The Detroit Red Wings were the first National Hockey League team to land in Sweden last week ahead of the 2023 NHL Global Series, a four-game tournament also featuring the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators and Minnesota Wild.

The Wings took to the ice at Avicii Arena in Stockholm on Tuesday after spending a day exploring the city, according to NHL.com's Bill Price.

“Today was good. It was nice to be back on the ice,” defenseman Moritz Seider explained. “We didn't do anything yesterday other than walk around. It feels good to get going and looking forward to another one tomorrow.”

“I think today was feeling like getting your legs back from the time change and whatever it was yesterday,” forward Alex DeBrincat echoed. “Tomorrow, I'm sure we'll focus more a little bit on that and today was more about ourselves and getting back to our mentality and how we want to practice and play.”

Red Wings to face Senators, Maple Leafs

Detroit will meet two divisional rivals during the 2023 NHL Global Series; the Senators on Thursday night, and the Leafs on Friday. The team practiced on Tuesday, and will do so again on Wednesday ahead of their first cross-country contest of the season.

“That was the message beforehand,” coach Derek Lalonde said regarding upping the intensity overseas. “A little mentality more than anything and design a practice we want to get that accomplished. For the most part of I think we did.”

The Wings have a solid cheering section that includes around 150 fans that made the trip from Michigan, per Price, as well as two Detroit legends — and Swedes — Henrik Zetterberg and Nicklas Lidstrom.

Detroit beat Ottawa in the first meeting of the Atlantic Division rivals this season back on Oct. 21, a huge win against DeBrincat's old team.

“I don't think we're going to need to search that hard to find that emotion [from the first game],” he reflected. “Obviously, it's very cool to play over here. The first time was a big game for us — they are always a tough team to play against, they play hard, so we have to match that intensity and really come out strong.”

The Red Wings are 8-5-2 on the season, good enough for third place in the Atlantic. They'll look to build some separation in Sweden as the ultimate goal of returning to the postseason for the first time since 2015-16 continues.