Patrick Kane makes his first trip back to Little Caesars Arena as a visitor Thursday night when the Chicago Blackhawks face the Red Wings at 7:30 p.m. Kane spent the previous three seasons in Detroit before returning to Chicago on a two-year contract in July, and he now leads the Blackhawks in scoring. The game opens a two-game homestand for Detroit, which comes home after taking five of a possible eight points on its four-game western trip.

The matchup

The Red Wings (5-4-3, 13 points) are 4-1-1 in their last six games and have points in seven of their last eight. They closed the trip with a 4-3 shootout win in Edmonton on Monday, when rookie Michal Postava stopped all three Oilers shooters, including Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, in his first NHL start. Alex DeBrincat leads Detroit with 13 points (six goals, seven assists), Lucas Raymond has 11 points and seven in his last five games, and Viktor Arvidsson has 10 points, four of his five goals coming on the power play. Rookie Michael Brandsegg-Nygård had 11 hits in Edmonton, the most by a Red Wing in one game since the NHL began tracking hits in 2005-06.

Chicago (4-8-0, 8 points) ended a seven-game homestand with a 2-1 win over Los Angeles on Tuesday, snapping a three-game losing streak, but is still looking for its first road win in four tries. Kane assisted on Wyatt Kaiser’s third-period winner against the Kings and has eight points (one goal, seven assists) in 12 games. Roman Kantserov leads the Blackhawks with five goals, and Connor Bedard has six points in six games. Chicago is coached by former Red Wings bench boss Jeff Blashill.

Lineup and goalies

Coach Todd McLellan ruled out defenseman Albert Johansson, and forwards Marco Kasper and Mason Appleton remain on injured reserve, about two weeks from returning. Dylan Larkin missed Wednesday’s practice for what McLellan called a maintenance day and is expected to play. Daniil Tarasov (1-0-2, 1.40 goals-against average, .940 save percentage) is back at practice after missing a week, giving Detroit three healthy goalies along with John Gibson (3-4-1, 3.44, .867) and Postava (1-0-0). The Red Wings had not named a starter as of Wednesday night. Spencer Knight (4-6-0, 3.23, .897) has appeared in 10 of Chicago’s 12 games.

How to watch

Puck drop is 7:30 p.m. at Little Caesars Arena. The game streams nationally on ESPN+, Hulu, and Disney+ in the U.S. and on SN+ in Canada. Detroit hosts the St. Louis Blues at 1 p.m. Saturday to close out October.

Sources

• NHL.com: Blackhawks at Red Wings game center (Oct. 29, 2026)
• NHL.com: Standings
• Detroit Red Wings: Recap, Red Wings cap off resilient trip with 4-3 shootout victory over Oilers (Oct. 27, 2026)
• The Sports Leader: Renewed Red Wings ready for visit from Patrick Kane, Blackhawks (Oct. 28, 2026)
• Detroit Hockey Now: The Daily, Red Wings come home on high note (Oct. 27, 2026)
• Detroit Hockey Now: Larkin Absence Today Was False Alarm (Oct. 28, 2026)
• Octopus Thrower: Red Wings rookie already making history (Oct. 28, 2026)
• The Detroit News: Patrick Kane’s time with the Wings is over as he returns to Blackhawks (July 23, 2026)

Correction (November 2, 2026): This story originally referred to Dylan Larkin as the Red Wings’ captain. Detroit removed him as captain on Sept. 11. It has been corrected.