The Detroit Red Wings are looking for the trifecta against the New York Islanders tonight (7:30 PM, FanDuel Sports Detroit, 97.1 The Ticket).
Unfortunately, Patrick Kane won't be available due to an upper-body issue that head coach Derek Lalonde indicated was an unspecified day-to-day issue.
Kane was one of two absences from Detroit's practice on Sunday along with Michael Rasmussen, who is expected to play tonight.
Thanks to Kane's absence, the Red Wings have been forced to shuffle their line combinations, and among the moves made include promoting Jonatan Berggren into the top six.
Berggren has been heating up, scoring three goals in his last five games.
He also scored the tying goal late in regulation on Thursday against the Islanders, a perfectly placed shot past the blocker of Ilya Sorokin:
Additionally, Joe Veleno makes his return to the lineup after having been designated a healthy scratch the past two games against the Islanders at Little Caesars Arena on Thursday and the Boston Bruins on Saturday.
Per Daily Faceoff, here are Detroit's following anticipated line combinations with Berggren's promotion and Veleno's return along with Kane's absence taken into account:
Vladimir Tarasenko - Dylan Larkin - Lucas Raymond
Alex DeBrincat - Marco Kasper - Jonatan Berggren
Michael Rasmussen - J.T. Compher - Christian Fischer
Joe Veleno - Andrew Copp - Tyler Motte
Simon Edvinsson - Moritz Seider
Ben Chiarot - Jeff Petry
Albert Johansson - Erik Gustafsson
Alex Lyon has been given the start in goal, a move that makes sense considering he's already shut out the Islanders once this season while allowing only one goal against during Thursday's 2-1 win in Detroit.
POLL | ||
Will Patrick Kane's absence tonight be too much for the Detroit Red Wings to overcome? | ||
Yes, it's too big a hole in the lineup. | 25 | 22.1 % |
No, other players will step up. | 88 | 77.9 % |
List of polls |