DETROIT – For the first time in three seasons, the defending Stanley Cup champion Red Wings will play at least one game against every team in the league in 2008-09.

In the NHL schedule released on Thursday, the Red Wings will play each of their three Central Division rivals (Chicago, Columbus, Nashville, St. Louis) three times at home and three times on the road. The Wings will play another 40 games inside the Western Conference with two home and two road games against the remaining 10 Western teams.

The remaining 18 games involve at least one game each against all 15 Eastern Conference teams. The Wings will face Pittsburgh, Buffalo and Atlanta each twice – both home and away.

The Wings will face the Penguins -- the team they beat to win their 11th Stanley Cup in franchise history – on Tuesday, November 11 at Joe Louis Arena, and on Sunday, February 8 at Pittsburgh’s Mellon Arena.

The Wings will open the season against Original Six rival Toronto on Thursday, October 9 when a championship banner ceremony is planned.

Besides the Maple Leafs and Penguins, the nine home games against Eastern rivals include meetings with the New York Rangers (Oct. 18), Atlanta (Oct. 24), New Jersey (Nov. 8), Montreal (Nov. 26), Buffalo (Jan. 10), Philadelphia (March 17), and the New York Islanders (March 27).

The 2008-09 schedule will feature five Friday games, eight Saturday games, and three Sunday games at Joe Louis Arena.  Last season, the Red Wings hosted eight Friday games, four Saturday games, and four Sunday games.

An obvious omission to the 2008-09 schedule is the traditional New Year’s Eve game that has been a regular staple in the Red Wings’ schedule since 1950. Instead, the Wings and Blackhawks will play a home-and-home series on Dec. 30 and Jan. 1. The New Year’s Day game will be the league’s second annual Winter Classic, an outdoor contest, which will be played at the 41,000-season Wrigley Field.

The Wings only have four home games in January with nine games on the road, including a season-long, six-game trip that begins in Dallas on Jan. 12 and finishes at Columbus on Jan. 27.

Last November, the NHL’s Board of Governors approved the new scheduling matrix, which ensures that each team plays every club at least one, either home or away.

The new format represents a change from a matrix approved by the Board for the 2005-06 season that called for four games (40 total) against each non-division conference opponent, eight games (32 total) against each in-division opponent and 10 inter-conference games.

Fans can still lock in to last year’s ticket prices by becoming a season-ticket holder prior to August 4.  For season ticket information, call the Red Wings Ticket Sales and Service Department at 313-396-7575.

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Day	Date		Opponent	Time
Thu	Oct 9		Toronto	7 p.m.
Sat	Oct 11	at	Ottawa	7 p.m.
Mon	Oct 13	at	Carolina	7 p.m.
Thu	Oct 16		Vancouver	7:30 p.m.
Sat	Oct 18		N.Y. Rangers	7 p.m.
Wed	Oct 22	at	St. Louis	8:30 p.m.
Fri	Oct 24		Atlanta	7:30 p.m.
Sat	Oct 25	at	Chicago	8:30 p.m.
Mon	Oct 27	at	Los Angeles	10:30 p.m.
Wed	Oct 29	at	Anaheim	10 p.m.
Thu	Oct 30	at	San Jose	10:30 p.m.
Sun	Nov 2	at	Vancouver	10 p.m.
Sat	Nov 8		New Jersey	7 p.m.
Tue	Nov 11		Pittsburgh	7 p.m.
Thu	Nov 13	at	Tampa Bay	7:30 p.m.
Fri	Nov 14	at	Florida	7:30 p.m.
Mon	Nov 17		Edmonton	7:30 p.m.
Thu	Nov 20	at	Edmonton	9 p.m.
Sat	Nov 22	at	Calgary	10 p.m.
Mon	Nov 24	at	Vancouver	10 p.m.
Wed	Nov 26		Montreal	7:30 p.m.
Fri	Nov 28		Columbus	7:30 p.m.
Sat	Nov 29	at	Boston	7 p.m.
Mon	Dec 1		Anaheim	7:30 p.m.
Thu	Dec 4		Vancouver	7:30 p.m.
Sat	Dec 6		Chicago	7 p.m.
Wed	Dec 10		Calgary	7:30 p.m.
Fri	Dec 12	at	Dallas	8:30 p.m.
Sat	Dec 13	at	Phoenix	9 p.m.
Mon	Dec 15		Colorado	7 p.m.
Thu	Dec 18		San Jose	7:30 p.m.
Sat	Dec 20		Los Angeles	7 p.m.
Tue	Dec 23		St. Louis	7:30 p.m.
Fri	Dec 26	at	Nashville	8 p.m.
Sat	Dec 27	at	Colorado	9 p.m.
Tue	Dec 30		Chicago	7:30 p.m.
Thu	Jan 1	at	Chicago *	1 p.m.
Sat	Jan 3	at	Minnesota	8 p.m.
Tue	Jan 6		Columbus	7:30 p.m.
Thu	Jan 8		Dallas	7:30 p.m.
Sat	Jan 10		Buffalo	7 p.m.
Mon	Jan 12	at	Dallas	8 p.m.
Wed	Jan 14	at	Anaheim	10 p.m.
Thu	Jan 15	at	Los Angeles	10:30 p.m.
Sat	Jan 17	at	San Jose	10:30 p.m.
Tue	Jan 20	at	Phoenix	9 p.m.
Tue	Jan 27	at	Columbus	7 p.m.
Thu	Jan 29		Dallas	7:30 p.m.
Sat	Jan 31	at	Washington	12:30 p.m.
Mon	Feb 2		St. Louis	7 p.m.
Wed	Feb 4		Phoenix	7:30 p.m.
Sat	Feb 7		Edmonton	3 p.m.
Sun	Feb 8	at	Pittsburgh	3 p.m.
Tue	Feb 10	at	Nashville	8 p.m.
Thu	Feb 12		Minnesota	7:30 p.m.
Fri	Feb 13	at	Columbus	7 p.m.
Sun	Feb 15		Colorado	5 p.m.
Wed	Feb 18		Nashville	7:30 p.m.
Fri	Feb 20		Anaheim	7:30 p.m.
Sat	Feb 21	at	Minnesota	8 p.m.
Wed	Feb 25		San Jose	7:30 p.m.
Fri	Feb 27		Los Angeles	7:30 p.m.
Sat	Feb 28	at	Nashville	8 p.m.
Tue	Mar 3	at	St. Louis	8:30 p.m.
Wed	Mar 4	at	Colorado	9 p.m.
Sat	Mar 7		Columbus	7 p.m.
Tue	Mar 10		Phoenix	7:30 p.m.
Thu	Mar 12		Calgary	7 p.m.
Sat	Mar 14	at	St. Louis	2 p.m.
Sun	Mar 15	at	Columbus	5 p.m.
Tue	Mar 17		Philadelphia	7:30 p.m.
Fri	Mar 20	at	Atlanta	7:30 p.m.
Mon	Mar 23	at	Calgary	9 p.m.
Tue	Mar 24	at	Edmonton	9:30 p.m.
Fri	Mar 27		N.Y. Islanders	7:30 p.m.
Sun	Mar 29		Nashville	5 p.m.
Thu	Apr 2		St. Louis	7:30 p.m.
Sun	Apr 5		Minnesota	5 p.m.
Mon	Apr 6	at	Buffalo	7 p.m.
Thu	Apr 9		Nashville	7:30 p.m.
Sat	Apr 11		Chicago	3 p.m.
Sun	Apr 12	at	Chicago	5 p.m.

* Winter Classic at Wrigley Field, Chicago