The Detroit Red Wings came achingly close to ending their playoff drought last season.They hope the experience of playing pressure-packed games will give them an extra boost as they open the new season on Thursday against the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins.Detroit accumulated 91 points last season but lost a tiebreaker with the Washington Capitals for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff berth.”Just getting those games down the stretch was valuable and extremely fun,” forward Lucas Raymond said.After missing out on the postseason for the eighth consecutive year, the Red Wings didn’t make any blockbuster trades during the offseason, but they did add some veterans who will play key roles.Detroit signed free agent forward Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year contract. Tarasenko was traded by Ottawa to Florida late last season, and he contributed nine points during the Panthers’ run to the Stanley Cup.Tarasenko, who scored 23 regular-season goals in 2023-24, likely will play on Detroit’s second line.The Red Wings kept their most important free agent, Patrick Kane, on a one-year contract. Kane joined the Red Wings last season after recovering from hip surgery and supplied 20 goals and 27 assists in 50 games.They also added 37-year-old goaltender Cam Talbot to compete with Alex Lyon and Ville Husso for the starting job. Training camp did little to sort out that issue.”We’re really comfortable with playing any goalie on any given night,” head coach Derek Lalonde said. “We’ll get a feel after each game of how we’re going to do this.”Detroit also is counting on two top prospects, Simon Edvinsson and Albert Johansson, to bolster the defense. The 6-foot-6 Edvinsson, the sixth overall pick of the 2021 draft, will give the backline more size and thump.