When the New York Rangers beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-1 at Madison Square Garden on Monday, five former Rangers were playing for Detroit, including backup goalie Cam Talbot. However, defenseman , who most recently played for the Rangers, was not on the ice.
That will change when the teams face off again on Thursday at Little Caesars Arena, with Gustafsson set to return to the Red Wings lineup after being a healthy scratch for the last two games.
Gustafsson, 32, signed a two-year, $4 million deal with Detroit on July 1, but his start with the team has been rough. He played in the season opener, a 6-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, where he recorded an assist and logged over 20 minutes of ice time.
However, head coach Derek Lalonde was not satisfied with his overall performance, leading to Gustafsson being benched for the next two games, including what could have been his first matchup against his former team.
Lalonde explained that the decision was partly due to Gustafsson’s lackluster five-on-five play in the opener. Additionally, the team wanted to give defensemen Justin Holl and Albert Johansson opportunities, which resulted in two strong defensive games, including a 3-0 shutout against the Nashville Predators.
Despite solid performances without Gustafsson, the Red Wings’ power play has struggled, going 0-for-6 with him out of the lineup and 1-for-11 overall this season. One of the reasons Detroit signed Gustafsson was to help improve their power play, taking over for Shayne Gostisbehere.
Coach Lalonde acknowledged that Thursday’s rematch against the Rangers would be a good time to bring Gustafsson back, particularly to aid the power play unit. He expressed frustration over the team’s lack of power play success, noting that capitalizing on those opportunities could have changed the outcome of some games.
In Monday’s game, the Rangers successfully killed off all four of Detroit’s power plays, although the Red Wings did manage seven shots during one of those chances.
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