Preview: Red Wings begin weekend back-to-back Friday at Lightning

The Detroit Red Wings will kick off the front end of a back-to-back when they face the two-time defending Stanley Cup-champion Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday night. Puck drop from Amalie Arena is set for 7 p.m. on Bally Sports Detroit and the Red Wings Radio Network.

In Tuesday's 4-3 overtime win over the Carolina Hurricanes, four players scored goals for Detroit (24-24-6; 54 points), with Lucas Raymond's game-winner in the extra session capping the scoring to snap a two-game skid.

Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill knows earning a road win against one of the top teams in the NHL is going to require an aggressive offensive approach.
"You can't spend the whole night defending," Blashill said. "So you have to get through their neutral zone and try to get them to defend as much as you can."
Detroit will be playing its first road game since Feb. 17. The Red Wings will look to limit momentum swings in one of the better home-ice advantages in the league.
"They're good in their building, it's a momentum building for sure," Blashill said. "Their fans, because of their long run of success, they've got a great, great fan base."

Tampa Bay defeated Detroit, 7-6, in a wild Opening Night game at Little Caesars Arena on Oct. 14. Tyler Bertuzzi scored a career-high four goals, but the Red Wings yielded three separate three-goal leads before falling short in overtime.
The Lightning (35-12-6; 76 points) will wrap up a back-to-back on Friday after dropping a 5-1 decision on Thursday against the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins. Steven Stamkos paces Tampa Bay with 60 points (26 goals, 34 assists), while Victor Hedman has four points in the last five games. Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy has a 29-9-4 record this season and his 2.32 goals-against average is the ninth best in the NHL.

Red Wings assign Barber to Grand Rapids

On Thursday, the Red Wings removed Riley Barber from injured reserve and assigned the winger to the Grand Rapids Griffins.
Barber, 28, made his Red Wings debut on Dec. 18 against the New Jersey Devils. He has appeared in 55 games with the Griffins over the last two seasons, totaling 53 points (28-25-53) and 36 penalty minutes.