Here's why Tuesday's Detroit Red Wings game has a weird starting time

The Detroit Red Wings’ start times early in the 2023-24 NHL season have bounced around juuuuust a bit, with their games over this past week starting at 7 p.m., 7:30 p.m., 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. But Tuesday’s start time at Little Caesars Arena is strange, even by those standards: 8:23 p.m. — and on a weeknight, no less …

So what gives?

Well, it’s part of a special, one-time-only scheduling gimmick, er, quirk, designed to give NHL fans a chance to catch up with all 32 teams in a little under eight hours. The 16 games on the schedule feature staggered start times roughly 15 minutes apart (though they’ll stretch out a bit as the schedule moves to the more sparsely populated West), lasting from the 6 p.m. puck drop in our nation’s capital until the final horn sometime around 1:30 a.m. in Sin City.

Not only that, but it should be possible to catch at least a bit of every game. ESPN will have a tripleheader, the Wings will be on Bally Sports Detroit and the other 12 games will be carried on the ESPN+ streaming service. Hey, is this just a promo for another streaming service? OK, maybe, but the hockey folks at the Worldwide Leader are also throwing those of us with cable packages a bone: 5½ hours of whiparound “Frozen Frenzy” coverage on ESPN2 that should cover most of the goals, fights, penalties and power plays from the night, beginning at 8 p.m. (which itself follows an hour of whiparound coverage on ESPN+ beginning at 7 p.m.) Think of it as “NFL Red Zone” meets the first two days of the NCAA tournament, but without the annoying commercials for the NCAA.

Still, even with all the whiparound coverage, it never hurts to plan ahead. With that in mind, here’s a quick look at the 16 games, and one reason — we think — to watch at least 15 minutes of each:

6 p.m.: Toronto Maple Leafs at Washington Capitals (on ESPN)

The buzz: The NHL’s Detroit Lions analogue — no Stanley Cups for Toronto since 1967 — faces the guy who passed Gordie Howe — Alex Ovechkin — for No. 2 in career NHL goals. Oh, and Toronto’s Auston Matthews opened the season with back-to-back hat tricks.

6:30 p.m.: Anaheim Ducks at Columbus Blue Jackets

The buzz: The chance to catch former Michigan star and No. 3 overall pick Adam Fantilli — only the third true freshman to win the Hobey Baker Award (college hockey’s version of the Heisman Trophy — (after he picked up his first NHL goal on Saturday) oughta be enough, but the NHL schedule-makers deserve a bonus for this matchup against the team that passed over Fantilli at No. 2 in favor of Sweden’s Leo Carlsson, who scored in his debut Thursday.

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6:45 p.m.: Buffalo Sabres at Ottawa Senators

The buzz: It’s the last season that defenseman Owen Power will be an underpaid Sabre — the former U-M defenseman and 2021 No. 1 overall pick signed a seven-year, $58.45 million contract that kicks in next season, following a rookie campaign that saw him put up four goals and 31 assists en route to a runner-up finish in Calder Trophy voting.

7 p.m.: Carolina Hurricanes at Tampa Bay Lightning

The buzz: Lightning captain Steven Stamkos picked up an assist on Saturday night, tying him with former Red Wings forward (and current Ducks GM) Pat Verbeek, aka the “Little Ball of Hate,” for 74th on the NHL’s all-time points list (1,062). Next up: Joe Mullen and Eric Staal, with 1,063; Ray Whitney (another former Wing), with 1,064; and Keith Tkachuk, with 1,065.

7:15 p.m.: New Jersey Devils at Montreal Canadiens

The buzz: The Devils’ Hughes Bros. — forward Jack and defenseman Luke — have played nine NHL games together (including three in last spring’s playoffs), and the Devils have gotten a goal from one of them in seven of those. (Unfortunately for Luke, the former Wolverine, big bro and USNTDP product Jack has produced the score in five games.)

7:30 p.m.: Dallas Stars at Pittsburgh Penguins

The buzz: This one’s brought to us by AARP, as the NHL’s second-oldest player — 39-year-old Joe Pavelski, who is coming off a 77-point season — takes on the league’s oldest team, which averages 31.3 years old (a full year older than the No. 2 Caps), thanks to Jeff Carter (38), Egeni Malkin (37), Sidney Crosby (36) and Erik Karlsson (33). (Those are their ages, not their point totals last season.)

7:45 p.m.: San Jose Sharks at Florida Panthers

The buzz: Filip Zadina — the 2018 first-rounder who vowed to “fill up the net” against the teams that passed on him, then asked out of his contract with the Wings this July — is already a third of the way to matching his 2022-23 goal total (three) through four games with the Sharks.

8 p.m.: Colorado Avalanche at New York Islanders

The buzz: No NHL goalie has more shutouts than the Isles’ Ilya Sorokin (17) since he debuted during the 2020-21 season, and it’s not close (the Rangers’ Igor Shesterkin is No. 2, with 14).

8:23 p.m.: Seattle Kraken at Detroit Red Wings

The buzz: Former U-M star (and 2021 No. 2 overall pick) Matty Beniers did just about everything as a rookie — 23 goals, 34 assists, taking Seattle to the playoffs for the first time and a Calder Trophy win as the NHL’s top rookie — except score at Little Caesars Arena (though he did have two assists in the Kraken’s March 2 visit).

8:30 p.m. Boston Bruins at Chicago Blackhawks (on ESPN)

The buzz: Featuring 2023 No. 1 overall pick Connor Bedard (who picked up his first career goal against the Bruins last week) facing last season’s Presidents’ Trophy winners (who set records for wins and points, only to lose in the first round) — you’ll be shocked to find out this is the second game in ESPN’s main tripleheader.

8:45 p.m. St. Louis Blues at Winnipeg Jets

The buzz: We’re not all about the ex-Wolverines …  there are three Michigan State alumni in the league this season. There’s Wings defenseman Jeff Petry … and the other two — Blues defenseman Torey Krug and Jets center Mason Appleton — face off in this game.

9 p.m.: Edmonton Oilers at Minnesota Wild

The buzz: Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury is the backup in Minny now, so he may not appear in this one — other than a shot of the bench — but it’s worth noting that he’s just seven wins shy of passing Patrick Roy (551) for second in career NHL wins. (He’s also just one loss shy, at 315, of passing Roy for 13th in career NHL losses, but that’s not nearly as uplifting.)

9:15 p.m.: Vancouver Canucks at Nashville Predators

The buzz: The ‘Nucks have a new “C” after trading Bo Horvat to the Islanders in January: Former Michigan defenseman Quinn Hughes (Jack and Luke’s older brother), who’s coming off a 69-assist campaign. He’s just the third d-man in Vancouver history to serve as captain and the first since Doug Lidster in 1990-91.

9:45 p.m.: New York Rangers at Calgary Flames

The buzz: We’d point out longtime Kings goalie Jonathan Quick, who landed as the Rangers’ backup this offseason, but we’re pretty sure he won’t play, since he picked up his 376th career win (No. 2 among Americans, behind only the 391 of MSU’s Ryan Miller) on Saturday. So we’ll note that Peter Laviolette, the NHL’s eighth-winningest coach of all-time, is now with the Rangers, his sixth franchise. (He has a ways to go for the record, though: Eight franchises, held by Mike Keenan and Roger Neilson.)

10:30 p.m.: Arizona Coyotes at Los Angeles Kings

The buzz: This goes out to Yoopers in and near Houghton — the only two Michigan Tech alumni active this season, goalie Pheonix Copley and defenseman Matt Roy, will be in Crypto.com Arena for this one, both suiting up for the Kings.

11 p.m.: Philadelphia Flyers at Vegas Golden Knights (on ESPN)

The buzz: The NHL’s best — the Golden Knights are the reigning Stanley Cup champs, of course — are saved for last, and they’re riding a bit of history: Vegas is the first Cup winner to start its title defense with six straight wins. (In fact, the Knights haven’t lost since June 8 — Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals.)

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Inside Detroit Red Wings' and NHL's 'Frozen Frenzy' on Tuesday