Red Wings Hand Rookie Anton Johansson a Second-Pair Debut

Rookie defenseman Anton Johansson will make his NHL debut tonight, and the Detroit Red Wings are handing him the second defensive pairing alongside veteran Justin Faulk against the New York Rangers. Detroit hosts the opener at Little Caesars Arena with puck drop scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET.

The opening exists because Simon Edvinsson is not in the lineup. Edvinsson remains unsigned as a restricted free agent, which moves Moritz Seider and Albert Johansson onto the first pairing and pushes Anton Johansson, a 22-year-old taken with the 105th pick in the fourth round of the 2022 NHL Draft, into top-four minutes in his first NHL game.