PREVIEW: Detroit Red Wings vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Saturday, March 28th @ 2pm ET

Coming off a loss to the San Jose Sharks, the Detroit Red Wings hope to break even in their four-game home stand when they welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning to town.  They are still 5 points ahead of Ottawa and Boston who are fighting over a wild card spot. The Red Wings hope to put some space between them and both teams. Game time is 2pm ET.

Last 10 Games

Detroit: 3-6-1, currently in 6th place in the Eastern Conference with a 39-22-12 overall record.

Tampa Bay:  7-2-1, currently in 3rd place in the Eastern Conference with a 46-22-7 overall record.

VS. This Season

3-0 in favor of Tampa Bay.

VS. Last 5 Years

7-3 in favor of Tampa Bay.

Courtesy of: Detroit Free Press

Detroit Red Wings vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Tickets Mar. 28

New York Islanders vs. Detroit Red Wings Tickets Mar. 29

Detroit Red Wings vs. Ottawa Senators Tickets Mar. 31
Detroit Red Wings vs. Boston Bruins Tickets Apr. 02
Minnesota Wild vs. Detroit Red Wings Tickets Apr. 04

Expected Goaltenders

Detroit: Petr Mrazek (14-7-1)

Tampa Bay: Ben Bishop (36-12-4)

Players To Watch

Detroit: Petr Mrazek hopes to step up and establish himself as the number one goaltender as Jimmy Howard continues to struggle between the pipes. If Mrazek can string a few wins together it will be no surprise if he gets the starts from here on in.

Tampa Bay: Captain Steven Stamkos has 5 points (3G, 2A) in his past 5 games. Stamkos' 67 points (40G, 27A) places him tied in Lightning scoring with Tyler Johnson and tied for 11th overall in NHL scoring.

Injuries*

Detroit: Johan Franzen (out, concussion)
              Pavel Datsyuk (game-time decision, lower body

              injury)   

              Jonas Gustavsson (out, concussion)
              Erik Cole (out, upper body injury)
              Riley Sheahan (day-to-day, upper body injury)              

Tampa Bay: Brendan Morrow (day-to-day, upper body injury)                                           Cedric Paquette (day-to-day, upper body injury)

* As of March 27

PREVIEW: Detroit Red Wings vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Friday, March 20th @ 7:30pm ET

The Detroit Red Wings hope to shake the 3-1 defeat last night against the Florida Panthers when they travel to Florida's Gulf Coast to face the Tampa Bay Lightning. With the Boston Bruins' loss against the Ottawa Senators, the Red Wings are still 4 points up and hope to widen that gap tonight while at the same time close the 6-point gap with the Lightning. Game time is 7:30pm ET. 

Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Detroit Red Wings Tickets

Last 10 Games

Detroit: 5-5-0, currently in 7th place in the Eastern Conference with a 38-20-11 overall record.

Tampa Bay:  6-3-1, currently in 3rd place in the Eastern Conference with a 43-21-7 overall record.

VS. This Season

2-0 in favor of Tampa Bay.

VS. Last 5 Years

6-3 in favor of Tampa Bay.

Courtesy of: redwings.nhl.com

Expected Goaltenders

Detroit: Jimmy Howard (20-11-9)

Tampa Bay: Ben Bishop (34-11-4)

Players To Watch

Detroit: Darren Helm (13G, 16A) in his second game back from injury will look to bring his speed to the game and create some scoring chances for the Red Wings.

Tampa Bay: Captain Steven Stamkos has 4 points (3G, 1A) in his past 5 games including a 3-point (2G, 1A) game against the Montreal Canadiens this past week. Stamkos' 65 points (39G, 26A) leads the Lightning and puts him tied for 9th overall in NHL scoring.

Injuries

Detroit: Johan Franzen (out, concussion)
                  Pavel Datsyuk (day-to-day, lower body injury)
                  

Tampa Bay: Cedric Paquette (out, upper body injury)