What to Watch For in the Red Wings’ Preseason Game vs. Chicago

The Red Wings’ first home game of the preseason is Friday night, taking on the same Chicago squad they beat Wednesday night on the road. And while preseason games are played as much for gathering information about players as they are for straight up wins, the number of NHL players in both teams’ lineups should make for a good game.

Here’s what to watch for in this preseason tilt.

The Lineups

Detroit’s group is a different cast from the group that appeared in Chicago earlier this week. Note that William Lagesson, free agent acquisition, will actually play next to Tuomisto in this lineup.

High-profile prospect Nate Danielson is in the mix, meanwhile 11 out of the 21 players listed played NHL games last season. It’s a strong group, and it should say a lot about who shines among this group.

For Chicago, the lines will look something like this:

The Blackhawks’ group includes far more rookies and prospects. This is the norm for traveling teams in the preseason, so don’t be surprised by this.

Two NHL Goalies in Action

The Red Wings’ goalie battle continues. This time, Alex Lyon will start the game and play two periods, while newcomer Cam Talbot will close out the contest. Right now, these two goaltenders appear to be Detroit’s best options in net, and these appearances will provide a good look at what they might bring to the table.

Lyon was the starter last season, going 21-18-5 with a 3.05 goals against average and a .904 save percentage. He saved 2.1 goals above expected, which ranked 19th among goaltenders who played more than 40 games. But, these statistics are marred by a 10-game personal losing streak in March, which hides how dominant he was at certain stretches of the season. Namely, that’s January, when he went 8-2-2 with a .923 save percentage and 2.54 goals against average. But considering last season’s 44 games nearly doubled his career appearances over an eight-year pro career, Lyon got a lot out of last year that primes him to be a useful option going forward.

“Competition,  compete, confidence, maybe even a little mental toughness,” Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said Thursday about what Lyon got out of last season. “Never getting minutes like this at this level, maybe going past a threshold for him, he gets that look to him where he looks very confident. You can almost read him. You can see he lost a little of that swagger towards the end, maybe just being a little bit tired.”

With three NHL goaltenders in the mix once again, perhaps Lyon won’t have to play so much. That’s where having Talbot in the mix is a huge benefit. The Red Wings’ other returning goaltender, Ville Husso, is still getting back to game speed after recovering from two lower body injuries last season. Talbot is insurance, still a quality goaltender at 37 years old.

Last season, Talbot played 54 games for Los Angeles, finishing with a 27-20-6 record in the regular season alongside a .913/2.50 stat line. And among goalies who played in 40 or more games, Talbot finished ninth with 10.7 goals saved above expected. He even earned an All-Star game appearance. While he might be getting into the territory where age forces regression, Talbot hasn’t slowed down just yet.

[Read All About It: Breaking Down the Red Wings’ Organizational Goalie Depth ahead of Training Camp]

The question is whether Talbot can replicate this success behind a much poorer defensive team in Detroit. Tonight offers the first real glance into the answers.

A First Look at Tarasenko

Vladimir Tarasenko was Detroit’s biggest add of free agency this year. He makes his Red Wings debut on what will function as the first line in Friday night’s game.

Tarasenko instantly adds experience and offense to a forward corps that lost a big piece in David Perron this offseason. Tarasenko is known for his booming shot that has found the back of the net 293 times in his NHL career. But with age, he has also added the sort of layered “B” game — the checking and shift-winning that’s led to two Stanley Cup rings on his fingers — that gets Detroit excited about what he can bring.

Take if from Dylan Larkin, who saw just how much Tarasenko could help the Red Wings when he watched him win the Stanley Cup with Florida back in June. “Vladdy stuck out to me. Just his commitment and how hard he played,” Larkin said Sept. 18. “He was playing on their third line and he’s finishing his checks, you could just see his will to win. And talking to (Patrick Kane) this summer, he mentioned that to me about him. … So it’s a huge addition. “

Mixing in with Detroit’s current forward corps, Tarasenko brings a lot of traits that add wrinkles and skill depth to the top six combinations the Red Wings might cook up. His shot gives another goal-scoring option behind Alex DeBrincat; his forechecking brings a similar element as Lucas Raymond; and his experience adds veteran know-how in a way akin to Kane’s own wisdom. He can plug in a lot of different places in the top six. It’s those last two details that excite Lalonde.

“I give him a little credit, he’s probably evolved in his career where he was an offense only type guy, maybe leaned a little bit for the offense,” Lalonde said Friday after practice. “And I think he’s seen winning a little bit, what winning looks like, and watching him back in Florida last year, he’s F3, he’s above the puck. So hopefully he can bring some of that to us, because that’s an area we probably need to grow as a group.”

Right now, it appears that Tarasenko will be on the second line with Kane to start the season, but Kane isn’t playing Friday. So, Tarasenko will make his debut across from Jonatan Berggren, a player who offers a similar style if not at the same level as Kane. It won’t be an exact look at what Tarasenko can bring in the context of his linemates, but it should give an indication of where he’s at heading into the season.

Moritz Seider and Ben Chiarot Building off Experience Together

The Red Wings’ top pairing heading into both Friday’s preseason game will be Ben Chiarot and Moritz Seider. While Lalonde stressed not reading too much into line combinations, it appears as though this is the most likely top pair duo for the season as well. After playing together parts of the past two seasons, Chiarot and Seider build on a wealth of experience together. The hope is that this experience can make them more effective together.

“I think over the years, I’ve learned (you’re) just not so much complimenting the other guy. You just play your game, and he plays his game,” Chiarot said Friday. “And over time, through camp and over the years now, we’ve played together a decent amount. We know what to expect of each other. I know what he’s going to try and do in most circumstances, and I think he has a good read on what I’m going to do.”

When Chiarot first joined the Red Wings, the vision was that he and Seider would comprise the top pair. But struggles showed up early. He and Seider were one of Detroit’s least efficient units, finishing the 2022-23 season with a meager 44.4% expected goal share while bleeding 2.66 goals against per 60 as tracked by Moneypuck. And on the heels of Seider’s Calder-winning rookie season, a lot of fans pinned these struggles on Chiarot.

Right or wrong, once Jake Walman and Seider played together after that, they took off as one of Detroit’s better pairings. The Chiarot-Seider pairing was left on a shelf until late last season, when Jake Walman was out of the lineup with an injury. The statistical results were once again poor — an even worse 43.1% expected goal share and 2.98 goals against per 60 compared to their previous campaign. But this came in the context of tougher usage, and they were also the best numbers among all of Seider’s consistent pairings.

So now, the Chiarot-Seider pairing is together yet again, and this time they have more experience to work off of. The hope is that increased experience can help them improve.

How long this pairing lasts is another question. Rookie defenseman Simon Edvinsson is joining the top four this season, and the expectation is that his size and skill could complement Seider’s game well. Even Seider himself has shown excitement for the pairing as far back as April. But for Chiarot and Seider are the top pairing. Friday’s game should offer a window into where their game is at heading into year three of playing together.

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