The Detroit Red Wings will kick off the Frozen Frenzy on Tuesday night when they square off vs. the New Jersey Devils.
John Gibson appeared in the starter’s net during the Red Wings’ morning skate, per Ansar Khan. Unless there is a last-minute decision, all signs point to Gibson getting the start.
Gibson is looking to turn things around after posting a 1-3-0 record in his first four starts. Through those four starts, he has an .862 save percentage and a 3.43 GAA. His previous start came on Friday, when the Red Wings lost big to the Seattle Kraken.
Gibson saw time in the net for the first 34:05 of the game, allowing five goals on 15 shots. Ultimately, the Red Wings benched him for Daniil Tarasov, who finished the game 8-for-9 and was lights-out in his first Red Wings start the following night.
John Gibson Has A Chance To Get Back On Track Vs. Devils
Like the Red Wings, the Devils are struggling in the first leg of the 2026-27 season. Heading into Tuesday night, they are 2-3-0, with 11 goals scored. That gives them an average of 2.2 goals per game. Therefore, if Gibson wants to get back on track, the Frozen Frenzy would be a good time.
Still, Gibson and Co. will have to deal with a top six that includes, per NHL.com’s projected lineups, Timo Meier, Nico Hischier, Luke Evangelista, Jesper Bratt, Jack Hughes, and Anthony Mantha. While the Devils haven’t been good offensively to start the season, Hughes is already in midseason form. He has five points and a goal in five games.
The projected bottom-six includes Arseny Gritsyuk, Evan Rodrigues, Dawson Mercer, Amadeus Lombardi, Cody Glass, and Jesper Boqvist. Lombardi is a name that will interest Red Wings fans, given his rise through Detroit’s organization before the Red Wings traded him to New Jersey.
As for the projected defensive pairings, it’s Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce on the first, Jonas Siegenthaler and Dougie Hamilton on the second, and Brenden Dillon and Declan Chisholm on the third.
Nico Daws is the projected starting goaltender over Jake Allen. Stefen Noesen and Remi Poirier are projected to be scratched. Meanwhile, Connor Brown, Johnathan Kovacevic, and Nick Bjugstad are listed on the injury report.
Detroit Red Wings Will Be Without J.T. Compher Tonight
Khan also noted that J.T. Compher will not be active tonight. The projected first line will be Viktor Arvidsson, Dylan Larkin, and Lucas Raymond, while Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, Emmitt Finnie, and Alex DeBrincat make up the second.
Michael Rasmussen, Andrew Copp, and Keegan Kolesar are projected to start the game on the third line. And finally, Sheldon Dries, Nate Danielson, and Carter Mazur round out the projected forward group.
Khan pointed out that “D pairs were being shuffled around with 9 D-men skating.” It will be interesting to see what the Red Wings bring here. NHL.com’s projected pairings listed Albert Johansson and Moritz Seider as first, Anton Johansson and Ben Chiarot second, and William Wallinder and Justin Faulk third.
That leaves Axel Sandin-Pellikka, Andreas Englund, and Jacob Bernard-Docker as projected scratches. Meanwhile, Marco Kasper and Mason Appleton join Compher on the injury report.
As always, these are projections for this evening’s game, and they are subject to change. The Red Wings and Devils will square off at 6:00 p.m.
Red Wings Reportedly Make Goaltender Decision For Frozen Frenzy