Every season when the NHL releases the yearly schedule there are always a few games that each fan base looks at and thinks “I have to watch this game.” With the regular season beginning in just over a month for the Detroit Red Wings, what are five games for fans to mark on their calendars to watch?
Oct. 14 vs Tampa Bay Lightning
Whether it be the excitement of the fans with the season finally beginning or the adrenaline that runs through the players in their first home game of the year, the home opener at Little Caesars Arena is going to be a must-watch game. On top of being the home opener, the Red Wings are playing a division rival and one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference in the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Red Wings and Lightning faced off against each other in the home opener of the 2021-22 season and was a high-scoring affair with the Lightning pulling off a 7-6 overtime win. Fast forward to this season, seeing the Red Wings and their new additions face off against the Lightning will be an exciting and entertaining start to the 2023-24 regular season for fans.
Oct. 21 @ Ottawa Senators
In the Red Wings’ first trip to Ottawa to face the Senators, it will be the first time that newly-acquired forward Alex DeBrincat returns to Ottawa as well as Dominik Kubalik’s first game against the Red Wings. Although DeBrincat only spent one season in Ottawa, fans of the Senators will most likely give him a warm welcome back to the Canadian Tire Centre.
This also marks the first game these two teams will play each other after a 2022-23 season where their matchups made both fan bases view the teams as budding rivals.
Jan. 11 vs Edmonton Oilers
Anytime that your team gets to play against one of the league’s top offenses, it’s a must-watch game and this is the case when the Edmonton Oilers visit Detroit. With Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl leading the Oilers’ offensive attack, it will be interesting and fun to watch how Red Wings’ head coach Derek Lalonde prepares and plans to slow down the two-headed monster.
While the Red Wings were able to limit the damage these two were able to inflict last season in two games (four total points combined), McDavid and Draisaitl are always dangerous and ready to perform at a high level. Watching one of the league’s best young defensemen in Moritz Seider go up against these two superstars should make for an entertaining game as well.
Jan. 14 @ Toronto Maple Leafs
A middle-of-the-season game might not seem like one that fans would view as a must-watch game, but this will be a measuring stick for the Red Wings against another one of the Eastern Conference’s top teams in the Toronto Maple Leafs.
This will be the second meeting between the two Original Six teams with the first being in Sweden as part of the Global Series on Nov. 17, but this game should be a measuring stick thanks to the fact that the Red Wings will have had enough time to work out the kinks, chemistry issues and lineup configurations by the time it comes around. This has the potential to be another very exciting and entertaining game for both teams’ fan bases.
Feb. 25 @ Chicago Blackhawks
Another Original-Six matchup with a long history behind it has an added level to it this season with the arrival of the number one pick from this year’s draft, Connor Bedard.
Related: Connor Bedard: A Generational Talent
While these two teams have not played as much since the Red Wings made the move to the Eastern Conference, there is still the feeling of a rivalry between the two fan bases (from ‘Detroit Red Wings officially heading to Eastern Conference as NHL approves realignment,’ mlive.com, March 14, 2013). This is another matchup fans should have on their list of games to watch with this being the first time the Red Wings will see Bedard first-hand. Tied in with the Bedard factor will be seeing him play against a defenseman who is as physical and skilled as Seider is.
These are just five games on the Red Wings schedule that can be viewed as “must-watch.” This season should be an exciting one for Red Wings fans as a whole with the new additions to the roster and another offseason of preparation in the second season of Lalonde’s tenure in Detroit.
