Ottawa @ Detroit preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 15, 2018 ) Detroit 1, Ottawa 2

The Detroit Red Wings have staggered a bit since their sizzling 9-2-0 stretch and look to begin moving in a positive direction again when they host the injury-plagued Ottawa Senators on Friday night. The Red Wings are 4-5-2 over the last 11 games after a 6-2 loss at Washington on Tuesday and will start a run of six road games in the next seven outings following the matchup against the Senators.

“Certainly, we’ve given up way too many chances the last couple games,” Detroit coach Jeff Blashill told reporters. “You’re not going to survive giving up those kinds of chances, so we need to make sure we get back to making teams earn their offense.” A 2-1 setback at Ottawa on Nov. 15 was one of the two losses for the Red Wings during their hot streak, but the Senators have dropped four of the last five (1-3-1) and scored just eight times in the process. Second-leading scorer Matt Duchene, who had two assists in the win over Detroit last month, is expected to miss his fourth straight game with a groin injury and Ottawa has dropped six of the last seven on the road after a 3-1 loss at Nashville on Tuesday. “We’re missing six guys and I thought the guys gave everything they had,” Senators coach Guy Boucher told reporters after the latest setback. “You could see that they were the older, more mature team, and when they got their push it was hard for us to keep up with that push.”

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, RDS, TSN5 (Ottawa), FS Detroit

ABOUT THE SENATORS (13-15-4): Defensemen Mark Borowiecki (upper body), Christian Jaros (lower body) and Dylan DeMelo (upper body), along with forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau (Achilles), are out while right wing Bobby Ryan could return from a concussion Friday. “Every guy that comes back makes a huge difference. If you get one back or two back or three back. … we’ve got six guys missing here,” Boucher told reporters. “What it does in the short term is it really pushes everybody else to get better.” Thomas Chabot, who is expected to play despite suffering a hand injury Tuesday, entered Thursday tied for the league lead among defensemen with 33 points.

ABOUT THE RED WINGS (14-14-4): Detroit was in the top 10 of the league on the power play at 24.1 percent through 18 games, but is just 2-of-31 in the last 14 and are scoreless on 11 tries in the past six contests while going 2-3-1. “We are not getting pucks around the net as much as we were,” leading scorer Dylan Larkin (30 points) told the Detroit Free Press. “We’re trying to set up the pretty play. There’s a lot of one-and-dones and we’re aware of that. We’re trying to minimize that. We need to create chaos around the net more and bang in a rebound.” Larkin is riding a five-game point streak and fellow forward Gustav Nyquist has 13 of his 29 points in the last nine games.

OVERTIME

1. Ottawa RW Mark Stone boasts four goals and three assists in the last six games to lead the team with 15 tallies and 35 points.

2. Detroit D Mike Green reportedly missed practice Thursday with a lower-body injury and his status is uncertain.

3. The Senators are 3-for-23 on the power play over the last nine games and killed 20-of-22 in the past 10 contests.

PREDICTION: Red Wings 4, Senators 3