Detroit City Wire

The Detroit Red Wings are set to face the Chicago Blackhawks in an exhibition game at United Center on Tuesday night. The matchup marks the end of a back-to-back stretch for Detroit as they near the conclusion of their 2025-26 preseason schedule. The game will start at 8 p.m. ET and can be streamed via DetroitRedWings.com and the Red Wings Mobile App.

Defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker commented on the team’s preparation, saying, “Right now, it’s just trying to build our game. The first two exhibition games went well and last couple maybe not as good. Tonight, just try to get back on track. That’s kind of all we can focus on right now. Obviously, the regular season is coming up fast, but I think we just have to prepare one day at a time and take it from there.”

In Monday’s previous contest against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Little Caesars Arena, Detroit lost 2-1 despite a late third-period goal from Dominik Shine.

Detroit head coach Todd McLellan addressed his expectations following that loss: “We can’t become a mechanical team,” McLellan said. “We can’t think about what’s going to happen. We should be a good skating team, and we should skate. I don’t think that was the case [on Monday].”

With nine days remaining before Opening Night—when Detroit will play host to the Montreal Canadiens at Little Caesars Arena—McLellan noted that roster decisions are becoming clearer for the start of the club's Centennial season.

“It’s happening,” McLellan said. “We’re talking with management. When we thought there were maybe five or six guys competing for a forward spot, then it gets cut to four or five. Now it gets cut to three or four. Sometimes injuries, I think a guy like Danny (Nate Danielson), in my opinion, would have had an outstanding opportunity to make the team. He probably doesn’t want to hear me saying that, yet I think he does. We need to get him healthy because I think he could play here. That changes things all of a sudden because somebody gets another lifeline, but they need to take advantage of it.”

McLellan also discussed ongoing competition among defensemen: “We feel that the four [defensemen] will sort themselves out up top,” he said. “How we play them, we’ll see as time goes on. But that five, six, seven, even eight-hole -- if we’re going to keep seven or eight, we’ll have to figure all that out – that’s, for me, very competitive right now. There’s a group of players that are going to play in Chicago tonight. For some, this could be their last opportunity. Others may extend it a little bit further. But the group that’s going there, for the most part, is getting another opportunity to play.”

Bernard-Docker joined Detroit this offseason on a one-year free-agent contract after splitting last season between Ottawa and Buffalo with eight points in 40 games.

“I’m not going to be a super flashy guy every night,” Bernard-Docker said about his playing style with Detroit.“I think just knowing what you’re going to get out of me – being hard to play against, not fun to play against and sticking to fundamentals.”

He added about his new club: “A lot of speed,” Bernard-Docker said about his experience going against Detroit.“A very competitive group.You look at guys like Razor and Larks who have been here awhile.They’re hungry,you can tell.It’s really coolto seefor me.Ijust wantto tryto helpin anywaythatIcanand crackthe roster."