Red Wings’ home opener vs. Penguins postponed by NHL

The National Hockey League has announced, ahead of the Red Wings’ home opener against the Pittsburgh Penguins, that fans will have to wait a little longer for puck drop in Detroit. That’s because the NHL is willing to accommodate the MLB and has announced that Thursday’s first game of the season at Little Caesars Arena will have a later to start time that first scheduled. The Red Wings’ contest, originally set for a 7:00 p.m. ET puck drop, is now slated to begin at 8:00 p.m. ET.

Just down the street, the Detroit Tigers are hosting Game 4 in their American League Division Series against the Cleveland Guardians and all sports fans have been considered in this decision.

“With heavy traffic volume expected that evening in downtown Detroit, fans are encouraged to arrive early and to give themselves extra time by reserving parking in advance,” the Red Wings said in a statement.

Wednesday night’s game will be their first home playoff appearance since 2014, Thursday night’s outing will be the second and all of Detroit looks to support the local team.

The Red Wings’ home at Little Caesars Arena is less than a mile from Comerica Park, where the Tigers are hosting the Guardians at 6:08 p.m. ET tomorrow. The postponed start time of the Wings’ game against the visiting Penguins will allow for traffic to clear between events.

This is what the Red Wings’ projected lineup looked like at the last practice ahead of their game against Pittsburgh:

Alex DeBrincat-Dylan Larkin-Lucas Raymond
Vladimir Tarasenko-J.T. Compher-Patrick Kane
Michael Rasmussen-Andrew Copp-Christian Fischer
Tyler Motte-Joe Veleno-Jonatan Berggren

Ben Chiarot-Moritz Seider
Simon Edvinsson-Jeff Petry
Olli Maatta-Erik Gustafsson
Albert Johansson

Ville Husso
Cam Talbot
Alex Lyon