Detroit City Wire

The Detroit Red Wings will open their preseason schedule against the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center on Wednesday night. The game is set to start at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT and will be available for streaming on DetroitRedWings.com and the Red Wings Mobile App.

Albert Johansson expressed his enthusiasm, saying, "It’s going to be fun to play a game again. It’s been a long time. It’s going to be fun to get out there and get the game started."

The Red Wings' preseason includes eight games, with four at Little Caesars Arena and four on the road. Head coach Derek Lalonde described this period as one of the more intense times of the season.

“You plan on it and around it, but it’s exciting too,” Lalonde said. “Obviously it’s rinse and repeat. You’re running two teams, basically one at once, and these fly-in, fly-out road trips. It’s all part of it.”

Detroit reduced its Training Camp roster to 57 players on Sunday, with further cuts expected before the final 23-man Opening Night roster is submitted by Oct. 7.

“I think you’re going to see a lot of mixed lineups, maybe a couple of NHL-experienced lines with a couple of new guys,” Lalonde said. “That’s what we’ll see [Wednesday].”

Lalonde hopes that the intensity from their time in Traverse City will carry over into the preseason games.

“I liked our intensity in Traverse City, so I’d like to keep that at a high,” Lalonde said. “Obviously your takeaways from that Red & White game – there was some growth in it, some teaching [Tuesday], which happens a lot. A lot of ill-advised turnovers that’ll get us in trouble, which is understandable. We want to keep growing our game in every area.”

Lalonde also highlighted the importance of using exhibition games to give prospects extended opportunities.

“We’d love to play those guys a ton," he said, "but you might be asking those guys to play some back-to-backs, some three [games] in four [days] down the stretch... But yes, we want to give all those guys an opportunity." He added that last year's extensive playtime for Simon Edvinsson was valuable for his development and anticipates similar benefits for other young players this year.