Red Wings fans need to circle these 5 key March matchups

The Olympic break is over and the NHL players are back with their teams.

The Detroit Red Wings have one game remaining before they enter March, a month that has given the Red Wings team and their fans so much pain the past two seasons. With 23 games left to play, the Wings have put themselves in position to break their nine-year playoff drought, change the perception surrounding March and bring postseason games back to Hockeytown. 

Here is a look at five games for Red Wings fans to keep an eye on in March. 

Mar. 6, Vs. Florida Panthers

The back-to-back Stanley Cup-winning Panthers find themselves in an unfamiliar position, sitting outside the playoff picture with under two months to play. The Panthers trail the Red Wings by 11 points, so getting wins off them will help clear a path to the playoffs. 

Detroit took the first meeting of the season between the two teams, defeating the Panthers 4-1 at Little Caesars Arena. The Panthers were missing Matthew Tkachuk, but it should be noted that the Red Wings were also playing without star forward Lucas Raymond. 

The Red Wings and Panthers will meet three times in the regular season’s final two months, giving Detroit a chance to put the reigning champions playoff hopes on life support as the games dwindle off the schedule. 

Mar. 12, @ Tampa Bay Lightning 

The Lightning played themselves to the top Eastern Conference, continuing to be a force to reckon with around the National Hockey League. The Red Wings trail the Lightning by six points with 23 games to play. The Lightning look like a lock to make the playoffs for a ninth straight season, so this will be another great measuring stick game for a Red Wings team looking to change the conversations surrounding them. 

The two teams have met twice this season, with the Red Wings taking the first game, 2-1, in overtime, before the Lightning struck back with a dominant 6-3 win in late November. The loss in November was during their worst stretch of the season, where they lost four games in a row, giving up 19 goals across that span. 

If the Red Wings want to be a true contender in the Eastern Conference, winning games on the road in Tampa Bay would be a great way to show the hockey world that this version of the Red Wings are different from past seasons. 

Mar, 14, @ Dallas Stars

One of the Western Conference powerhouses, the Stars find themselves third in the Central Division. The Stars sit fourth in the league in goal differential and bring an offense that can score with the likes of anyone in the league. Mikko Rantanen has 69 points, Jason Robertson is at 66, and Wyatt Johnston has 61. 

The two teams met in the final game prior to the holiday freeze. The Red Wings erased a 3-2 third-period deficit en route to a 4-3 overtime win, in what was one of the Red Wings’ best games of the season. 

Dallas has been a place of horrors for the Red Wings, as they have failed to pick up a win on the road against the Stars since the 2015-16 regular season, when they picked up a 3-2 overtime victory. This game will be the final game on a four-game road trip that sees the Red Wings face the New Jersey Devils, Panthers, Lightning and Stars, so this could be a stretch that fans look back on as a fate decider on the Red Wings’ season. 

Mar. 19, Vs. Montreal Canadiens 

Two young Atlantic Division rivals with a lot at stake, as entering play Feb. 27 the teams are separated by one point. The Canadiens were a playoff team from a-year-ago, whereas the Red Wings found themselves on the outside. With only three meetings between these two teams this season, points are at a premium as the calendar flips to March. 

The first meeting of the season was the Red Wings’ home opener, a game that saw the Canadiens roll into Detroit and win 5-1. The Red Wings responded in January, blanking the Canadiens 4-0 at the Bell Centre. The Red Wings’ stars showed up in that win with both Dylan Larkin and Alex DeBrincat getting two points, while Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider each had one. 

John Gibson has been elite since December, giving the Red Wings a chance to win on any given night. This may be the area Detroit can exploit on Montreal, as their goaltending has struggled for the majority of the 2025-26 season and they have given up 191 goals, 15 more than the Red Wings. 

Mar. 27, @ Buffalo Sabres

The two teams are looking to snap their own long playoff droughts, as the Sabres sit at 14 seasons since their last playoff appearance. The Sabres sit two points behind the Red Wings but currently hold one game in hand in the crowded Eastern Conference. 

The Sabres have taken both meetings from the Red Wings this season, winning 4-2 in Buffalo in October, then 5-4 in overtime in Detroit, scoring four unanswered goals to erase a 4-1 Red Wings lead. 

Like the Canadiens, the Red Wings and Sabres will only meet three times this season, so this final meeting between the two clubs will be vital in seeing which team may have a leg up on the other as March comes to a close. 

This meeting will be the front half of the Red Wings’ final back-to-back of the regular season, so making sure they not only get a divisional win but also pick up a win before returning home to face Philadelphia is very important.