This evening, the Red Wings will play two different preseason games at seven o’clock. A mostly NHL group will host the Penguins at Little Caesars Arena following Saturday night’s postponement, while a less experienced group will travel to Buffalo to take on the Sabres. Dan Watson, the Grand Rapids Griffins coach, and Pat Mikesch, Toledo Walleye bench boss, will coach the Red Wing squad in Buffalo.
“This is rare, unique, [but] it actually works fine,” said coach Derek Lalonde after this morning’s first skate. “You get the two teams going. I don’t know if it’s ideal, six games in six days. It’ll be a little taxing. Couple guys’ll probably do some back-to-backs, some three in fours, but it’s pretty spread out where it’s going. And we accomplished beat em so bad in practice, guys are begging for games, so it’s not that bad of a schedule coming up here.”
Lineups, Goalies, and Kane’s Pre-Season Usage
Here is the lineup of the team that will host Pittsburgh:
Red Wings lines for Group 1
Forwards:
Debrincat Larkin Raymond
Tarasenko Danielson Kane
Rasmussen Copp Fischer
Berggren Kasper MazurDefense:
Chiarot Seider
Johansson Petry
Maatta GustafssonGoalies: Talbot, Cossa, Alexander
— Connor Earegood (@ConnorEaregood) September 30, 2024
Per Lalonde, the plan in net will be for Cam Talbot to play the first two periods, before Sebastian Cossa relieves him in the third. Meanwhile, Patrick Kane will make his pre-season debut after it was postponed Saturday night. Lalonde did note that the plan all along has been for Kane to play three games this pre-season, but the slight change in scheduling may require him to play an extra as the team navigates a busy week.
© Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
Meanwhile, these were the lines at the second skate of the morning, intended for the group traveling to Buffalo:
Red Wings lines for Group 2 (Buffalo)
Forwards:
Finnie Rychlovsky Soderblom
Lombardi Snively MBN
Shine Hanas Chiasson
Doucet Seger RatcliffeDefense:
Dello Dider
Lagesson Tuomisto
Wallinder RaffertyGoalies: Lyon (2 periods), Campbell
Bednar also in practice pic.twitter.com/ERIuSk9U0G— Connor Earegood (@ConnorEaregood) September 30, 2024
Per Lalonde, Alex Lyon will play two periods and then Jack Campbell will handle the third. As you can see, it will be an AHL-heavy lineup in front of the two goaltenders with zero skaters on for morning skate who played an NHL game for Detroit last season.
Where to Watch
Neither game tonight will air on traditional television, but both games will stream on the Red Wings website and mobile app:
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