Preview: Red Wings wrap up back-to-back at home against Maple Leafs

Less than 24 hours removed from an exciting shootout victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Detroit Red Wings will host the rival Toronto Maple Leafs at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday night. Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill will be behind the bench for his 500th game in Detroit.
The Red Wings get right back to work at home, where they've gone 13-7-3 this season. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. on Bally Sports Detroit and the Red Wings Radio Network.

Red Wings goalie Calvin Pickard stopped 36 of 38 shots in his first start of the season on Friday, and regulation goals by Givani Smith and Filip Zadina pushed Detroit past Pittsburgh in the shootout, 3-2.

According to Blashill, Detroit played with the disposition necessary to earn a victory on the road.
"More than the result was how we got the result," Blashill said. "Now, I'm not saying we outplayed them (Pittsburgh), they certainly had their chances. But I thought we did a lot of things that you have to do in order to beat good teams, or have a chance to beat good teams and to win on the road."
For the second straight night, Detroit has an opportunity to beat another club that's vying for a playoff spot. To come away with a win against Toronto - the sixth-best scoring team in the NHL - replicating Friday's performance driven by an improved puck management effort will be key.
"I thought we did a much better job of managing the puck. Much, much, much better," Blashill. "We laid it behind them more. Certainly, we weren't perfect. They (Pittsburgh) had a lot of chances, they're a really good team. But I thought we did a real good job of that."

Toronto (26-10-3, 55 points) currently sits in third place of the Atlantic Division, but has played just nine games since Dec. 14 due to COVID-related postponements. The Maple Leafs also own the best power-play percentage in the league at 30.6 percent.
Like Detroit, the Leafs are coming off a shootout victory. On Wednesday, Toronto won its second straight game, defeating the Anaheim Ducks by a final count of 4-3, at Scotiabank Arena.
Auston Matthews (25-18 - 43) and William Nylander (17-23 - 40) have both reached the 40-point plateau this season. John Tavares has collected four points in the past four games.
In Toronto's net, Jack Campbell has a 5-1-1 record with a 3.22 goals-against average in the month of January.
Saturday's game is the second of four meetings between the Wings and the Leafs, with Toronto earning a 5-4 win on its home ice on Oct. 30. The Red Wings will host the Maple Leafs again on Feb. 26, a game originally scheduled for April 26.