The Detroit Red Wings have taken a nosedive since their heartbreaking loss to the St. Louis Blues on Halloween.
Per Jonathan Mills, John Gibson will man the crease in this redemption matchup between the Red Wings and the Blues. Gibson was recently shelved with another injury, but in his latest return, he will try to bring his vintage form to the forefront.
Gibson has seen time in 11 games so far, with a 4-5-1 record, an .860 save percentage, a 3.46 GAA, and a .273 quality starts percentage. His numbers are eerily close to what they were this time last November, when he was 4-5-0, with an .882 save percentage, while allowing an average of 3.0 goals per game.
Gibson struggled through a few more rough outings before he turned things around in Dec. 2025. But the Red Wings are hoping that won’t be the case this year.
At 7-8-3, they need stability from Gibson and Daniil Tarasov. Right now, Tarasov has looked good most of the time. Gibson must start holding up his end of the bargain again.
That said, so do Detroit’s skaters.
Detroit Red Wings Projected Lines And Pairings
While sharing news regarding Gibson, Mills also noted that “Marco Kasper and Mason Appleton were both activated from IR before Tuesday’s morning skate in St. Louis…”
Daily Faceoff’s projections had both players listed in Tuesday night’s lineup at 12:25 EST. Should everything hold up, Kasper is projected to center Michael Rasmussen and Keegan Kolesar on the third line. Given Kasper’s physical style, this may be a trio to watch as they boast a similar edge.
Appleton is slated to line up at right wing on the fourth line. J.T. Compher is projected to center that line, with Carter Mazur the projected left wing.
The top six will look familiar should the projections hold. Emmitt Finnie is once again slated to center Alex DeBrincat and Viktor Arvidsson. Meanwhile, Andrew Copp is pegged to center Michael Brandsegg-Nygard and Lucas Raymond.
The projected pairings remain familiar with Ben Chiarot and Moritz Seider on the first, William Wallinder and Justin Faulk on the second, and Andreas Englund and Anton Johansson on the third. With more potential defensive help at forward, it could open up opportunities for Seider, Wallinder, Faulk, and Johansson.
Detroit Aims To End Three-Game Skid Against Blues
The Red Wings enjoyed a relatively decent run before they met up with the Blues on Halloween. Then they turned around and posted one of their ugliest performances to date.
That game acted as a catalyst for November. While Detroit stepped up and beat the Florida Panthers on Nov. 2, they have since dropped three straight.
What’s worse? The Red Wings have looked inept offensively, letting opponents outscore them 10-3 in those three games.
For John Gibson, it means stepping up big if Detroit looks like they will start letting St. Louis continue where they left off on Oct. 31. As for Detroit’s skaters? It means getting back to playing the kind of defense that made them look halfway decent in their first month.
But it also means generating much-needed offense. That will be something to watch when the puck drops at 8:00 p.m. EST.
Red Wings Make John Gibson Decision Ahead of Blues Matchup