PREVIEW: Detroit, Utah conclude respective midweek back-to-back sets on Wednesday

DETROIT – Marking the second game in as many nights for both teams, the Detroit Red Wings and Utah Mammoth will square off at Little Caesars Arena on Wednesday night.

Puck drop between the Red Wings (19-12-3; 41 points) and Mammoth (16-16-3; 35 points) is set for 7:30 p.m., with TV broadcast coverage airing exclusively on TNT with simulcast on truTV and streaming on MAX. Ken Kal and Paul Woods will have the call on the Red Wings Radio Network (97.1 The Ticket in Detroit).

“We’ll make sure our group gets rest,” head coach Todd McLellan said after Detroit’s 3-2 win against the New York Islanders at Little Caesars Arena on Tuesday. “Obviously, Utah has to fly in. We’re not going to be skating [on Wednesday morning], so we’ll save our energy for the game. Our prep will be no different than it is on the road, where you usually play your back-to-backs.”

With Tuesday’s victory over the Islanders, in which Alex DeBrincat scored two power-play goals in the third period and goalie John Gibson finished with 16 saves, the Red Wings moved back into first place in the Atlantic Division ahead of their first of two regular-season meetings with the Mammoth.

Axel Sandin-Pellikka, who also lit the lamp against New York, said he liked the way that Detroit battled back in the third period to pick up its sixth win in the club’s past nine games.

“It shows we don’t give up,” Sandin-Pellikka said. “We’re behind one goal, but the game is far from over. We just kept pushing. We knew that if we had patience, we’d have our chances.”

Logging three multi-goal outings in his last four contests, DeBrincat believes he's on this current scoring surge because he’s “shooting the puck a lot and playing with great players.”

“They give me the puck in good situations and I’m just trying to pull the trigger as much as I can,” said DeBrincat, who has reached the 20-goal mark for the sixth consecutive campaign and eighth time in his NHL career. “Luckily, two went in [on Wednesday night] and hopefully, that keeps going.”

Currently two points out of the Western Conference’s second Wild-Card spot and fourth in the Central Division, Utah most recently fell to the Boston Bruins, 4-1, at TD Garden on Tuesday.

Nick Schmaltz leads the Mammoth with 30 points (12 goals, 18 assists), while captain Clayton Keller’s 28 points (10 goals, 18 assists) ranks second and Dylan Guenther is third with 27 points (15 goals, 12 assists). Since netminder Vitek Vaněček started in Boston, goalie Karel Vejmelka (14-9-2, 2.78 goals-against average, .893 save percentage and one shutout in 26 starts) will likely be in Utah’s crease on Wednesday.

“This is odd, to be at home for a pair, but our prep will be the same,” McLellan said. “We’ll have our players, hopefully, ready to go and play again. It’s pretty even, heading into [Wednesday’s game] as far as fatigue, travel and all of that.”