How to watch Wild at Red Wings as Detroit battles to retain wild-card positioning

NHL action is back in full swing Saturday night following the two-week break that saw Canada emerge victorious at 4 Nations Face-Off, the much-needed return of international best-on-best mens hockey.

The emotion, the dramatics, the overall product it did not disappoint.

In fact, it blew past expectations .

Advertisement The playoff-hungry Red Wings host the Wild in the teams first matchup of the season.

Detroit currently owns the final wild-card slot in a very tightly packed Eastern Conference, just one point behind the also-playoff-starved Ottawa Senators and one point ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Boston Bruins.

The Red Wings are looking to make the playoffs for the first time since the 2015-16 season.

Lucas Raymond, who suited up for Sweden at 4 Nations, leads Detroit skaters with 59 points, while veteran Alex DeBrincat owns a team-leading 24 goals.

Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin memorably scored the game-winning goal for Team USA in last weekends dramatic 3-1 win over Canada.

Minnesota sits third in the Central Division, two points behind the Dallas Stars and two points ahead of the Colorado Avalanche.

Wild star Kirill Kaprizov has been out for three weeks after undergoing surgery on a lower-body injury, and according to The Athletic s Joe Smith , the timeline for his return remains uncertain.

Minnesota forward Matt Boldy, defenseman Brock Faber, general manager Bill Guerin and coach John Hynes have all been with Team USA during the past couple weeks.

Boldy was among the most impressive and, depending on who you ask, the most surprising skaters for the U.S.

After Kaprizov, Boldy leads the Wild in goals (20) and points (48).

The Wilds Joel Eriksson Ek, Jonas Brodin and goaltender Filip Gustavsson also joined Sweden at the tournament.

(Photo of Lucas Raymond: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images).

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