Red Wings at Jets
Bryan Little is making up for lost time after sitting on the sideline for 23 games with a lower-body injury. With three goals in as many contests, Little looks to send the ascending Jets to their third straight victory overall and sixth in seven home outings on Tuesday when they host the Detroit Red Wings.
Little isn't alone in his strong play as Connor Hellebuyck turned aside 25 shots in Sunday's 2-1 victory versus the Chicago Blackhawks and made 30 saves in a 5-3 victory over Detroit on Nov. 4 to improve to 2-0-0 in his career versus the Red Wings. Captain Henrik Zetterberg solved the 23-year-old Michigan native on that night and - like Little - scored in his third straight game on Sunday in a 4-3 overtime triumph New York Islanders. "'Z' has been real good all year. He just continues to go," coach Jeff Blashill said of the 35-year-old Swede, who leads the team with 19 points. "He's one of those funny players that the more ice time he gets, the more juice he has in his legs." Detroit has rebounded from a four-game skid to post a 4-1-2 record in its last seven contests heading into Tuesday's finale of a three-game road trip.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NHL.TV, FSN Detroit-Plus, TSN3 (Winnipeg)
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (12-11-3): Petr Mrazek has stepped up in the absence of veteran Jimmy Howard, recording 32 saves on Sunday to improve to 3-0-2 in his last five starts after a disastrous stretch in which he yielded four goals on four occasions in a five-game stretch. Included in that tough run was a four-goal performance versus Winnipeg, against which he had allowed just five tallies in his previous two outings - both wins. Defenseman Mike Green recorded a two-goal performance in his 100th game with Detroit on Sunday and notched an assist in his previous game versus the Jets for his 28th point (eight goals, 20 assists) in 45 career encounters against the Winnipeg/Atlanta franchise.
ABOUT THE JETS (13-13-2): Patrik Laine, the second overall pick of the 2016 draft, showed he can contribute outside of Manitoba by scoring a goal and setting up another in a 3-2 victory at St. Louis on Saturday. The 6-foot-4 Finn also recorded a goal and an assist in Detroit last month and has 13 of his NHL high-tying 16 goals and 15 of his 23 points at MTS Centre. Fellow forward Nikolaj Ehlers, who saw his three-game point streak come to a halt on Sunday, enjoyed a four-point performance (one goal, three assists) in his last encounter versus the Red Wings.
OVERTIME
1. Detroit LW Tomas Tatar notched two assists in the previous meeting with Winnipeg and also set up a pair of goals on Sunday.
2. Jets C Mark Scheifele, who recorded a goal and two assists in his last meeting with the Red Wings, is listed as day-to-day despite missing his last two games with a lower-body injury.
3. Detroit is 0-for-6 on the power play in December and has scored with the man advantage in just two of its last 13 games.