PREVIEW: Two-game homestand begins for Red Wings against Golden Knights on Wednesday

DETROIT -- Fired up to feed off the always electric atmosphere of Little Caesars Arena for the first time since Jan. 31, the Detroit Red Wings will open a brief two-game homestand when they host the Pacific Division-leading Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday night.

“Very excited to be back at home,” Axel Sandin-Pellikka said. “This is our home barn and our fans. We’re excited to play in front of a loud Little Caesars Arena again.”

Television broadcast of Wednesday’s 7 p.m. puck drop between the Red Wings (35-20-6; 76 points) and Golden Knights (28-18-14; 70 points) will be simulcast on FanDuel Sports Network Detroit and Fox 2 in Detroit, while radio coverage can be heard on the Red Wings Radio Network (97.1 The Ticket in Detroit). It was four months ago (Feb. 4), Vegas blanked Detroit, 1-0, at T-Mobile Arena.

The Red Wings are back in their home sweaters after completing a three-game road trek -- their first stretch of regular-season action since returning from the NHL’s Olympic break -- at 2-1-0, ending with a 4-2 victory over the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Monday afternoon.

“Overall, I think it was a good road trip,” Sandin-Pellikka said. “Even though we struggled a little bit against Carolina [on Saturday], I still think we played a good game there. We had chances and could’ve won that game. Other than that, we played strong against Nashville. We held them back and scored some goals, so we have a good feeling right now.”

Ahead of Wednesday’s game, Detroit recalled goaltender Sebastian Cossa from the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins under emergency conditions. The 23-year-old prospect took part in Wednesday’s morning skate and, according to head coach Todd McLellan, will serve as the backup to Cam Talbot against Vegas.

“John Gibson did skate today,” McLellan said of the 32-year-old netminder, who sustained an upper-body injury in the first period of Monday’s matinee in Nashville. “He’s feeling much better than he did the other day, but not quite ready to go in this game.”

Owning a stellar 24-4-3 record to go along with a 1.99 goals-against average and .927 save percentage as well as five shutouts in 31 AHL games this season, Cossa said he’s ready to fill whatever role Detroit might need him to fill.

“Just worry about the controllables and doing what I can,” Cossa said. “Winning a lot of hockey games down there, that’s the most important thing that I’ve been focusing on.”

“Just worry about the controllables and doing what I can,” Cossa said. “Winning a lot of hockey games down there, that’s the most important thing that I’ve been focusing on.”

As for the Golden Knights, they’re on the second half of a back-to-back after losing to the Buffalo Sabres, 3-2, at KeyBank Center on Tuesday night.

Jack Eichel (21 goals, 48 assists) and Noah Hanifin (two goals, 18 assists) – both were Team USA teammates with Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 -- have combined for 89 points this season. Aside from Eichel, Mitch Marner (16 goals, 43 assists) and captain Mark Stone (21 goals, 39 assists) are the only other Vegas skaters to have hit the 60-point threshold.

With goalie Akira Scmid starting and making 25 saves in Buffalo, Adin Hill is expected to stand in the opposing crease in Detroit. In 14 games this season, Hill is 5-4-3 with a 3.47 GAA and .858 SV%.

“We expect a team that’s also going to go out and try to win,” Sandin-Pellikka said of the Golden Knights, who have lost three games in a row. “We’ve got to battle for our two points too, so we’re just going to go out there and play.”