Hurricanes at Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings are 3-0-0 and there's no need to look past the production of captain Henrik Zetterberg, rugged wing Justin Abdelkader and rookie Dylan Larkin to explain the hot start. The top line, which has accounted for seven of the team's 11 goals and nine of its 19 assists, looks to help the Red Wings defeat Carolina for the second time this season when they host the winless Hurricanes on Friday.
"They seem to have some pretty good chemistry,'' Detroit first-year coach Jeff Blashill told reporters after Tuesday's 3-1 victory over Tampa Bay. "It’s a pretty good mix of speed and size and skill and offensive smarts. They’ve obviously been productive. It’s good for us.” The trio combined for two goals and three assists in the Red Wings' 4-2 victory in Carolina on Oct. 10 - their fourth straight win over the Hurricanes after sweeping the three-game series last season. Carolina, meanwhile, has scored five goals in its 0-3-0 start after Tuesday's 4-1 loss to Florida. “I didn’t see much. I don’t think we did much of anything,” Hurricanes coach Bill Peters told reporters. “There weren’t many aspects or areas of the game that I liked.”
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FSN Southeast (Carolina), FSN Detroit
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (0-3-0): Carolina, which has not won a game in October since 2013 after going 0-6-2 last season, begins a seven-game road trip which includes two stops in Detroit. The Hurricanes called up left wing Brock McGinn from Charlotte of the American Hockey League, and he'll make his NHL debut on a line with captain Eric Staal and Kris Versteeg. "I definitely felt more comfortable and felt like I found my game,” McGinn, the 47th overall pick in the 2012 draft, told reporters after a solid training camp and preseason with Carolina before being one of the final players assigned to Charlotte.
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (3-0-0): Detroit and physical play have not been synonymous in recent years, but it has outhit opponents 87-50 this season led by Abdelkader's 15. Zetterberg (team highs of five assists and seven points) and defenseman Mike Green did not practice Wednesday in what Blashill called maintenance days. Johan Franzen (concussion-like symptoms) has been placed on short-term injured reserve (seven days) after missing Tuesday's game.
OVERTIME
1. Red Wings D Danny DeKeyser (foot) and C Darren Helm (concussion) could make their season debuts Saturday in Montreal.
2. Carolina is 1-7-1 in its last nine games in Detroit.
3. The Red Wings are 2-for-8 on the power play while the Hurricanes are 1-for-13.