PREVIEW: Red Wings and Jets to meet at Little Caesars Arena on Wednesday

DETROIT – Another early-season measuring-stick game is up next for the Detroit Red Wings, who will host the current NHL-leading Winnipeg Jets at Little Caesars Arena on Wednesday night.

Puck drop between the Red Wings (4-4-1; 9 points) and Jets (8-1-0; 16 points) is set for 7:30 p.m., with broadcast coverage on FanDuel Sports Network Detroit and the Red Wings Radio Network (97.1 The Ticket in Detroit). Fans are encouraged to arrive early for Wednesday’s matchup, as the first 7,500 in attendance will receive a Mickey Redmond Bobblehead, presented by Carhartt.

Detroit will play the second of three consecutive games on home ice in seven days, coming off a 3-2 overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday. Andrew Copp had a goal and assist while Patrick Kane had a pair of helpers for the Red Wings, who are 2-2-1 inside Little Caesars Arena this season.

“Kaner said it best,” Michael Rasmussen said. “He said the first period [on Sunday] was probably one of our best first periods of the year, so we just got to keep playing that way. All four lines were going, having o-zone time and staying above their good players. We were disciplined too, gave them two power plays, and our guys have done a great job the last couple games here of killing penalties especially against a pretty intimidating unit like Edmonton.”

On Tuesday night, Detroit announced it traded Olli Maatta to the Utah Hockey Club in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. Maattaa appeared in seven games with the Red Wings this season, and tallied 18 points (four goals, 14 assists) in 72 games with the club last season.

"Good player for us," Detroit head coach Derek Lalonde said about Maatta. "Personally, had a very good relationship with him. I just think it's eight NHL D that can all play. It's hard to manage. You never want eight until you need eight, and I think it's probably a little bit of a credit to the emergence of some of our young D. Certainly understand it, and it will certainly clear some things up with our lineup decisions."

Vladimir Tarasenko (illness) did not participate in Wednesday's morning skate, and according to Lalonde, is questionable to suit up against Winnipeg.

"I guess it's a nice flu bug," Lalonde said about Tarasenko. "It's not all at once, but it's been picking us off periodically here. Probably a game-time decision. We're not opposed to go 11 [forwards] and seven [defensemen] as you know. We may even bring someone up."

The Jets’ franchise-best eight-game winning streak ended with a 6-4 setback to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday.

Kyle Connor registered four points (two goals, two assists) in Winnipeg’s first loss of the season, and leads the club with 14 points (nine goals, eight assists) on the year. Mark Scheifele (6-6--12), Nikolaj Ehlers (4-7--11), Josh Morrissey (1-10--11) and Neal Pionk (1-9--10) also have all crossed the double-digit point threshold this season. Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, a Commerce, Mich., native, has a 6-1-0 record with a 2.14 goals-against average, .925 save percentage and one shutout.

Among the areas that the Red Wings are focusing on for Wednesday is containing the Jets’ power play, which enters at an NHL-best 44.4 percent success rate.

“Same kind of thing as Edmonton: stay out of the box first of all,” Rasmussen said. “And then just stick to our structure. I think the last couple games has been really positive for our penalty kill. I expect that to keep going.”