PREVIEW: Detroit set for road clash against Carolina on Friday

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Looking to build off the momentum of a 7-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday night, the Detroit Red Wings will square off against the Carolina Hurricanes at Lenovo Center on Friday night.

Puck drop between the Red Wings (31-28-6; 68 points) and Hurricanes (39-22-4; 82 points) is set for 7 p.m., with broadcast coverage on FanDuel Sports Network Detroit and the Red Wings Radio Network (97.1 The Ticket in Detroit). Detroit most recently played Carolina on March 4, dropping a 2-1 decision at Little Caesars Arena.

“The start is important any given night,” Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan said. “They are a quick team, right off the bat. They’re a good face-off team, they win a lot of those, but like any other building we got to be prepared to play early.”

Patrick Kane (two goals, three assists), Alex DeBrincat (one goal, three assists) and Marco Kasper (two goals, one assist) combined for 12 points against Buffalo, helping Detroit end a six-game losing streak.

“Obviously, just the way the Ottawa game went [on Monday], to get on the scoresheet as many times as we did [on Wednesday] is a good feeling and something to build off,” said Lucas Raymond, who dished out two assists against the Sabres for his 21st multi-point game of the season. “But at the same time, I think we look more at our game. Maybe we played a better game against Ottawa and didn’t get rewarded, but we did [on Wednesday]. Combine that and keep the execution part, and I think we’ll be in a good spot.”

Goalie Petr Mrazek turned aside 23 shots on Wednesday, marking his first appearance with Detroit since Feb. 18, 2018. The 33-year-old netminder, who was acquired by the Red Wings ahead of the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline one week ago, will make his second straight start on Friday.

“I thought he looked fairly settled against Buffalo,” McLellan said about Mrazek. “He got a couple good practices in. He got to work his net maybe a little bit more than he had the two weeks prior. Had some really good, timely saves. Created a little bit of an energy on the bench when he did make those, which was important. We’ll need that from him again tonight.”

Including Friday’s Eastern Conference matchup, Detroit has 17 regular-season games remaining. This late in the season, McLellan said a balance must be struck between letting his players rest and practice, hence why the Red Wings didn’t take the ice before flying to Carolina on Thursday afternoon.

“This team needs to practice and work on things, but there’s also the balance of trying to prepare them,” McLellan said. “And sometimes, it’s beyond the physical part. You’re trying to deal with the mental part of the game too and trying to make sure they’re prepared for that. It is a delicate thing.”

Extending their winning streak to five straight games, the Hurricanes enter off a 4-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday. Carolina, which sits second in the Metropolitan Division, is led offensively this season by Sebastian Aho (24 goals, 38 assists), Seth Jarvis (26 goals, 23 assists) and Andrei Svechnikov (18 goals, 25 assists).

In the crease for the Hurricanes, goalies Pyotr Kochetkov and Frederik Andersen have combined for 32 wins this season.

“They are very good defensively,” McLellan said about Carolina. “They’re good offensively, too. They apply pressure in all three zones quickly, so we’re going to have to be aware of that.”