from Dana Wakiji of the Wings website,

The Detroit Red Wings know that their best bet against the New Jersey Devils tonight will be to jump on them early.

The Devils played in Pittsburgh Friday night and left with a 4-1 loss.

"I think it starts with us actually being battle-ready right off the drop of the puck.," Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. "I think generally the team that plays the night before lots of times has a little bit of an advantage in the sense that they're battle-tested already. As the game goes on, sometimes the team that played prior is tired. I think you got to do an unreal job of starting on time because if not you end up looking and they've kind of run you over a little bit, so we got to make sure we're ready to go right off the bat."

Wings center Dylan Larkin believes an early lead could point to a successful night.

"We have to get the puck and possess it for at least the first 20 minutes and try and get the first goal," Larkin said. "I think it's gonna be huge tonight, especially with them traveling and a tough game for them last night. If we get the first goal tonight it'll be huge for our team."

Tonight will mark the first time that the Wings face rookie Jack Hughes, the No. 1 overall pick in last summer's draft.

continued with more topics including Hirose back in the lineup tonight...

Below, watch Larkin and Blashill after the skate today.