from the puck drop.”

In recent games, Detroit has struggled to maintain leads late in matches. Over the weekend, they experienced a 4-3 overtime loss to Minnesota and a 5-4 OT victory over Anaheim Ducks after surrendering two-goal leads in both instances.

Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan discussed strategies for defending in late-game situations compared to standard penalty kills: “They’re coming right out,” McLellan said about 6-on-5 scenarios. “You have no time, no space... From our end, there's a few things that we should do differently.”

In terms of player availability, Andrew Copp was placed on injured reserve and Michael Rasmussen is day-to-day following an injury during Sunday's game against Anaheim. To address these absences, Sheldon Dries was recalled from Grand Rapids Griffins.

McLellan expressed confidence in his team's ability to adapt despite injuries: “The unfortunate thing for one leads to opportunity for the other... We have what we have, and we have enough."

Minnesota remains third in the Western Conference’s Central Division with a record of six wins in their last eight games. Coach McLellan praised their lineup strength: “You put [Kirill] Kaprizov and a couple of their other injured players back into their lineup; that's a real solid contending team.”