Alex DeBrincat and the Detroit Red Wings open the 2026-27 NHL season on Friday, Oct. 2 against the New York Rangers at Little Caesars Arena, with puck drop scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET. New York has already played twice, and it arrives in Detroit at 1-1-0 with two points. This will be the Rangers’ third game of the season and the Red Wings’ first.
With most of the league already on the ice, DeBrincat is ready to get going. This team is hungry after missing the playoffs 10 straight seasons, the longest active drought in the NHL and a stretch that has followed this franchise all the way to the owner’s box.
Alex DeBrincat Is Done Watching Hockey on TV
The Red Wings practiced Thursday morning at the BELFOR Training Center inside Little Caesars Arena, and DeBrincat made it clear he is finished watching the rest of the league play. He told Jonathan Mills of DetroitRedWings.com:
“We’re super excited. Being one of the later games too, you’re watching the games on TV the past couple of nights, and you see the intensity, and it looks so fun out there. I think we’re definitely excited to get going and start off strong.”
He has a longer runway than usual to produce. Under the new collective bargaining agreement, the regular season grows from 82 games to 84, the league’s first 84-game schedule since 1993-94. In 82 games last season, DeBrincat scored 41 goals and added 44 assists with a plus-8 rating. Detroit needs another season like that from him.
The Rangers Have a Two-Game Head Start
With everything that happened in the offseason for the Red Wings, the last thing they need is to lay an egg in the season opener against New York. Detroit fans are not going to be patient at all. DeBrincat knows the Rangers will be the sharper team early, and he said as much:
“We got to show up and be ready for the game. I think having a couple games on the nights before, we know the intensity is going to be there. It’ll be the Rangers’ third game and our first, so we got to be ready to play. They will have gotten some stuff out of their legs and made mistakes already, and we haven’t. We got to show up on time.”
Avoiding Igor Shesterkin
The head start cuts both ways, because it should keep Igor Shesterkin out of the Detroit net. Friday is the second night of a back-to-back for New York, and Shesterkin went the distance Thursday in a 5-1 home win over Tampa Bay in which he became the 18th goalie in NHL history to score a goal. Dylan Garand is the projected starter against the Red Wings, though New York had not confirmed it as of Friday morning. Garand is in the lineup because backup Joonas Korpisalo is on injured reserve, week to week with a lower-body injury.
If Detroit does not have a big offensive night against Garand, problems could be ahead for this hockey team. DeBrincat and the squad cannot lay an egg against the Rangers.
How to Watch Rangers vs. Red Wings
- Matchup: New York Rangers (1-1-0) at Detroit Red Wings (0-0-0)
- Date/time: Friday, Oct. 2, 6:30 p.m. ET
- Venue: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit
- TV: TNT, truTV
- Streaming: HBO Max
- Radio: 97.1 The Ticket (WXYT-FM)
