The Red Wings, looking to end their playoff drought, open against the Pens

The Detroit Red Wings were on the verge of ending their playoff drought last season.

They hope the experience of playing high-pressure games will give them an extra boost when they open the new season on Thursday against the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins.

Detroit amassed 91 points last season but lost in a tiebreaker to the Washington Capitals for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot.

“Just making these games last longer was valuable and a lot of fun,” said striker Lucas Raymond.

After missing the postseason for the eighth straight year, the Red Wings didn't make any blockbuster transactions in the offseason, but they did bring in some veterans who will play key roles.

Detroit has signed free agent forward Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year contract. Tarasenko was traded from Ottawa to Florida at the end of last season and contributed nine points in the Panthers' run to the Stanley Cup.

Tarasenko, who scored 23 goals in the 2023-24 regular season, will likely play on Detroit's second line.

The Red Wings retained their top free agent, Patrick Kane, on a one-year contract. Kane joined the Red Wings last season after recovering from hip surgery and posted 20 goals and 27 assists in 50 games.

They also hired 37-year-old goalkeeper Cam Talbot to compete with Alex Lyon and Ville Husso for the starting spot. The training camp did little to solve this problem.

“We have no problem using any goalie every night,” head coach Derek Lalonde said. “We’ll get a feel for how we’re going to do it after every game.”

Detroit is also counting on two top young prospects, Simon Edvinsson and Albert Johansson, to bolster the defense. The 1.90 meter tall Edvinsson, the sixth overall pick in the 2021 draft, will add size and power to the backline.

The first team continues to be led by captain Dylan Larkin, who scored a career-high 33 goals in 68 games last season. Raymond, who scored 18 of his 31 goals after the All-Star break, will join him at the helm. Moritz Seider, who like Raymond received a long-term contract extension in the offseason, leads the defensive corps.

The Penguins lost the season and home game to the New York Rangers 6-0 on Wednesday evening. Pittsburgh goaltender Tristan Jarry was beaten six times on 41 shots.

“Obviously we didn’t have the start to the season that we would have liked,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “It’s difficult to judge. I thought we played pretty well early in the game, the first 13 minutes or so.”

“There was a two or three minute period in the first half where we conceded a few goals. From then on we just couldn't seem to get it under control. But at this point it’s probably premature to overreact.”

Evgeni Malkin heads to Detroit to achieve two major milestones in his career. The Pittsburgh forward began his 19th season with 498 career goals and 798 career assists. Malkin had just one shot on goal in 17:20 minutes of ice time on Wednesday.

Pittsburgh conceded two of three goals against the Red Wings last season, with the winning team scoring six goals each time. Superstar captain Sidney Crosby scored two goals and four assists in last year's series.

–Field level media