Red Wings vs. Panthers: Notes, Lines, Goalies, How to Watch

The Detroit Red Wings (2-1) are home tonight to play the two-time defending champion Florida Panthers (3-1).

Where: Little Caesars Arena

When: 7 p.m.

TV/Radio: TNT, HBO Max/97.1 FM

Odds: Florida (-1.5, +175), Detroit (+1.5,-225) ESPNBet

Hot: Goalie Cam Talbot is coming off an impressive 38-save triumph Monday against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He has started the 2025-26 season with a 2-0 record, 2.11 GAA and .925 save percentage.

Not: Defenseman Travis Hamonic, signed in the offseason, is the seventh defenseman, at least for now. He was minus-three in Detroit’s opener and hasn’t played since.

Spotlight: Captain Dylan Larkin boasts two goals and one assist in his first three games. He’s also plus-3 and has won 58% of his faceoffs. Larkin is averaging 19:38 minutes per game. But he took two third-period penalties in a tight win against the Maple Leafs. The Red Wings need him on the ice in tight games.

Absence: Lucas Raymond suffered an upper-body injury on Monday in Detroit’s 3-2 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs. His status moving forward is day-to-day. Raymond was hurt when Toronto defenseman Chris Tanev drove him into the boards. Raymond struck the boards shoulder-first.

Story: The Red Wings downed the Maple Leafs 3-2 Monday with former Michigan State forward Mason Appleton scoring the game-winning goal with less than one minute remaining in regulation… The Red Wings had the NHL’s worst penalty killing last season, but are 13th in the early going with an 85.7% efficiency. Their power play is eighth at 25%… Rookies Michael Brandsegg-Nygard and Emmitt are first and second on the team in hits with nine and eight, respectively… Offseason free agent signee James van Riemsdyk played 10:09 in his Red Wings’ debut Monday and scored on his first shot with his new team. He played on the fourth line. But if Raymond is out for an extended period, he is a candidate to play in the top six.

Detroit Projected Lines

Emmitt Finnie — Dylan Larkin — Mason Appleton

Patrick Kane — Marco Kasper — Alex DeBrincat

Andrew Copp — J.T. Compher — Michael Brandsegg-Nygard

James van Riemsdyk — Michael Rasmussen — Elmer Soderblom

Defense Pairings

Ben Chiarot — Moritz Seider

Simon Edvinsson — Axel Sandin-Pellikka

Jacob Bernard-Docker — Albert Johansson

Goalie

Cam Talbot (John Gibson is backup)

Florida

Story: Despite captain Sasha Barkov out for the season with a knee injury and Matthew Tkachuk gone for an extended period after groin surgery, the Panthers remain formidable… Dmitri Kulikov and former Red Wings and Grand Rapids Griffins player Tomas Nosek are also injured… Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky is 3-0 with a 1.67 GAA… Former Detroit player Jeff Petry is a regular on the Florida defense. He was minus-three in Florida’s last game…Playoff hero Sam Bennett is minus-eight in Florida’s first four games.

 Projected Lines

Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Brad Marchand

Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Sam Reinhart

Mackie Samoskevich – Evan Rodrigues – Jesper Boqvist

A.J. Greer – Luke Kunin – Jonah Gadjovich

Defense Pairings

Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad

Niko Mikkola – Seth Jones

Uvis Balinskis – Jeff Petry

Sergei Bobrovsky (Daniil Tarasov backup)