This evening, the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan attempts to discern the Red Wings’ opening-night lineup for the 2023-2024 season:
David Perron-Dylan Larkin-DeBrincat: Instantly there will be many Wings fans wanting to put Lucas Raymond alongside Larkin and DeBrincat, but that might not be the best option.
It would offensively, possibly, put the Wings’ three most dangerous offensive players together. And they will likely see time together at some point.
But defensively it could be an issue, not to mention, putting Raymond elsewhere in the lineup will provide the Wings with more scoring depth, which consistently hasn’t been the case in recent seasons.
Eyes will be on Larkin and DeBrincat to see how they’ll mesh. You’d think DeBrincat will have a decent chance returning to his 40-goal pace with Larkin as his playmaker. Perron provides size, an agitating presence, an ability to get to the net, and Perron played well with Larkin last season.
This would be a darn good first line by any standard.
Continued (paywall)
