#LGRW Daily: Detroit travels to Tampa for final time this regular season

DETROIT --The monotony of the NHL schedule has been discussed at nauseum throughout the 2021 season. Eight games against each team in your own division, often times on back to back nights. Rinse, wash, repeat. But heading into the stretch run, the Detroit Red Wings know they'll need to rachet it up a level to remain competitive against opponents looking to establish playoff position.

The Red Wings (12-21-5) have 18 regular-season games remaining heading into this weekend's two-game series at Tampa Bay (25-9-2), which is tied atop the Central Division alongside the Florida Panthers at 52 points apiece. The defending Stanley Cup Champions are the first NHL team to reach 25 wins, and figure to be among the League's favorites to hoist Lord Stanley's Cup again this summer.
"Looking at the (entire) league is a difficult thing because -- the divisions -- nobody plays each other. So we're really living in our own division," said Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill. "I just know that we're battling every day to get better as a group. We're battling to improve and take steps forward. We want to show we're a better team than our current record. There's a competitiveness in that for sure; there's a pride factor in that. We're going to play a lot of teams that are battling for tons of points; it should make for competitive hockey down the stretch."

The Red Wings are on their own quest to pile up points, and replicating their offensive output from the last time they saw the Lightning would be a good place to start. Detroit earned three-of-four points when Tampa visited Little Caesars Arena on March 9 and March 11, scoring nine goals in the series.
The Lightning won game one in overtime, 4-3, with Blake Coleman scoring the game-winner in the extra session. Adam Erne, Patrik Nemeth and Dylan Larkin scored goals for Detroit. The Red Wings won the series finale, 6-4, with Troy Stecher, Larkin, Anthony Mantha, Luke Glendening, Robby Fabbri and Vladislav Namestnikov all finding the back of the net.
Another storyline that has been well-documented is Detroit's struggles in Tampa. The Red Wings have lost 16 straight games at Amalie Arena, the longest active streak in the NHL. This weekend's series will mark Detroit's last road swing in Tampa Bay during the regular season. The Lightning will visit Little Caesars Arena in the final homestand, May 1-2.
"You're going to get the same thing from Tampa every night. It's a great team over there with a lot of great players," said Erne, who played three seasons for the Lightning. "Regardless of who they have injured or not, they're going to put a good team on the ice. We're going to have to be ready to go. I think we're going to have to be really good defensively, but at the same time, if we sit back and play defense, we're going to kill ourselves. So I think we need to do a good job of making them play in their zone, and take advantage of our opportunities."

Saturday's game will begin at 1 p.m. ET (Bally Sports Detroit Plus, Red Wings Radio Network) while Sunday's puck drop is at Noon in a nationally-broadcast game on NBC. It's a unique scheduling quirk, but one the Red Wings need to be prepared for.
"It's a little different, but at the same time, they're preparing for the same thing," Erne said.
Blashill confirmed that goalie Jonathan Bernier, winger Bobby Ryan and center Sam Gagner all skated with the team in Friday's practice. Ryan and Gagner's status for the Tampa series is not yet known. Bernier is not expected to be available for Saturday's series opener.