NHL regular-season opener: Detroit Red Wings (35-37-10 in 2022-23) vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (52-22-8 in 2022-23)
When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
Where: Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
TV: ESPN+, Hulu (online only, no Bally Sports Detroit).
Radio: WXYT-FM (97.1) in Detroit.
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Game notes: Cue that ‘Sopranos” theme song — check back on freep.com around 10 a.m. to find out which Red Wing is humming along — as the Wings head to New Jersey for their 2023-24 season opener.
The Devils are coming off a surprise 52-win season — and we do mean surprise, considering the Wings’ previous visit to the Garden State, in Game 2 of the 2022-23 season, featured a “Fire Lindy” chant directed at head coach Lindy Ruff following a 5-2 loss to the dreadful Flyers in the opener — and a subsequently disappointing five-game second-round playoff loss to Carolina. Still, the 25-win jump from 2021-22 should give the Wings some hope that it can be done. All they have to do is get career years from their No. 1 overall picks, as the Devils did from USNTDP alumnus Jack Hughes (2019), who had 43 goals and 56 assists, and captain Nico Hischier (2017), who had 31 goals and 49 assists. Never mind.
The Devils’ offense, which finished fourth in goals last season, could be even better, with a full season of Timo Meier — who had 40 goals while splitting the year between the Sharks and the Devils — and the addition of rookie defenseman Luke Hughes, Jack’s brother and an early Rookie of the Year favorite if Connor Bedard suddenly suffers a season-ending injury this month.
The Wings, of course, don’t have any No. 1 overall picks on the roster, nor a 40-goal scorer returning from last season. But they do have a two-time 40-goaler suiting up in Alex DeBrincat. The Farmington Hills product is finally wearing the Winged Wheel in his seventh season, thanks to a July trade with Ottawa and a subsequent our-year, $31.5 million contract.
So, how long will we have to wait to see DeBrincat’s first goal as a Wing? The 25-year-old has scored on Opening Night just twice — in 2018 and 2019. The 2018 goal, in Ottawa, was the first of 41 for DeBrincat in the 2018-19 season; in his other 41-goal campaign (2021-22) he didn’t score until the second game of the season … on the road in New Jersey. In all, DeBrincat has three goals and three assists in 11 games against the Devils, albeit with a minus-13 rating that’s his worst against any team. Then again, his 8.6% scoring rate on shots against the Devils is also one of his worst against any team, and well below his career mark of 14.4%, so perhaps there’s some regression to the mean due in his favor.
After tonight’s opener, the Wings leave the Jersey swamp behind (until their return Dec. 23) and zip back to Little Caesars Arena for the home opener against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night. The Devils, meanwhile, stay home for the second half of a back-to-back with the Arizona Coyotes visiting.
Live updates
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Contact Ryan Ford at rford@freepress.com. Follow him on X (which used to be Twitter, y’know?) @theford. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings game score at New Jersey Devils: Time, TV for opener
