The Detroit Red Wings open the 2025-26 regular season against an Original Six foe, the Montreal Canadiens, on Thursday night. After a few surprises landed on the 23-man opening-night roster, the Red Wings are looking to return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in nine years.
Hosting the Canadiens will be both an exciting and hard-fought matchup. The Canadiens will be playing the second game of a back-to-back after dropping their season opener to the Toronto Maple Leafs, 5-2, on Oct. 8.
Projected Lineups
Red Wings
Emmitt Finnie- Dylan Larkin- Lucas Raymond
Alex DeBrincat- Marco Kasper- Patrick Kane
Andrew Copp- JT Compher- Michael Brandsegg-Nygård
Elmer Söderblom- Michael Rasmussen- Mason Appleton
Ben Chiarot- Moritz Seider
Simon Edvinsson- Axel Sandin-Pellikka
Albert Johansson- Travis Hamonic
John Gibson
Cam Talbot
Dylan Larkin, Lukas Raymond, Moritz Sider (The Hockey Writers)
Canadiens
Cole Caufield- Nick Suzuki- Juraj Slafkovsky
Alex Newhook- Oliver Kapanen- Ivan Demidov
Zack Bolduc- Kirby Dach- Brendan Gallagher
Patrik Laine- Jake Evans- Josh Anderson
Mike Matheson- Noah Dobson
Kaiden Guhle- Lane Hutson
Arber Xhekaj- Alexandre Carrier
Sam Montembeault
Jakub Dobes
Last Year’s Matchups
Dec. 20, 2024- 4-3 Canadiens victory
Dec. 21, 2024- 5-1 Canadiens victory
Jan. 23, 2025- 4-2 Red Wings victory
April 8, 2025- 4-1 Canadiens victory
The Red Wings struggled to solve the Canadiens last season, going 1-3-0 in four games. Moritz Seider led the way in points, tallying three assists, while Andrew Copp, Alex DeBrincat, Patrick Kane, and Dylan Larkin each scored once. Cam Talbot played twice in the Original Six matchup, going 1-1-0.
John Gibson, the Red Wings’ starter in the crease, has only faced the Canadiens ten times in his 12-year career (all with the Anaheim Ducks), but has a solid 7-2-0 record, with a 2.29 goals-against average (GAA) and a .927 save percentage (SV%).
Red Wings Lineup
How the Rookies Perform For the Red Wings
It was a surprise to see three rookies on the opening-night roster: Emmitt Finnie (2023 seventh-round pick), Michael Brandsegg-Nygård (2024 first-round pick), and Axel Sandin-Pellikka (2023 first-round pick). All three had strong showings during training camp and the preseason and should lend to the excitement heading into tonight’s game.
Finnie will be playing alongside Larkin and Lucas Raymond on the top line and will be watched closely by both the coaching staff and fans. He showed in the preseason that he can play on the top line, but he also fits down in the lineup, and we’ll see how quickly he adjusts to playing in a regular-season NHL game.
Related: Red Wings 2025-26 Season Preview: Depth Chart, X-Factors & More
Brandsegg-Nygård and Sandin-Pellikka were expected to push for a roster spot during training camp and proved why they were high first-round picks in their respective drafts. While Brandsegg-Nygård is not in the top six (yet), he brings plenty of firepower and could easily add some much-needed secondary scoring to the Red Wings’ lineup.
There has been plenty of hype and hope surrounding Sandin-Pellikka since the Red Wings selected him in the 2023 Draft, and playing alongside fellow Swedish-born Simon Edvinsson on the second defensive pairing is a huge accomplishment for a player who had limited action in North America last season. The offensive skill set that he possesses could be on display early on, but seeing how he performs defensively will be on everyone’s radar.
How John Gibson Looks in His First Red Wings Game
The Red Wings’ revolving door of goaltenders continued this offseason when general manager (GM) Steve Yzerman traded for John Gibson from the Ducks during the 2025 Draft. The hope is that he will remain healthy enough to be an x-factor this season.
The veteran netminder has struggled with injuries throughout the past few seasons, but he has been one of the league’s most consistent goalies when healthy. We will see how he performs in his first regular-season start after a not-so-great showing in the preseason (3.22 GAA and a .864 SV% in three appearances). With a bit of a revamped defense in front of him, the blue line and goaltending should be improved this season after struggling last season.
Red Wings vs Canadiens
The two organizations seem to be on the same trajectory, adding youth to their lineup (Montreal has brought more prospects up at this point), and it is worth watching whenever they square off. The rivalry has picked up over the past few seasons and will likely only continue as both teams get more competitive. For the Red Wings, taking down the Canadiens in their home opener will be a good start toward ending their playoff drought this season.
