Preview: Red Wings host Carolina to kick off busy March schedule

The Detroit Red Wings will start a hectic March slate when they host the Carolina Hurricanes at Little Caesars Arena on Tuesday night.
After playing just seven games in February, Detroit will play 14 games in 31 days, including six contests in the next 12 days.

Detroit has dropped three of its last four games, and has been out-scored 15-9 in the past two contests. The Red Wings are coming off a 10-7 loss last Saturday against visiting Toronto.
To get back on the winning track, Detroit will need to succeed against one of the NHL's top teams. The Hurricanes currently lead the Metropolitan Division with an Eastern Conference-best 78 points.
"We gotta come together here as a team, and be really committed to each other and to winning," Lucas Raymond said. "We definitely have the capacity to do it, so I think it's all up to ourselves."

Tightening up defensively continues to be a significant area of focus in the Red Wings dressing room.
"We are not going to win games by 6-4 or 7-5, or even 5-3," Raymond said. "We need to win these close games, to be able to pull out 2-1, 2-0, 1-0-type games, and I think the D-zone is where everything starts. If we can be tight there, we know that we can score goals. But we need to be way better defensively."
Tuesday marks the second matchup of the season series between Detroit and Carolina. The Canes earned a 5-3 victory in Raleigh, N.C., on Dec. 16. Dylan Larkin, Tyler Bertuzzi and Sam Gagner all scored for Detroit, while former Hurricanes goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 29 shots. Carolina's Nino Niederreiter scored a pair of goals, including the game-winner just 18 seconds into the third period.
For the Red Wings, earning a win over Carolina would provide a much-needed boost heading into a challenging weekend road trip in Florida.
"Confidence matters, 100 percent it matters. It matters for a hockey team, it matters for a skater, and it matters for a goalie," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. "The problem is nobody can give you confidence, you gotta go out and earn the confidence."

Carolina (37-11-4) enters Tuesday on a five-game winning streak. Sebastian Aho leads the club in goals (23), assists (32) and points (55). Andrei Svechnikov has 22 goals this season, including six in the last 10 games. Goalie Frederik Andersen has a 29-7-2 record and is tied for the second-best goals-against average (2.03) in the NHL.
The Red Wings will return to PNC Arena on April 16 to conclude the season series.