Buckle up Red Wings fans. The puck has dropped on the 2017-18 NHL season and it’s like we are entering parallel universe compared to what we have become accustom to over the last two decades. The Red Wings are bad, the Oilers and Maple Leafs are Stanley Cup contenders and Super Nintendos are on sale.

The Red Wings saw their 25-year playoff streak come to an end last season and they enter this season in salary cap hell with seemingly no direction. It does not seem like we are rebuilding and it definitely does not look like we are contending for a playoff spot.

On a positive note, some of the Red Wings’ young players had really strong preseasons, which lends some promise to the future. Joe Hicketts looks like a future top-4 defenseman and Michael Rasmussen looks like he could be a force down the middle in a few short years.

While the Red Wings’ immediate future looks bleak, you are not out of it until you are out of it and tonight is game-one of 82, so we have a long way to go before the Red Wings are officially eliminated from playoff contention.

The obvious omission from the Red Wings opening night lineup is Andreas Athanasiou, an RFA who remains without a contract. If Detroit is going to have any success, their top-6 needs to be as good as good as we think they can be. The top line can certainly do some damage. Henrik Zetterberg is coming off of a great season (17G / 51A in 82 games) showing he still has a lot of good hockey left in the tank. Gustav Nyquist got off to a really slow start a year ago, but was a near point-per-game down the stretch, collecting 30 points (8G / 22A) in the final 35 games. Tomas Tatar just signed a four-year extension and looks to score 20-plus goals for the fourth straight season. Tatar and Nyquist are two of the most underrated forwards in the NHL and if they can combine for 50 goals this season, the Red Wings could be in a decent spot.

The second-line is almost everything we’ve ever hoped for. Dylan Larkin is coming off of a disappointing sophomore campaign, but this line looked strong in the preseason and a bounce-back season for Larkin could be in store. Anthony Mantha is arguably the Red Wings’ best player and their most legitimate threat for 30 goals. A 30-goal, 20-assist season seems possible, and 30-30 appears to be in reach. Martin Frk likely won’t pickup a lot of even-strength points, but he should help their beleaguered power-play.

Where things start to get ugly is the bottom-6. The third-line makes a combined $13.35 million (per NHLNumbers) and I’ll never be able to forget the season Riley Sheahan had a year ago. As bad as the bottom-6 is, the blueline is an absolute disaster. Despite Hicketts having a strong training camp, he’s in Grand Rapids and Niklas Kronwall and his one-leg and Jonathan Ericsson are still here. The top pairing of Danny DeKeyser and Trevor Daley is likely going to be an absolute gongshow. DeKeyser has regressed and Daley is not afraid to force the issue offensively, which is going to leave DeKeyser hung out to dry on many occasions.

The Red Wings will get a chance to see how they stack-up immediately. The Wild are one of the top teams in the Western Conference and come into 2017-18 having ranked second in the NHL in goals for (3.21 GF/PG) and seventh in goals against (2.51 GA/PG) a season ago.

Detroit catches a break tonight because Zach Parise will not be in the lineup because of a back injury. However, analytics darling Nino Niederreiter will move up to the top-line in Parise’s absence. Niederreiter has recorded impressive numbers over the years despite ranking eighth among Wild forwards in ice-time a season ago. An increased role this season could see Niederreiter post career-best numbers. Eric Staal rejuvenated his career in Minnesota last season and has had success against against the Red Wings in his career—three goals and 15 assists (18 points) in 21 career games vs. Detroit.

The Wild second line of Jason Zucker–Mikko Koivu–Mikael Granlund was dominant last year and will be key to Minnesota’s success again this season. They made a few moves this offseason, trading Jason Pominville and Marco Scandella to the Buffalo Sabres and bringing in Marcus Foligno and Tyler Ennis. The Wild also signed Daniel Winnik to a one-year deal yesterday and rookie Joel Eriksson Ek is back after spending most of last season in Sweden. Eriksson Ek is a former No.20 overall pick (2015) and had 16 points (8G / 8A) in 26 games with Farjestads BK Karlstad a season ago.

On the blueline, they are led by the minute-eater Ryan Suter who is expected to be paired with Matt Dumba, who is an electrifying rearguard. He isn’t afraid to activate offensively, hits hard and owns a big shot. The Red Wings also see a familiar face as Kyle Quincey returns to the Jo…wait. It’s opening night at Little Caesars Arena! Wow. What a bad name. Moving on.

Jimmy Howard will start the season opener for the Red Wings. Howard was the better netminder last year and during the pre-season, so he gets the first game instead of Petr Mrazek. It would be tough for Carey Price to have success behind this blueline, but Howard defied the odds when he was healthy last year. The 33-year-old finished the season with a 2.10 GAA and .927 SV% in 24 starts. If he can somehow replicate those numbers, or even come close and stay healthy, that’s the only way the Red Wings stand a chance.

Devan Dubnyk will be between the pipes for Minnesota and he’s been brilliant since being acquired by the Wild in January 2015. Since then, Dubnyk ranks second in wins (99), SV% (.924) and shutouts (15), while being tied for third in GAA (2.17). Dubnyk will shoot for the Vezina Trophy this season and is not the ideal opening night matchup for Detroit.

Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m. ET at Little Caesars Arena. You can watch the game on NBCSN. If you can’t watch the game you can listen to it on 97.1 FM The Ticket.

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