PREVIEW: Red Wings welcome Kings for opener of three-game homestand on Tuesday 

DETROIT -- Both riding five-game point streaks, the Detroit Red Wings and Los Angeles Kings will face off at Little Caesars Arena on Tuesday night.

“It’s always fun to see the Red Wings jerseys in the crowd, even on the road,” Elmer Soderblom said. “The fans help us a lot. They bring the energy to our game, so they’ve really been huge for us and they always will be.”

Tuesday’s 7 p.m. puck drop (broadcast coverage on FanDuel Sports Network Detroit Extra and 97.1 The Ticket in Detroit) will conclude the two-game regular-season series between the two squads, with the Red Wings (32-16-5; 69 points) seeking a sweep following a 4-3 shootout victory over the Kings (21-16-13; 55 points) at Crypto.com Arena on Oct. 31.

“It’s just going to be about having a good start and matching their energy early,” Emmitt Finnie said of the club’s final homestand before the Olympic break. “It’s always good to be at home. I feel like we play our best hockey at home, so looking forward to these games.”

Detroit returned to the win column on Saturday – the finale of its three-game road trip – with a 5-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Tire Centre. The Red Wings scored five unanswered goals, four coming in the third period, and goalie John Gibson made 26 saves for his eighth straight win.

“It was a solid road trip,” Soderblom said. “We might not have been at our level every game, but we still found a way to win and get points. That’s important, and I feel like we’re always in the game and have a chance to win.”

Following Monday’s practice at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center, head coach Todd McLellan announced Detroit will be without Simon Edvinsson (lower body) until after the Olympic break, which runs from Feb. 6 -24. While Edvinsson is sidelined, Finnie said he believes strong two-way play from the forwards will be important to help the club’s overall defensive game.

“Just try to play in their zone as much as we can,” Finnie said. “On the defensive side, just coming back, supporting and trying to break pucks out for them. All our D-men can play, are skilled, play hard and can skate. It’s unfortunate, Simon going down, but we have guys that can step up and fill his spot.”

Finnie also noted that responsible defensive play from the forwards has been a consistent point of emphasis from the Red Wings coaching staff all season.

“That’s something we talk about all the time and try to take pride in,” Finnie said. “I feel like it leads to good offense when you’re in good spots defensively. If we can continue to do that, it’ll translate on both ends.”

Tied with the San Jose Sharks and Seattle Kraken for the Western Conference’s second Wild-Card spot at 55 points apiece, the Kings were supposed to play the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Monday, but that contest was postponed due to severe winter weather in Columbus and rescheduled to March 9. As a result, Los Angeles’ most recent game was a 5-4 win against the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center on Saturday.

“Yawns and I have a bit of an understanding of how they want to play,” McLellan said of the Kings. “They’ve evolved and changed things. Their coaching staff has put in different schemes, if you want to call it that, but their DNA is a checking team. They aren’t going to give you much. They relish the checking part of it…You have to be aware of that when you play against them. They’ve scored more goals over the last few games than they have been, so they’re getting some guys back.”

Adrian Kempe (17 goals, 22 assists) and Kevin Fiala (18 goals, 18 assists) have both eclipsed the 35-point plateau this season, ranking first and second on the club in points, respectively. Los Angeles has leaned on goaltender Darcy Kuemper, as the 35-year-old brings a 13-9-9 record with a 2.56 goals-against average and .902 save percentage with two shutouts in 33 appearances into Tuesday’s game.

Having served as head coach of the Kings from 2019-24, McLellan had high praise for captain Anze Kopitar, who will be retiring from the NHL at the conclusion of this campaign.

“Unreal human being,” McLellan said of Kopitar, who is currently on injured reserve. “I go to the person first. You know how good he is as a hockey player, that tells you what he’s like as a person. The amount of class he carries himself with. He cares about people around him…He looks out for other people on the staff, not always about the guys who put the equipment on. Then on the ice, he’s a champ. He’s that for a reason because he gave in so many different ways throughout his career.”