To a man, the sentiment was shared around the Detroit Red Wings locker room: Finally, a game to play.
Among the latest teams to start the 2026-27 season, the Wings get underway on Friday, Oct. 2, at Little Caesars Arena against the New York Rangers
, who already have played twice. The Wings won't have Dylan Larkin in the lineup, as he's recovering from an upper-body injury, and as of Thursday afternoon restricted free agent defenseman Simon Edvinsson remained unsigned and back in his native Sweden.For the rest, it's time to start proving what they can do as a team.
"I think we're super excited," Alex DeBrincat said Thursday. "You're watching the games on TV the past couple nights, and you see the intensity and it looks so fun out there. So we're definitely
excited to get going and start off strong."
The Wings may have an edge in rest − or they may look rusty against an opponent that already is up and running. Last year, the Wings looked sharp in camp only to flunk their first test, falling 5-1 at home to the Montreal Canadiens in a chaotic performance.
There's only one way to find out if a lesson was learned.
"The first game, as I've shared with you before, is so unpredictable," coach Todd McLellan said. "You don't know how it's going to go. After that, you seem to settle in. Last year we didn't perform very well on opening night. It gave us a chance to bark a little bit. We put it back together and we were better after that. We went on a little run right away.
"As far as this year goes, it's a brand new season. Unpredictable to start with. We'll play the game. The games have been sloppy, in my opinion, watching again last night. If we can eliminate that, we'll give ourselves a better chance at winning. Come Saturday morning, we'll have a blueprint, more to work off of."
With Larkin unavailable, the Wings project to use the lines they formed during preseason: Andrew Copp on the top line with Alex DeBrincat and Lucas Raymond; J.T. Compher with Emmitt Finnie and Viktor Arvidsson; Nate Danielson with Mason Appleton and Michael Brandsegg-Nygard; and Marco Kasper with Michael Rasmussen and Keegan Kolesar.
On defense, Ben Chiarot missed Thursday's practice with what McLellan called a minor injury, but he should be fine for Friday. He'll join Moritz Seider, Justin Faulk, Albert Johanson, Axel Sandin-Pellikka and Anton Johansson in the lineup, with John Gibson slated to start in net.
Having DeBrincat and Raymond, the team's top offensive threats, on the same line will make them the top target for opponents to zero in on, but McLellan painted the advantageous picture.
"Ice time," McLellan said. "Those two are going to get a lot of ice time. They played together before, and their analytics have proven to be positive. They both can shoot the puck real well. It's getting our best players on the ice as much as we can. They seem to have some chemistry right now. We'll give it a go.
"I keep repeating myself: We've got to just react. We've got to see what we have and be prepared to change if needed. But we need a starting point, and that's what we're going to start with."
Contact Helene St. James at Hstjames@freepress.com.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings will finally play a game. Will rest or rust win?
