PREVIEW: Red Wings begin three-game homestand, go for third consecutive win when Panthers visit on Wednesday 

DETROIT -- Fresh off their first road win of the 2025-26 season, the Detroit Red Wings will kick off a three-game homestand when they welcome the two-time defending Stanley Cup-champion Florida Panthers to Little Caesars Arena on Wednesday night.

Detroit (2-1-0; 4 points) and Florida (3-1-0; 6 points) are set to drop at 7 p.m., with TV broadcast coverage airing exclusively on TNT and streaming on MAX. Ken Kal and Paul Woods will have the call on the Red Wings Radio Network (97.1 The Ticket in Detroit).

And for fans in attendance, all will receive a Red Wings Magnet Schedule, presented by Belle Tire.

“It’s huge,” Marco Kasper said about the advantage of playing on home ice. “[The fans] always show up. It’s great for us to have them in the building and to play at home. We’re really looking forward to the next three games.”

Kasper and his teammates know there’s things to clean up from Monday afternoon’s 3-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs, but they’ll gladly take the two points. Netminder Cam Talbot played a big part in helping the Red Wings complete a sweep of the home-and-home series, stopping 38 of 40 shots he faced.

“We didn’t love a lot of that game,” said Mason Appleton, who scored the go-ahead goal in the final minute of regulation on Monday. “But at the end of the season, when you’re looking back on your point total, you don’t remember how that one went in Toronto. You just remember the two points, so a win’s a win. A lot to get better on.”

After Lucas Raymond exited midway through the second period of Monday’s Original Six battle with an upper-body injury, Appleton took Raymond’s spot on Detroit’s top line alongside captain Dylan Larkin and rookie Emmitt Finnie.

Given the lines from Wednesday’s morning skate, along with Raymond being unavailable against Florida and his current day-to-day status, it appears Appleton will receive some more top-line ice time.

“It’s a start for us,” McLellan said. “We’ll see where it goes…I thought he did a good job. He’s got some experience and can play both ends of the rink, which is important. That line takes on not only offensive responsibilities, but some defensive ones against a team’s top players. We think he can give us something on both sides of the puck.”

McLellan also said Talbot will make his third straight start on Wednesday and John Gibson will man the crease against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday night.

“The performance that Talbs had, in my opinion, he earned the right to go back in there again,” McLellan said. “We have a game on Friday. We know that Gibby’s got to play, will play and will play a lot and well. We’re just making a decision for today.”

The Panthers arrive in Detroit for the first time this season coming off a 5-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Monday night.

Through its first four games, Brad Marchand (two goals, two assists) and Anton Lundell (two goals, two assists) are tied for first on Florida in scoring with four points apiece, while four players (Sam Reinhart, Evan Rodrigues, Mackie Samoskevich and Gustav Forsling) have all tallied four points. Named the NHL’s Third Star of the Week on Monday, veteran netminder Sergei Bobrovsky has a 1.67 goals-against average and .925 save percentage in three starts this season.

“They play with their foot on the gas,” McLellan said about the Panthers. “Everybody plays the same game…They have players that come in and fit their system. They have a belief in what they do is the right way to do it, and proof is in the pudding so it’s easy to sell.”