Detroit City Wire

The Detroit Red Wings will aim for their fourth consecutive victory as they host the Tampa Bay Lightning at Little Caesars Arena on Friday. The game, which starts at 7 p.m., will be broadcast on FanDuel Sports Network Detroit and the Red Wings Radio Network (97.1 The Ticket in Detroit).

Friday’s matchup also coincides with Star Wars Night at the arena, where fans can purchase special ticket packages that include a limited-edition Star Wars jersey.

Reflecting on the team’s recent performance, Emmitt Finnie said, “It’s been a good start since Opening Night. I thought we’ve bounced back well our last three games. We’ve been taking it day by day and not riding the highs too high. We’re just looking forward to [Friday].”

The Red Wings currently have a 3-1-0 record with six points, while the Lightning stand at 1-2-1 with three points. Detroit comes into the game after defeating the Florida Panthers, the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions, 4-1 on Wednesday.

Detroit head coach Todd McLellan commented on the team’s approach: “Everybody brings a certain type of physicality, and if we’re all playing towards our strengths in that area, then we should be a hard team to play against. I thought we were competitive in that area [on Wednesday] and we have been the last four games.”

Lucas Raymond, who has been dealing with an upper body injury, practiced on Thursday but did not take part in line rushes and was present for Friday’s morning skate. McLellan said Raymond will not play against Tampa Bay but noted he is “getting better.”

Tampa Bay begins its second back-to-back road series of the week after an overtime loss to the Washington Capitals and a win over the Boston Bruins earlier in the week. Brayden Point and Jake Guentzel are tied as top scorers for the Lightning with five points each. Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy is still looking for his first win this season.

John Gibson, who will start in goal for Detroit, spoke about the team’s development: “We’re starting to click here now. Hopefully, we can just keep going and keep the streak going.”