Puck drop between Detroit (28-25-9; 65 points) and Philadelphia (23-28-11; 57 points) is set for 6 p.m., with broadcast coverage on Bally Sports Detroit and the Red Wings Radio Network (97.1 The Ticket in Detroit).
Sunday’s game will be a chance for a bounce-back effort from the Red Wings, who held a 1-0 lead after two periods against the New York Islanders on Saturday but allowed four unanswered goals in an eventual 4-1 loss.
“This is a bad matchup for us,” Detroit head coach Derek Lalonde said. “We only scored one goal in six periods here. You have to get uncomfortable and fight through. This is a team that is going to defend their net and we have to be harder on the goalie. It’s uncomfortable and we don’t have many of that type of player, but some of our players who are not that are going to have to start being that.”
With 20 games to play this season, Detroit currently trails the Pittsburgh Penguins by six points for the second and final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
“I think this is probably crazy to say, but we’re still hanging around,” said captain Dylan Larkin, who scored the Red Wings’ lone goal against the Isles. “We’re still right there. We have to win hockey games.”
According to goalie Magnus Hellberg, the key for Detroit will be to move on from the raw emotions of the trade deadline and focus on the final stretch.
“(Those) guys were great assets for the team, but that’s the way it goes in this business,” Hellberg said. “This is the team that is going to do it. We have to bear down and try to figure out how to win these types of games, for sure.”
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LET’S GO! » https://t.co/sdztSJBfYR pic.twitter.com/BCQysysL0u
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) March 3, 2023
Philadelphia enters Sunday’s game in seventh place in the Pacific Division, and will be looking to snap a four-game winless streak after dropping a 3-2 overtime decision to the New York Rangers on Wednesday.
Travis Konecny leads the Flyers in goals (27) and points (54) this season. Kevin Hayes paces the club with 32 assists, while goalie Carter Hart is 16-19-10 with a 2.94 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage.
The Red Wings and Flyers will play once more this season, with the final game of the season series scheduled at Wells Fargo Center on March 25. Detroit fell, 2-1, to Philadelphia at Little Caesars Arena on Jan. 21.