PREVIEW: Red Wings and visiting Canucks square off on Sunday afternoon

DETROIT -- The Detroit Red Wings will cap their three-game homestand with a Sunday matinee against the Vancouver Canucks at Little Caesars Arena.

Puck drop between the Red Wings (10-11-2; 22 points) and Canucks (12-7-3; 27 points) is set for 12:30 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, as the first 7,500 in attendance will receive a captain Dylan Larkin Bobblehead, presented by Comerica.

“We’ve been playing pretty good,” Michael Rasmussen said. “I think we’ve had jump. We were obviously talking about special teams a little bit, so just got to clean up a few things there. The same things that have been making us successful – we’ve been forechecking well, getting pucks to the net and just playing our game. If we keep that going, we’ll have success.”

The Red Wings begin their December slate vying to bounce back from Friday’s 5-4 loss to the New Jersey Devils. Ten different skaters earned at least a point for Detroit, including Lucas Raymond, who extended his goal-scoring streak to five straight games to match an NHL career high he set from March 12-19, 2024.

But Detroit also went 1-for-4 on the penalty kill on Friday, which head coach Derek Lalonde called “the difference in the game.”

“Even of late, it’s frustrating in that structure looks a little bit better,” Lalonde said. “But literally, every chance we’ve given up has gone in. We only gave up three chances [against New Jersey], all three went in.”

The Red Wings enter Sunday focused on improving their penalty kill, and Larkin said that process starts by prioritizing some key areas of their game.

“That was the focus of [Saturday’s] meeting and practice -- making sure our details are good and there’s communication,” Larkin said. “We know what we’re doing. Our details aren’t good enough. We’re letting goals slip in all different ways. It’s hard to say that we’ve done a decent job with the numbers and where we’re at, but it’s not all doom and gloom with the penalty kill. It’s just mental lapses.”

Patrick Kane skated in the first half of Detroit’s practice on Saturday morning, but Lalonde said the veteran forward will miss his fourth consecutive game with an upper-body injury.

“We were hoping that would give him the green light for the back half of the practice, but he was unable to finish,” Lalonde said about Kane, who has 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in 20 games this season. “He’ll be unavailable [on Sunday], and hopefully getting closer. We’ll shoot for Tuesday.”

Lalonde also said he doesn’t have a return timetable for goalie Alex Lyon (lower body), who made his last start on Nov. 25.

“Unable to even skate,” Lalonde said about the 31-year-old netminder. “He’ll be a little longer here, wouldn’t quite put him in the week-to-week yet, but I don’t see him being available for the [upcoming] road trip.”

The Canucks are coming off a 4-3 overtime road win against the Buffalo Sabres on Friday, marking their third victory in four games. Currently fourth in the Western Conference’s Pacific Division, Vancouver brings a 9-2-0 road record into Sunday’s matchup.

“If you look at their lines, it’s four very balanced lines,” Lalonde said about the Canucks. “I’d like to think we’re getting to that; our 5-on-5 play of late. They’re really impressive on the road. I think that’s just a balance and trust in your lines, where no matchup will sting you.”

Captain Quinn Hughes (five goals, 20 assists) and Conor Garland (eight goals, 13 assists) have each recorded at least 20 points this season, while goalie Kevin Lankinen has made the majority of starts (16) for an 11-3-2 record with a 2.57 goals-against average and .909 save percentage.

“Couple top-end defenders and good guys up front,” Rasmussen said. “They have good depth. I haven’t watched a whole lot of their games being on this time zone, but they’ve had success the last few years just doing what they do. We’ll go over it [Sunday morning] and bring our best.”