Red Wings Open Season Today in Stockholm

The Red Wings begin the 2009-2010 season today in Stockholm, Sweden, taking on the St. Louis Blues in the first game of a neutral site home-and-home series between the two teams.

Excluding last year’s Winter Classic, this is Detroit’s first neutral site game since they picked up a 3-0 win over the Hartford Whalers in Cleveland on February 24, 1994. In all the Red Wings are 8-2-3 in games played outside the home team’s city (including one Chicago “home” game played at Detroit’s Olympia Stadium, also played on February 24, this time in 1929).

The Chris McCosky of the Detroit News reported this morning that Derek Meech and Patrick Eaves will be the healthy scratches today for the Red Wings. This means the fourth line will be Justin Abdelkader, Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby.

After missing Wednesday’s exhibition against Farjestads BK with the flu, Chris Osgood is scheduled to start in net.