lines extensively.

The "Triplets" line of Ondrej Palat, Johnson and Nikita Kucherov will be reunited to start the series. The line has not come close to matching its production from last season but Kucherov has taken another step forward by becoming a 30-goal scorer. Johnson, who scored 13 goals in the playoffs last year, including six against the Red Wings, has been inconsistent for most of the season; however, he has nine goals and 13 assists since the All-Star break and has increased his activity around the goal.

The ongoing saga of Jonathan Drouin has taken an unexpected twist. Drouin, the No. 3 pick in the 2013 NHL Draft, was recalled from Syracuse of the American Hockey League in the wake of Stamkos' injury and he'll get every opportunity toprove he is a top-six forward. Vladislav Namestnikov will also likely see an increase in minutes.

Cooper will lean on veterans Valtteri Filppula, Ryan Callahan and Brian Boyle for their defensive efforts as much as their scoring. J.T. Brown has found his niche as an aggressive skater who is good on the forecheck and has a knack for getting under the skin of opponents.

Red Wings: When you look at the names on this roster, it's hard to believe that a struggle to score goals would be a storyline. But that was the case this season; rookie Dylan Larkin led Detroit with 23 goals and Henrik Zetterberg was tops with 50 points, one more than Pavel Datsyuk.

A dip in production from 2014-15 for young forwards Tomas Tatar and Gustav Nyquist