Here’s the good and bad news about the Red Wings this season: no matter who they’re opponent is, both teams will always have some sort of chance. The good of that comes when you look at the top teams; Detroit can almost certainly hang with the best. Last season, Detroit was 3-1-1 against the Oilers and Panthers, the two cup finalists. The bad news was they were also 1-2-1 against the Ducks and Sharks last season. So with the team being so unpredictable, I’m going to do my best to predict the first month of the season. So, prepare for a kidney stone with the grain of salt you’re about to take, and I’ll do my best to rationalize why.
Game 1: Montreal at Detroit
Here’s some bias, I’m taking the Red Wings’ first game. Montreal has a pretty comfortably better roster, but I lean toward Detroit for two main reasons. The first one is goaltending. When the Red Wings have had rested goalies the last two seasons, they’ve been great. Lyon, Talbot, and even Riemer, to an extent, have all been good while rested. I’m taking a rested Gibson or even a rested Talbot to make a difference. For the second reason, I’m going with Todd McClellan lighting a fire under their asses. Nobody is stupid, and if Detroit wants to make the playoffs, Montreal is one of the teams they have to pass. Game 1, game 63, or game 82, this is a four-point swing, and you best believe Todd McClellan knows that. With all that, Montreal is coming off a back-to-back, so this should be one that is hard. Watch Dylan Larkin closely; he had three points across the four games against the Habs last season.
Game 2: Toronto at Detroit
I do love a homestand to start the season. Now, the biggest Red Wing killer, Marner, is no longer on the Leafs. Does that make it any easier? No. For my prediction, I’m taking Toronto, but I think Detroit might get it to overtime. Here’s why: Marner matters. Like it or not, Marner decided a lot of last season’s games on his own. November 8th, Marner had 1G 1A for 2P, December 14th, Marner had 2A 2P, December 27th, Marner had 3G for 3P, and April 17th, Marner had 2A for 2P. To sum up, Marner had 9 points in 4 games against Detroit. Will Toronto still score, yes. Will it be one hell of a lot closer without Marner’s ungodly pace, yes. I’ll give it to the Leafs, but I believe it’ll be close enough where Detroit can force OT for a point.
Game 3: Detroit at Toronto
I’m not going to rehash what I just said. But typically, after a close game, the second one will open up. In a barn burner, I’m taking the team with Matthews, Nylander, and Knies. I think the Leafs will handle business here. I could realistically see a 2-3 goal win for Toronto, especially at home. Hopefully, all the suits in the lower bowl have a nice environment to close their business deals. Detroit gets its first regulation loss in this one.
Game 4: Florida at Detroit
Now, the best time to play a team that has made so many deep runs is at the start of the season, especially while Matthew Tkachuk is still on IR. Make no mistake, you never want to play the Panthers, but given the circumstances, this might be the best time. It would be the first leg of a back-to-back; they might save Bobrovsky for the better team on the second night in New Jersey. So yeah, the optimistic take is this will be another close one. It’s still a damn good team, but if Detroit is on, and I mean really on, I think this could be a momentum game for them that they take. Give me Detroit by 2 in this one.
Game 5: Tampa at Detroit
This is another team on the first night of a back-to-back. Now, if Florida is the team that is weaker at the start of the season, Tampa is the opposite. They’re going to be out for blood after two short postseasons. Detroit was 2-2-0 against the Lightning last year, but if I’m giving them the win against Florida, I can’t imagine them starting hot enough to topple Tampa as well. I’d chalk this up to a loss and one where Tampa is comfortably in the driver’s seat.
Moritz Seider (#53) chasing down Connor McDavid (#97) | Perry Nelson- USA Today Sports
Game 6: Edmonton at Detroit
Here we go, a rested Red Wings team versus the Oilers, who are on the end of a back-to-back. It’s a fair amount of travel for Edmonton, and at the start of the season, the Oilers have had some slow starts. You can never count out McDavid, but the scheduling team might give Detroit the upper hand. Detroit has been able to hang with them in past seasons, and a team like New Jersey is going to make them work. Not to mention New Jersey being better than Detroit will likely bring out their starter. Detroit against a tired team they’ve fared okay against with their backup in net? Hell, maybe I have too much faith in this team, but I like the odds at home. Give me the Red Wings bouncing back after a projected Tampa loss.
Game 7: Detroit at Buffalo
The gauntlet finally ends. No more super good teams. Detroit goes on the road to Buffalo (which is still practically a home game), facing their first non-playoff team of the season. Despite Tage Thompson legitimately dominating Detroit these past few years, I think this is the first game Detroit doesn’t need coaching or vibes to scrape out a win. Detroit’s forward depth and goaltending should be enough to make up for its weak defense. Any half-decent coach should know Tage is an issue, and hopefully, that will be applied. I see this one being within a two-goal margin, but Detroit should handle a worse Buffalo team if they want any chance at a postseason, and it’s too early for me not to be optimistic. The Red Wings pick up a regulation win here, too.
Game 8: Detroit at Long Island
This would mark Detroit’s first back-to-back. This has all the makings of a very Red Wings loss. While they trumped the Islanders pretty comfortably last season, the Islanders didn’t have Barzal, Duclair, or Drouin to actually score. While their blueline does look worse, Detroit would be due to get goalie-d in one of these games, and I think Sorokin is just the guy to do it. I think it will be another paint-drying defensive game from the Islanders, and it’ll ultimately be a slow and boring loss for Detroit. A low-scoring loss, every fan’s worst nightmare.
Red Wings taking on the Blues last season | Jeff Roberson, AP
Game 9: St. Louis at Detroit
Another first night of a back-to-back. The Blues have had Detroit’s number recently. With the addition of Snuggerud to the lineup, the loss of Bolduc doesn’t help too much. The short answer is, I like the Blues here. They’re a team in Detroit’s tier, but that doesn’t make it any easier. The Blues have a scary top 9, and I think it will lead to them taking this one by a wider margin than I’d like to admit. I think this has the makings of a 3-4 goal loss for Detroit. I’m not proud to say it, but I think the optimism I’ve had so far needs to have some realism, and St. Louis might just be the team to do it.
Game 10: Detroit at St. Louis
Okay, now this is one Detroit can take. St. Louis is going to be coming off a back-to-back with 3 games in 4 nights. Again, similar to the Edmonton situation, St. Louis might have Detroit’s number, but the schedule makers have their back on this one. I see Detroit taking advantage of a tired team and getting the best of them. I give Detroit a cruise control win against an exhausted St. Louis team, even if Detroit will be on the road.
Game 11: Detroit at Los Angeles
Karma from the scheduling team, Detroit plays their second game of three games in four nights, with plenty of travel to the West Coast. Not to mention L.A. plays San Jose before this, so they shouldn’t exactly be too tired. All that to say, I can’t be the only one who really isn’t impressed by this roster. Losing Gavrikov is a big loss, and replacing him with Ceci doesn’t inspire confidence. This is another one I think L.A. takes, mostly because of the travel, but I think this is another one I could see going to overtime, even if they have gotten the better of the Red Wings recently.
Red Wings against Anaheim last season | Gary A Vasquez-Imagn Images
Game 12: Detroit at Anaheim
It would be nice to handle this one quickly, but I have 0 hope for that. Like it or not, even with the McTavish drama, Anaheim is building something really great. I love their middle 6, and I think that Leo Carlsson will take a big step. Jackson Lacombe is sneakily a top 20-25 defenceman in the league already. Hopefully, Dostal has some extension hangover and doesn’t play as amazingly as he has. With plenty of rest and Detroit on a back-to-back, I think Detroit has the talent to make it close, and hopefully, Gibson will have the book on his former team. Detroit loses in overtime, but that might be optimistic given how impressive Anaheim might end up being.
Predicted Record: 5-4-3: 13 Points, around 88 point pace.
Given how hard the start of the season actually is for Detroit, I think if this is the outcome, Red Wings fans should be happy. I think a few of the overtime losses might be a little generous, but hey, it’s still too early for me to be realistic enough to acknowledge they might go 0-6 to start the year.
More to Read:
Discover more from Inside The Rink
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.