PREVIEW: Red Wings visit Lightning in penultimate game of 2025-26 season on Monday

TAMPA -- Finishing off their 2025-26 season with a two-game road swing through the Sunshine State, the Detroit Red Wings will first battle the Tampa Bay Lightning at Benchmark International Arena on Monday night.

“We’re going to play against two real good teams in three nights on the road,” Detroit head coach Todd McLellan said. “We’re looking for a real honest effort from the players. Nobody feels good right now, but maybe we can change that a little bit by playing real well, competing real hard and going into the summer with a couple of wins.”

Puck drop between the Red Wings (41-30-9; 91 points) and Lightning (49-25-6; 104 points) is set for 7 p.m., with broadcast coverage on FanDuel Sports Network Detroit and the Red Wings Radio Network (97.1 The Ticket in Detroit). Detroit is 1-2-0 against Tampa Bay this season, having lost the previous two games -- a 4-1 score at Benchmark International Arena on March 12 and a 6-3 final at Little Caesars Arena on Nov. 28 -- after a 2-1 overtime win on home ice way back on Oct. 17.

“The season isn’t over,” Axel Sandin-Pellikka said. “There are still two games to play, which we want to win so we can come back with a good feeling next year.”

Detroit was officially eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention with a 5-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday. Justin Faulk, David Perron and Emmitt Finnie each found the back of the net as the Red Wings ultimately couldn’t defend three separate one-goal leads in their final regular-season home clash.

Even though Detroit is no longer in the race, head coach Todd McLellan said there’s a lot of pride in this team and his players are going to show it this week.

“Everybody’s going to have their own drive,” McLellan said. “I can’t go in and draw it out of them. They’re going to have to have their own drive, their own commitment level to the six periods that we have to play…We have a good group of individuals. We didn’t get it done, but it doesn’t mean we can’t play.”

From a lineup perspective, McLellan confirmed that Michael Brandsegg-Nygård will be in against the Lightning. The 20-year-old forward has appeared in 12 games with the Red Wings this season, recording one assist and averaging 12:17 of ice time.

“Last time we were in Tampa, he was with us,” McLellan said of Brandsegg-Nygård, who was recalled from the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins on Sunday. “That’s where he got hurt and it took him out of the lineup for quite a long time. Now, he’s healthy. He’s been back down there, he’s got his game and he’ll get these two games to play. I want to see him play free, like he did at the beginning of the year.”

For Brandsegg-Nygård, who also has 44 points in 58 games with the Griffins, these next two games with the Red Wings are a chance to make a late-season impression.

“It’s really important,” the No. 15 overall pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft said. “It’s a dream to play here. If I do a good job here, I will get a better chance to play here next year. I’m excited to play.”

Currently in a three-way battle with the Buffalo Sabres and Montreal Canadiens for the Atlantic Division title, the Lightning have already clinched a Stanley Cup Playoffs berth and most recently defeated the Boston Bruins, 2-1, at TD Garden on Saturday.

Only Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid (47-86—133) has recorded more points than Nikita Kucherov so far, as the Russian forward has 128 on 43 goals and 85 assists. Jake Guentzel has 87 points (37 goals, 50 assists), while Brandon Hagel is next in line on the club’s scoring leaderboard with 74 points (36 goals, 38 assists).

Netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy is expected to start for the Lightning. He owns a 38-15-4 record, 2.30 goals-against average, .913 save percentage and two shutouts in 57 appearances.

“We know who we’re going up against,” Sandin-Pellikka said. “They have some really good players that score a lot, so we’ll have to play a steady game.”