The Detroit Red Wings are looking to build on their win over the Blackhawks. They are rolling with a hot hand in net.
Per Ansar Khan and Daily Faceoff, John Gibson will get his second consecutive start. Gibson has bounced back from his slow start in recent games, going 3-1-0 in his last four starts.
While he has just an .892 save percentage in that span, Gibson has also allowed 2.3 goals per game. That should give him plenty of momentum facing off against a team like the St. Louis Blues.
Through 13 games, the Blues rank 21st in the NHL with 39 goals scored, or three per game. They also have momentum on their side, coming off a 4-1 win over the Boston Bruins. That said, the Blues are streaky. Before they put up four goals against the Bruins, they were shut out in two straight games following a six-goal outburst.
Even if the high-octane version of the Blues shows up, Gibson could still ride his solid performance vs. Chicago into this one. Overall, he has an .874 save percentage, a 3.15 GAA, and a .333 quality starts percentage. But as noted, Gibson’s numbers have slowly been creeping upward.
That could be the case again if the Red Wings’ lines and pairings hold up.
Red Wings’ Projected Lines And Pairings vs. Blues
Khan also shared the forward lines at Red Wings’ practice on Friday at 11:12 a.m. If those lines hold, Emmitt Finnie is slated to center Alex DeBrincat and Viktor Arvidsson on the first line. Finnie is third on the team with five goals in 13 games. He also has nine points.
Andrew Copp remains slated to take the second line, with Michael Brandsegg-Nygard and Lucas Raymond at the wings. Copp has just three points and two goals, but Brandsegg-Nygard and Raymond have helped carry Detroit offensively with eight and 12 points, respectively.
J.T. Compher looks to center the third line with Michael Rasmussen and Nate Danielson on the wings. Danielson has shown gritty play in his first 11 games with 12 body checks. Still, he would like to increase his ice time and pitch in more with Detroit’s scoring front.
Sheldon Dries is the projected fourth-line center, with Carter Mazur and Keegan Kolesar slated to take the wings. Kolesar leads all Red Wings players with 20 penalty minutes.
Moritz Seider and Ben Chiarot look like they will stay on the top pairing in Daily Faceoff’s morning projection, while William Wallinder and Justin Faulk look to take the second. Seider is third on the Red Wings and first among Detroit defensemen with seven assists. And lastly, Andreas Englund looks like he will pair with Anton Johansson.
These were the current projections as of 8:30 on Saturday morning, and they may not reflect the final lines and pairings for the game.
Detroit Can Create More Momentum While Facing Adversity
The Dylan Larkin saga is still very clear in the rearview, and that will remain the case until the Red Wings ultimately trade him. Simon Edvinsson’s situation also remains unresolved. Still, both cases are opportunities for the Red Wings to say, “Alright, fine. This is the situation we’re in; let’s not let it affect our play on the ice.”
That was the case on Thursday when the Red Wings hosted and defeated the Blackhawks. Now, they are facing a tougher team in the St. Louis Blues.
If John Gibson can keep playing well in the crease, and Detroit’s skaters do their job, they will continue to distance themselves from being the team that has distractions all over the place. The puck drops at 1:00 p.m.
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