Early look · NHL 2026-27

Tampa Bay Lightning at Detroit Red Wings: game preview

Tampa BayLightning2026-27: 2-1-0 · 4 pts · 2025-26: 50-26-6 · 106 pts · 5that

DetroitRed Wings2026-27: 1-2-0 · 2 pts · 2025-26: 41-31-10 · 92 pts · 16th

Puck drop23 Jan · 12:30 PM ET

VenueLittle Caesars Arena

All-time meetings100 completed

BasisLast 5 meetings + 2025-26

The thesis

Fourteen points apart last season

Tampa Bay finished last season 5th in the league on 106 points. Detroit finished 16th on 92, and the 2025-26 season series went TBL 3-0-1.

Game-day prices arrive with the afternoon snapshot, about 4:30 PM ET on the day of the game.

Head-to-head

Meeting number 101

Across 100 completed games, Tampa Bay lead the head-to-head 52-41-7.

All-time record52-41-7Tampa Bay's record in the series

Meetings played100This is number 101

2025-26 seriesTBL 3-0-1

Last 53-2Tampa Bay

Last 5 meetings

See all: Last 5 meetings →

DateResultShotsPower playWinner

13 Apr 2026DET 3 – TBL 4 OT——TBL

12 Mar 2026DET 1 – TBL 4——TBL

28 Nov 2025TBL 6 – DET 3——TBL

17 Oct 2025TBL 1 – DET 2 OT——DET

11 Apr 2025DET 4 – TBL 3 OT——DET

Head-to-head finder

The table on each 2025-26 meeting night

DateTampa BayDetroit

17 Oct 20251-2-2 · 4 pts25th4-1-0 · 8 pts4th

28 Nov 202515-7-2 · 32 pts4th13-11-1 · 27 pts19th

12 Mar 202640-20-4 · 84 pts6th36-23-7 · 79 pts10th

13 Apr 202650-25-6 · 106 pts5th41-30-10 · 92 pts14th

League rank after that night's games; a longer bar is a higher place. On 17 Oct 2025, Tampa Bay were 25th in the league and Detroit 4th. By 13 Apr 2026 it was 5th and 14th.

Where the shots come from · last 5 meetings

Tampa Bay out-attempted Detroit 248 to 228

Every attempt from the last meetings, both teams shooting right.

Tampa Bay Lightning

248 att · 110 on goal · 15 G · 13.6%

Crease18 att · 3 G

Slot96 att · 7 G

Wing94 att · 3 G

Point37 att · 1 G

Neutral zone3 att · 1 G

Detroit Red Wings

228 att · 123 on goal · 9 G · 7.3%

Crease19 att · 2 G

Slot80 att · 4 G

Wing83 att · 2 G

Point40 att · 1 G

Neutral zone6 att · 0 G

GoalOn goalMissedBlocked

Expected goals

Tampa Bay and Detroit are level on chances, last 10 games

Shot quality both ways: expected goals weigh every unblocked attempt by its chance of scoring. Finishing above zero means more goals than the chances.

Tampa BayDetroit

4.04xG for per game3.23

2.64xG against per game2.85

60.5%xG share53.1%

−4.1FinishingGoals minus expected goals−2.7

+0.9GoaltendingExpected goals against minus goals allowed+0.6

This season: 3 games for Tampa Bay, 3 for Detroit. Small sample: early-season xG moves a lot from night to night.

Every team’s xG →

Special teams

Power play and penalty kill, season and series

This season's rates first, then 2025-26 and the last meetings between the two. Power-play chances are counted from the penalty log with coincidental minors cancelled; faceoffs are each club's wins over draws taken.

All bars share one scale · 0–100%SeasonLast meetings

Tampa Bay

Small sample

Power play · 2026-270.0%

Power play · 2025-2620.7% · 17th

Power play · last 5 meetings—

Penalty kill · 2026-2785.7%

Penalty kill · 2025-2682.6% · 3rd

Faceoffs · 2026-2748.2% · 81/168

Drawn · 2026-2713 (4.33/gm)

Drawn · last meetings0 (0.00/gm)

Shorthanded · 2026-277 (2.33/gm)

PP goals · last meetings0

Detroit

Small sample

Power play · 2026-2725.0%

Power play · 2025-2622.6% · 12th

Power play · last 5 meetings—

Penalty kill · 2026-2761.5%

Penalty kill · 2025-2677.1% · 23rd

Faceoffs · 2026-2753.6% · 97/181

Drawn · 2026-2712 (4.00/gm)

Drawn · last meetings0 (0.00/gm)

Shorthanded · 2026-2713 (4.33/gm)

PP goals · last meetings0

Skaters

Skaters to watch

Each club's top three forwards and defencemen by points this season, with 2025-26 one tap away.

Forwards to watch

See all: Forwards to watch →

PlayerGPGAPP/GP

86Nikita Kucherov31341.33

59Jake Guentzel31231.00

38Brandon Hagel31231.00

93Alex DeBrincat32241.33

33Viktor Arvidsson32131.00

23Lucas Raymond30331.00

Points leaders

Defencemen to watch

See all: Defencemen to watch →

PlayerGPGAPP/GP

74John Carlson30220.67

51Charle-Edouard D'Astous31010.33

27Ryan McDonagh30000.00

72Justin Faulk31120.67

53Moritz Seider30110.33

54William Wallinder10111.00

Defencemen stats

Goaltending

Who has stopped this matchup

Save percentage in the last meetings by goalie. Starters are confirmed on game day.

Expected startersAn estimate until the teams confirmEvery game tonight →

Tampa Bay

Expected starter after their game on 21 Jan: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.

Detroit

Expected starter after their game on 21 Jan: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.

Tampa Bay crease

TBL · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 20 Jan

Andrei Vasilevskiy.8983 GP · 2-1-0 · GSAx +1.0

No appearances against Detroit in the last meetings.

Detroit crease

DET · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 20 Jan

John Gibson.9033 GP · 1-2-0 · GSAx +0.4

No appearances against Tampa Bay in the last meetings.

Totals

Scoring rates point to about 6.0 goals

No total is posted yet: it arrives with the game-day prices. Until then, the scoring rates and the recent meetings set the range.

Goals in the last 5 meetings

13 Apr 20267 · DET 3–4 TBL

12 Mar 20265 · DET 1–4 TBL

28 Nov 20259 · TBL 6–3 DET

17 Oct 20253 · TBL 1–2 DET

11 Apr 20257 · DET 4–3 TBL

Bar length is total goals, coloured by the winner.

Scoring rates

Team26-27 GF26-27 GA25-26 GF25-26 GA

Tampa Bay2.672.333.542.82

Detroit2.332.672.943.15

Goals for and against per game. The estimate averages each team’s scoring with the other’s goals allowed, and leans on 2025-26 until a team has played 20 games.

Scoring rates suggest6.0Goals in this game

Last 5 meetings6.2Goals per game

Line—No total posted yet

Books at the line—With the game-day prices

Team news

10 on the injury lists

Tampa Bay · injuries

Dominic JamesHandIRReturn8 Oct

Emil LillebergUndisclosedOutReturn13 Oct

Yanni GourdeHipIRReturn2 Dec

Detroit · injuries

Carter BearUpper BodyIRReturn10 Oct

Chase StillmanUndisclosedIRReturn9 Oct

J.T. CompherUndisclosedOutReturn9 Oct

Jacob Bernard-DockerUpper BodyIRReturn9 Oct

Marco KasperUpper BodyIRReturn20 Oct

Mason AppletonUndisclosedIRReturn13 Oct

Simon EdvinssonContract DisputeOutReturn10 Oct

Latest moves

See all: Latest moves →

6 Oct · TBL

Placed C Jansen Harkins on waivers.

27 Sep · TBL

Placed D Michael Callahan on waivers.

27 Sep · TBL

Placed D Michael Callahan, G Mads Sogaard Nielsenon, LD Maxim Groshev, LW Jakob Pelletier and C Nicholas Abruzzese on waivers.

2 Oct · DET

Placed F Dylan Larkin on the non-roster injured reserve.

25 Sep · DET

Assigned Fs Ondrej Becher, Cameron Butler, Sheldon Dries, Noah Dower Nilsson, Dylan James, Jesse Kiiskinen, John Leonard, Sutter Muzzatti, Theo Rochette, Dominik Shine and Wilmer Skoog, Ds Ronnie Attard, Jacob Bryson, Shai Buium and William Lagesson and Gs Trey Augustine and Michal Postava to Grand Rapids (AHL).

20 Aug 2026 · DET

Acquired F Sutter Muzzatti from Nashville Predators for future considerations.

Injury report

Tampa Bay · 2026 draft

See all: Tampa Bay · 2026 draft →

#52Oleg KulebiakinRound 2 · HalifaxRW

#90Tomas KralovicRound 3 · BratislavaD

#134Morgan AnderbergRound 5 · VaxjoC

#154Cooper SollerRound 5 · Sioux FallsC

Full draft

Detroit · 2026 draft

See all: Detroit · 2026 draft →

#23Jeffrey (JP) HurlbertRound 1 · KamloopsLW

#47Victor PlanteRound 2 · Usa U-18LW

#79Michal OrsulakRound 3 · Prince AlbertG

#108Adam LevacRound 4 · PeterboroughC

Full draft

Saturday 23 January · the full slate

See all: Saturday 23 January · the full slate →

12:30 PM ET

TBLat

DETThis game 3:30 PM ET

Updated after every final