PREVIEW: Red Wings eager to see how they stack up against Devils on Monday

DETROIT -- Both sitting near the top of the Eastern Conference standings, the Detroit Red Wings and New Jersey Devils will square off at Prudential Center on Monday night.

Entering Monday’s 7 p.m. puck drop, which will be broadcasted on FanDuel Sports Network Detroit Extra and the Red Wings Radio Network (97.1 The Ticket in Detroit), Detroit (13-8-1; 27 points) was atop the Atlantic Division while New Jersey (13-7-1; 27 points) ranked third in the Metropolitan Division.

“Especially over the last few years, they’ve definitely been a contending team,” James van Riemsdyk said about the Devils. “They bring a lot of challenges, so [Monday’s] game is going to be a good challenge for us. It’s always fun to see how you stack up against a team like that. We’ll have to be ready to go.”

The Red Wings secured their fourth win in their last six games by defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets in overtime, 4-3, at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday. Detroit trailed 3-1 just before the halfway mark of the third period, but wiped away that deficit on goals by Ben Chiarot and Moritz Seider before Alex DeBrincat’s game-winner in the extra frame completed the comeback.

“That was one of those games where you just have to stick with it, and I think we did a good job of that,” van Riemsdyk said. “Obviously, it’s never going to go perfect. There are going to be games where breaks don’t go your way and you’re going to have to find ways to claw back into them when you’re down, but that’s what the good teams do no matter what the score is. You just play your game and give yourself a chance each shift.”

Van Riemsdyk said while the Red Wings are encouraged by many of the strides they’ve made up to this point in the season, the players recognize there’s still plenty to improve on.

“Thus far, we know we’re in a good spot in terms of points in the standings,” van Riemsdyk said. “We also know that we don’t have much room for error if you look at how tight it is from the No. 1 -16 teams in the East. We just got to keep climbing, building and finding that consistency. The more consistently we can find that, we will give ourselves a better chance every night to come up with points and win games.”

New Jersey is back at Prudential Center after wrapping up a season-long five-game road trip with three straight losses, most recently a 6-3 setback to the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday.

Jesper Bratt leads the Devils in assists (16) and points (21). Jack Hughes, who is currently sidelined with a finger injury, is second on the team in scoring with 20 points (10 goals, 10 assists) and captain Nico Hischier sits third with 16 points (six goals, 10 assists).

“They’re a very good rush team with skilled forwards,” Seider said. “Their defensemen aren’t afraid to join and play up in the rush. Obviously, they’re battling some big-time injuries but they’re always a good team. They always have a lot of depth. They also have a good goaltender duo.”

As far as New Jersey’s goaltending goes, Jake Allen (12 starts) and Jacob Markstrom (eight starts) have combined for a 3.15 goals-against average and .886 save percentage this season.

“It’ll be a great challenge,” Seider added. “If you want to be a good team, not only do you have to do certain things repeatedly, but you also need to do it against good teams. We have a great challenge in front of us.”