Detroit City Wire

The Detroit Red Wings are preparing to face the Anaheim Ducks at Little Caesars Arena on Thursday night, continuing their four-game homestand. The Red Wings have focused on physical and productive practices over the past two days, aiming to improve their performance in upcoming games.

Head coach Todd McLellan commented on the team's recent efforts: “We went after it. When we drove home yesterday after the second practice, as a staff we were satisfied with the effort the players put in and what we got done. But now, we have to take the test.” He added, “The test is going to be ongoing. It’s not just going to be the first period or three periods tonight, and some of the things we worked on we have to see every night. We can’t just see improvement when we focus on one thing. Once we focus on one thing, we practice it and it goes into the bank. We should see improvement throughout the whole year. We may have to go back and revisit it, but we want to see the proverbial train moving forward.”

Detroit enters Thursday's game with a 9-7-0 record and 18 points this season. In their previous matchup against Anaheim on October 31 at Honda Center, Detroit lost 5-2.

In their last outing during this homestand, Detroit fell 5-1 to the Chicago Blackhawks. That game saw forward Nate Danielson make his NHL debut and captain Dylan Larkin score his ninth goal of the season.

Lucas Raymond discussed areas for improvement following Sunday's loss: “We had a ton of looks. I feel like that’s becoming a common theme for us, but having more of a net-front presence is something maybe we’ve been missing. We have a good team. We have good players in this locker room. We trust and have a lot of confidence in each other. For us right now, it’s just about getting back to our game.”

Anaheim currently leads the Pacific Division with an 11-4-1 record and 23 points but recently ended a seven-game winning streak after losing 4-1 to Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena on Tuesday.

Leo Carlsson scored Anaheim's only goal in that loss, extending his point streak to 11 consecutive games with nine goals and 11 assists during that span. Carlsson was named NHL’s Third Star of the Week for the period ending November 9 and leads Anaheim with 26 points (11 goals, 15 assists). Cutter Gauthier (11 goals, nine assists) and Troy Terry (five goals, 15 assists) follow with 20 points each for Anaheim.

Goaltender Lukas Dostal has started most games for Anaheim this season, posting an 8-4-1 record along with a goals-against average of 2.69 and a .908 save percentage.

Raymond spoke about facing Anaheim again: “They have a lot of speed,” he said about the Ducks. “Last time we played them, I think there were a lot of self-inflicted mistakes. I think we’re more prepared now. We’re ready to go and bounce back.”