The Red Wings’ preseason schedule continues Tuesday with a road game in Pittsburgh, where Detroit will send a roster of AHL players and those who didn’t skate in either of Monday’s doubleheader games.
Six games in six days. Many practices in between. The Red Wings’ preseason schedule is dense right now, putting players through a strain that Detroit hopes prepares its group for the season ahead.
“Obviously we don’t ever want to go into games tired or hurt, but at the same time, I think we’re trying to maybe create a little more of a baseline for where our guys are physically,” Detroit coach Derek Lalonde explained Tuesday after practice. “But I think it turns into a little bit of a mental aspect to it, too. So I think part of this harder camp, if you will, has been asking the group for a little bit more. I think we want to push a little more physically, and hopefully it turns into a little more mentally, too.”
If Detroit can slog through playing six of its eight preseason games in a six-day span to end the preseason, the games in the regular season won’t feel so bad. Lalonde joked Monday that the practices this training camp are so intense that players are “begging” to get into games. All of this serves the purpose of conditioning players to the rigors of the NHL schedule early, in the hopes of turning this into a strong start to the season starting Oct. 10. Even if it doesn’t seem like sending a skeleton crew to Pittsburgh is the most competitive move, it comes in the context of these overall scheduling goals.
Detroit’s Lineup
With so many games this week, some players have to play back-to-backs to field complete teams. Tuesday will see 10 players skate who played in Monday’s 5-1 loss to Pittsburgh or 4-3 overtime loss in Buffalo.
The list of players pulling back-to-backs consists of forwards Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, Hunter Johannes, Elmer Soderblom, Nate Danielson, Cross Hanas, Amadeus Lombardi and Alex Chiasson; and defensemen Albert Johansson, Antti Tuomisto and William Lagesson.
Morning skate was sparsely attended due to the rigors of the schedule, so exact line combinations are unknown. The Red Wings did post their complete roster for the Pittsburgh game, linked below.
Lalonde understands how taxing this workload can be for his players, so he wants to avoid these back-to-back appearances when possible. On that front, he’s sort of forced to pick the lesser of two evils. After a day without games Wednesday, the Red Wings wrap up the preseason with three games in three days, so Tuesday’s roster is as much constructed so as not to overburden players in that stretch as it is to avoid overworking players coming off their Monday night games.
“(We’re) going to have some of these back to backs, which is fine, it’s just kind of spreading them out and try to avoid three-in-four for some guys,” Lalonde said. “Trying to balance what we’re trying to get accomplished in camp with making sure guys have their best opportunity to perform in camp and avoid some potential injuries with the two-in-twos and three games in four days.”
In net, Ville Husso will get the start with a play-it-by-ear approach. Lalonde said that Husso’s performance in the game will determine whether he plays the full game or if Jack Campbell takes over to finish it.
[Additional Reading: Can Ville Husso Make a Push to Reclaim the Starting Role in Detroit?]
On Husso’s long road to recovery from his lower body injuries, getting into meatier game action is a necessary step to proving he can be ready to go for the actual season ahead.
Pittsburgh’s Lineup
Seth Rorabaugh of the Tribune-Review reported the Penguins’ lines at practice this morning. The group is heavy on NHL talent, including Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. Only a couple of players — Rutger McGroarty and Vasily Ponamarev — will follow up Monday’s 5-1 win in Detroit by playing in Tuesday’s game, too.
Rorabaugh also reported that Tristan Jarry is scheduled to play the whole game, while Alex Nedeljkovic is being evaluated for an injury that caused him to leave Monday night’s game in Detroit midway through the first period.
With such a skeleton crew sent to Pittsburgh, the Red Wings’ lines do not match up well. That comes with the territory of a road preseason game, let alone one in such a dense stretch of schedule. However, there is potential for some useful information to be gleaned about some Red Wings units, including the way the fourth line might work with Tyler Motte, Joe Veleno and PTO signee Austin Watson in the mix. The Penguins’ power play units should also be a useful whetstone for some Red Wings who should be in the mix for the penalty kill, including those three aforementioned players.
Where to Watch
This game will be broadcast on Bally Sports Detroit.
Editor’s Note: This article previously reported that the game would be streamed on the Red Wings’ website and mobile app. In fact, Bally Sports Detroit will be broadcasting it.
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