Detroit City Wire

The Detroit Red Wings are set to begin a back-to-back preseason road series as they face the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Friday night. The game, scheduled for 7 p.m., will be broadcast on FanDuel Sports Network Detroit.

This matchup marks part of a demanding stretch for the Red Wings, who are playing four exhibition games over five days. Forward Elmer Soderblom commented on the preparation required during this period: "You just have to be ready and prepared. Eat and sleep well. Just try to take care of your body and be ready for whenever you’re going to play, so those are the main parts."

On Thursday, Detroit defeated the Buffalo Sabres 5-2 at Little Caesars Arena, with goals from Mason Appleton, Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, captain Dylan Larkin, Moritz Seider, and Andrew Copp. Goaltenders Cam Talbot and Michal Postava each played half of the game. Soderblom contributed an assist in that contest and said about facing new opponents: "It’s really good to get the games going and play opponents other than ourselves. I think that’s going to bring a little bit more intensity and physicality, so it’s going to be fun getting more competitive games going here."

After practicing at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center on Friday morning, the team traveled to Pittsburgh. Head coach Todd McLellan indicated that he plans to use a younger lineup against the Penguins compared to Thursday's game. "We have their lineup," McLellan said. "Sometimes, teams will trade and you kind of match it a little bit if you can, but we’ll be a little bit younger. There will still be some veterans in the lineup, but not as many as there were last night."

McLellan acknowledged that the busy preseason schedule could pose challenges for less experienced players but noted their familiarity with demanding routines from lower leagues: "In the American League, they play three [games] in three [nights]. They’re bussing all over the place. They’re pretty tough down there, so if you’ve played there for a while you’ve experienced the grind. The difference here may be the pace, skill level and size. Everything is happening a little bit quicker, so you can get run down. But so far, they’ve handled it real well. But they are human. We have to be aware of where they’re at."

Veteran goaltender John Gibson is set to make his preseason debut against Pittsburgh—his hometown—playing half of Friday's game before Michal Postava takes over in net for the second half. "He’s only playing half a game," McLellan said about Gibson. "Talbot only played half and Postava played the other half [on Thursday]. Gibby will play a half today and Postava will play the second half. Now, we’ve seen Postava and have worked the two veteran goaltenders into an environment. Obviously, Gibby wants to play in Pittsburgh, so we honored that."