PREVIEW: Red Wings return home to face Coyotes on Thursday

DETROIT -- After a winless four-game road trip, the Detroit Red Wings can turn things around on home ice as the Arizona Coyotes visit Little Caesars Arena on Thursday night.

Puck drop between Detroit (33-26-6; 72 points) and Arizona (26-35-5; 57 points) is set for 7 p.m., with broadcast coverage on Bally Sports Detroit and the Red Wings Radio Network (97.1 The Ticket in Detroit).

“We’ve done a good job with whatever the moment is,” Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde said. “And right now, the moment is we got to find a way to win a period and win a hockey game.”

Detroit lost its sixth straight game on Tuesday, falling 7-3 to the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center. The Red Wings were unable to slow down the Sabres, who grabbed a three-goal first-period lead and never looked back.

“Tough to pull many positives from an 0-4 road trip, losing in the fashion that we did in a few of those games,” Robby Fabbri said. “But I think as a group, we can take some pieces from that Vegas game. I thought we played hard and got back to our identity a little bit, just came up short.

“That’s probably the closest thing to where we want to be. I think we can all look ourselves in the mirror and know that it’s going to take a lot more compete, heart and intensity from the drop of the puck.”

Lalonde said he hopes the intensity the Red Wings showed during Wednesday’s practice will carry over into Thursday’s game.

“I thought we had a productive meeting (Wednesday) with some productive video, but it’s action,” Lalonde said. “Our action was a very intense practice. We’re breaking up a potential fight in the middle of practice because it was intense. I think that’s very productive. You’d like to think this group, with some of its veteran experience, could get us out of this.”

The Red Wings enter Thursday on the outside of the Eastern Conference Playoffs race, but are tied with the New York Islanders, who have one game in hand, in points (72) for the second wild card spot. Moritz Seider said Detroit is mindful of its spot in the postseason race and is motivated to turn frustration into motivation.

“It just comes down to really coming together as a team,” Seider said. “And use that hopefully as positive momentum going into the last stretch of the season, and hopefully make it a good run.”

The Coyotes have dropped two straight road games since their 4-0 shutout win over the Red Wings in Arizona on March 8, most recently falling to the Minnesota Wild, 4-1, on Tuesday.

Against the Red Wings, Nick Bjugstad (16-19—35) had a goal and an assist, while Logan Cooley (11-19—30), Alex Kerfoot (11-25—36) and Jack McBain (7-12—19) all scored. Goalie Connor Ingram stopped all 28 shots he faced in the last matchup with Detroit for his sixth shutout of the season, which is tied for most in the NHL.