Tweets from Wednesday’s practice: lineup remains stable ahead of Thursday’s opener vs. Montreal

The Detroit Red Wings took to the ice at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center one day before Detroit’s 2025-2026 home opener against the Montreal Canadiens (7 PM EDT start on FanDuel Sports Network Detroit/TSN2/RDS/97.1 the Ticket).

Montreal happens to be playing in Toronto tonight (7 PM EDT start on TVA Sports and Sportsnet), with Samuel Montembeault starting in goal, so we already know that Jakub Dobes will be the starter on Thursday evening.

Coach McLellan suggested yesterday that the team would be made to feel “light and fast” today, and we’ll see whether that was the case after practice…

If you’re attending tomorrow night’s game, there’s going to be a “Red Carpet Walk” from 3-4 PM and a pregame set of player introductions starting at 6:35 PM, and the Wings will be wearing their heritage alternate jerseys as well.

Update: For what it’s worth, three of the Detroit News’s four polled sportswriters believe that the Wings will make the playoffs this season:

▶ Bob Wojnowski: As always with the Red Wings, it appears any improvement will be incremental. The only notable “splash” was acquiring veteran goalie John Gibson, a good move. They’ll also have Todd McLellan as head coach for a full year, which should help. Beyond that, Steve Yzerman isn’t straying from the plan (confidently or stubbornly). The Wings are riding a nine-year playoff-less streak, and it’s about time key players reward his faith in them. The Wings should have adequate scoring with Dylan Larkin, Alex DeBrincat, Lucas Raymond, Patrick Kane and rising Marco Kasper. Some youth is arriving, with three rookies, including promising defenseman Axel Sandin-Pellikka. Defense remains the issue, and if Gibson stabilizes the goaltending and Moritz Seider takes another step up, the Wings again will contend for a playoff spot into the final week. Points prediction: 90. Playoffs: Yes.

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George Malik

My name is George Malik, and I'm the Malik Report's editor/blogger/poster. I have been blogging about the Red Wings since 2006, and have worked with MLive and Kukla's Korner. Thank you for reading!