The Detroit Red Wings’ self-inflicted mistakes and bad bounces yielded a 4th straight loss on Thursday night, in the form of a 4-2 loss to Utah HC.
Perhaps the worst loss of the night was in the form of one Carter Mazur, who suffered what Facebook told us was a dislocated left elbow in a collision with Jack McBain, as the Free Press’s Helene St. James noted…
The affable forward got hurt on his second shift Thursday, when he got tangled up along the boards with Utah Hockey Club forward Jack McBain. Mazur immediately went down the tunnel to the locker room. The Wings announced during the first intermission that Mazur would not return because of an upper-body injury.
“You basically really have to be banged up if you’re not going to return to the ice your first night that early in the game,” coach Todd McLellan said after the 4-2 loss. “He won’t travel with us, and he’ll be further evaluated.”
But coach Todd McLellan wasn’t using Mazur’s loss as an excuse for the team’s flip-flop from confident team back to the Struggle Bus, as he told Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen:
“When Maze comes in, the guys were truly excited. He read the starting lineup,” McLellan said. “He’s out there flying around in warm up. I think (friends and family) bought a whole section, basically. And then for him to leave that, you feel that a little bit on the bench, but there’s no excuse at all.
Carter Mazur injured on this play – looks like his knee. Hoping he can bounce back quickly, terrible luck. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/w1d6EIwjCp
— Ryan Hana (@RyanHanaWWP) March 7, 2025
So that happened.
And then the Red Wings lost their 4th straight game, and went 1-4-and-1 in their past 6 home games.
That happened, too.
So the Red Wings’ players, coaches and management have to move forward, with 19 games left and a Wild Card spot in reach, but a massive clump of teams to battle for one of those spots, with 7 of the next 10 games to be played away from Little Caesars Arena.
That’s an uphill battle for sure, and it’s going to be bloody difficult for the Wings to make it through Friday night’s game vs. Washington, never mind the balance of the regular season, if they continue playing the way that they’ve been playing.
But that’s the way things are, and it is better to deal with reality than to deal with anything else.
As far as the “Utah Hockey Club” was concerned, Thursday night’s game was a “statement win,” headlined by goaltender Karel Vejmelka’s 38-save performance, as KSL.com’s Ryan Miller noted:
“I like those kinds of games with a good pace and it’s kind of like playoff games,” Vejmelka said. “So I was just trying to be focused as much as I can, and be ready for what’s going to happen in front of me.”
A lot was happening in front of him. Utah was outshot 40-19 by a Detroit team that seemed to live in the crease during the first two periods. The Red Wings zipped around the offensive zone, sending puck after puck toward the net.
That led to 27 scoring opportunities and 12 high-danger chances. In short, the Red Wings should have scored more than two goals. Utah has Vejmelka to thank for the fact that they didn’t.
“We got an elite performance from Veggie,” head coach André Tourigny said. “He was really, really good; made key saves in key moments.”
That performance kept Utah in a game it really had no business being in. MoneyPuck’s Deserve to Win O’Meter (which simulates the game based on the team’s chances), gave Detroit an 80% chance of winning the contest.
(George does not believe in a “deserve-to-win” meter, but that’s me)
Yet, it was The Club that skated away with 2 points; Tourigny isn’t about to apologize for that.
“We’ve had a lot of those games that went the other way, where we dominate and we cannot seal the deal,” Tourigny said. “It’s good to be on the other side of it.”
For Utah, which is in the running for a Wild Card spot of their own, they need to win almost every game remaining to get there, too…
The victory helped Utah keep pace in the playoff race; Utah (65 points) trails Calgary by 3 points for the final wild card spot, but Vancouver (67 points) and St. Louis (66) also stand in the way.
“We need to win every game,” Tourigny said. “That’s the way it is.”
Regrettably for the Wings, as KSLSports.com’s Cole Bagley noted, the Hockey Club scored two goals in a tied third period…
Heading into the third period, it was anybody’s game as Utah and Detroit were tied at two goals apiece. While the Red Wings dominated the initial frame, Utah fought back in the second and dug even deeper in the third period to snatch two critical points in the standings.
“We had one period to go out there and win an important hockey game and that’s what we did,” Lawson Crouse said. “It shows a lot of courage from our team…getting a win like that feels good.”
Despite beginning the third on the PK and facing another man-down situation later in the period against a top five power play unit, Utah maintained their composure, threw their bodies in front of shots and shut the Red Wings down.
They also took advantage of their opportunities in the offensive zone as they generated turnovers, attacked the net and shelfed the puck twice to give themselves a two-goal lead.
As Crouse also told the Salt Lake Tribune’s Belle Fraser:
The team was tied 2-2 with the Detroit Red Wings entering the final frame Thursday night at Little Caesars Arena. It killed off 1:06 of a carried-over Red Wing power play from the second period, then another three minutes later. Kevin Stenlund and Lawson Crouse scored. The Club dictated how it wanted to play instead of waiting for Detroit’s push.
Despite being out-skated — and out-scored — in the first period, Utah stuck with the process until things clicked. It resulted in a 4-2 win.
“We weren’t happy with our first two periods. We gave up a lot defensively and we knew that,” Crouse said. “We had one period to go out there and win an important hockey game and that’s what we did. It shows a lot of courage from our team. There’s definitely things we need to improve on, but getting a win like that feels good.”
It helped, too, that Karel Vejmelka was locked in from puck drop and allowed his team to take some time before shifting the momentum. The goaltender made a cumulative 38 saves on 40 shots less than 24 hours after signing his five-year contract extension with Utah.
“It’s great news for me. I desired to stay in Utah. It’s a great group of guys. That was the first thing on my mind to stay here and be part of this great group,” Vejmelka said. “The first year here is something special for everybody. I’m trying to enjoy every moment. It’s a big family for me. It’s like a second family.”
…
“We have a plan against the strengths of each team but I will say I think that the focus and the resilience of those guys on the PK — I think they take a lot of pride in their craft,” Tourigny said. “We knew the size of the challenge tonight. … I think the boys did a great job.”
Or, as Tourigny told KSL.com’s Brogan Houston:
They allowed 40 shots on net, managing just 19 of their own. They were successful in getting on the board early, but they quickly allowed the Red Wings to pop a pair of pucks between the pipes, giving them a 2-1 deficit by the end of the first period.
But good teams don’t let adversity get them down — and Utah is showing, time and time again, that they’re a good team.
“We got better during the game,” said head coach André Tourigny. We’re resilient. We stick together.”
There’s no doubt that the former Arizona Coyotes have built a strong team. The question right now, for most of those of you who are still reading, is what the Red Wings are made of, and Dylan Larkin was as frustrated as you were, as he told NHL.com’s Dave Hogg:
“We just can’t find a way,” Larkin said. “We’ve lost not playing well and we’ve lost playing well. We’re losing in different ways, so we just have to keep looking at the big picture.”
The Red Wings didn’t score in the last 51:11.
“We talk a lot about the race to three (goals), and if you don’t win that, you put yourself in a real tough spot,” Red Wings coach Todd McLellan said. “We didn’t get to three again tonight.”
Nick Schmaltz tied it 2-2 at 13:01 of the second period, scoring a one-timer from the bottom of the left circle off a cross-slot pass from Barrett Hayton on the power play.
Kevin Stenlund put Utah in front 3-2 at 2:55 of the third period, picking up a loose puck at the right face-off dot and beating Lyon with a snap shot.
“It’s a 2-2 game there and we had a lapse in our end and they get one,” Larkin said. “We just can’t do that at that point in the game.”
Lawson Crouse took a spinning backhanded pass from Jack McBain and outwaited Lyon in front before putting a wrist shot over the glove for the 4-2 final at 7:51.
Larkin’s not above publicly asking for a helping hand, however, as he told the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan:
The deadline is at 3 p.m. (EST) and Yzerman has been speculated to be looking for a depth defenseman and center to fortify the Wings’ lineup. But with the Wings’ losing streak now reaching four games, and the Wings having won two of their last eight games (2-5-1), how aggressive will Yzerman be?
Captain Dylan Larkin hopes the Wings’ second half turnaround, since the arrival of coach Todd McLellan, will give Yzerman motivation to add the roster, or at least maintain.
“We talked about it as a group, about how far we’ve come and how we didn’t really see ourselves in this position (at Christmas time) but we put the work in and got ourselves here,” Larkin said. “I feel we’ve made the case to continue to push this thing and keep playing for the playoffs and get in.”
Coach McLellan was more sanguine regarding what’s to come–or not to come–on deadline day…
“The organization will do what they can to make the team better for Saturday, for Sunday and for training camp next season and moving forward,” McLellan said. “It’s not just a short-term look or a long-term look. It’s looking at the group as a whole and can we find players that fit our team and make us better.”
But Larkin was blunt about the Wings losing Christian Fischer on waivers–and Patrick Kane was equally blunt about the Wings losing their home-ice advantage:
“Losing Fish today was hard for our room, and Maze came up and that was another kind of tough one to see,” Larkin said. “We know what he’s been through this season and he’s a great guy. We wish him the best. That’s a tough one.”
The Wings only have seven home games remaining in the regular season and 13 on the road. They’ve only won two of their last six games at Little Caesars Arena, and it’s a tight playoff race that is costly.
“When you look at the schedule and see we don’t have many home games left, it’s definitely an opportunity missed,” forward Patrick Kane said. “We had some looks we could have scored here or there. There were some chances when we were up 2-1 or 3-1 and those are big moments in the game. You get a two-goal lead and suddenly it seems like a challenge for them to come back. Some missed opportunities there too.”
Larkin agreed while speaking with Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff…
Captain Dylan Larkin painted a picture of Detroit’s current status. While it was certainly at a paint by numbers level of descriptive, it was also an entirely accurate portrayal.
“Just can’t find a win,” Larkin said. “We’ve lost not playing well, and we’ve lost playing well. We’re losing in different ways. You need to score more goals than the other team. And we’re just not putting the puck in the net. We’re not keeping it out of our net.”
So coach McLellan weighed in again…
“The organization will do whatever they can to make the team better for Saturday because the trade deadline’s on Friday,” McLellan said. “For Saturday, for Sunday and for training camp next year and moving forward.
“It’s not just a short-term look and it’s not just a long-term look. It’s looking at the group as a whole and can we find players that fit our team better? Can we find players that will make us better now? Can we find players that will help us with chemistry? That’s all talked about all the time.”
And he went further while speaking with Duff’s Detroit Hockey Now colleague, Kevin Allen:
“Tomorrow’s a strange day with playing on the trade deadline, so we’ll have to have people around,” McLellan said.
Larkin certainly doesn’t know what will happen today, even though the consensus is the Red Wings will consider adding a defenseman and perhaps a center.
“(Mazur) came up and that was kind of another tough one to see,” Larkin said. “And we know what he’s been through this season (with an earlier long-term injury) and he’s a great guy and we wish him all the best and we’re thinking about him, but that’s another tough one. So we’ll see what happens tomorrow. But I feel we’ve made a case to continue to push this thing and keep playing for the playoffs and try and get in.”
What happened Thursday has to considered, but it may not change what the Red Wings are planning to do, if anything. After trading Ville Husso and placing Andrew Copp on Long-Term Injured Reserve, puckpedia.com has Detroit with almost $13 million in cap space. The trick is improving the team without surrendering too many assets for the future.
So the Red Wings will attempt to look forward as best they can after a rough home stand, as they told the Hockey News’s Sam Stockton…
“We just can’t find a win,” said a somber Dylan Larkin after the game. “We’ve lost not playing well, we’ve lost playing well…You look at the big picture and kind of zoom out a little bit, and it’s four games. We’ve got a chance tomorrow night to right the ship and get that win and hopefully build confidence from there.”
Despite conceding the game’s first goal just 2:08 after the opening faceoff, the Red Wings had a 2–1 lead by the midpoint of the opening period. The first was a clear departure from Detroit’s languid performance against Carolina Tuesday night, when coach Todd McLellan described his team as skating as though through mud. Detroit flew out of the gate and out-shot Utah in each of the three periods, but as the game crept on, the visitors seized control. “I…think there were some chances when we were up 2–1 to make it 3–1, and those are big moments in the game,” assessed forward Patrick Kane.
Utah tied the game with a power play goal with 6:59 left in the second, then scored twice five minutes apart over the first eight minutes of the third to take a 4–2 lead. While the Red Wings had been generating opportunities all night long, that two-goal deficit felt insurmountable.
With 4:23 to play, Kane took a penalty for holding the stick of former Red Wings defenseman Olli Maatta (traded in late October, returning to LCA as a visitor for the first time), and Detroit’s hopes of a comeback all but vanished.
As for the prevailing mood of on-setting doom following the scars of last spring and the spring before, McLellan made the case that each team should be evaluated independently, but even he seemed to acquiesce to that possibility. When asked whether a feeling of ‘here we go again’ was creeping in for his team, McLellan replied, “I’d like to answer no, but I don’t know that for sure. I don’t know what it’s felt like in the past…I’d like to think we’ve learned from the past, and we’re mentally stronger…We’re our own group…and we’re gonna write our own story.” He did concede that the “belief system” built up in early days of his tenure is now “really getting tested.”
The Athletic’s Max Bultman widened the perspective to a panoramic frame thusly:
If this team were more comfortably in a playoff spot, it would be a no-brainer to pick up a reliable defender to shore up the third pairing and build in some insurance against injury. Even now, that may well be Detroit’s best move. Especially with an extra third- and fourth-round pick in the team’s war chest this year.
After four straight losses, though, and with the team’s playoff odds below 20 percent, his team isn’t making it easy for its general manager to choose that path. Instead, Yzerman has just a few more hours to decide if this is a temporary wobble, that such an addition would help fix. Or, if it’s a sign that this may not yet be the team to further invest in.
Frankly, making matters worse is that one of the biggest culprits over the last week or so has been Detroit’s goaltending, an issue that the Red Wings likely can’t solve on Friday. Without steadier play in net, even a good addition could be moot.
All along, the likeliest outcome for the Red Wings has seemed to be a relatively mild deadline — much like last year, when the team shipped out Klim Kostin and relied on the call-up of Simon Edvinsson to bolster their push. That chase came up just short, with Detroit missed the playoffs on a tiebreaker, but it’s possible it will be a similar story this time around.
Making some kind of addition, though — even a small one — would at least send the message to the locker room that the team’s front office still believes it has a chance. That it sees more in the Red Wings than the last week might inspire.
“You look at the big picture and kind of zoom out a little bit, it’s four games,” Larkin said. “We’ve got a chance tomorrow night (in Washington) to right the ship and get that win, and hopefully build confidence from there.”
That’s the hope, Dylan. The rest of this is the politics of prices and cost-versus-benefit scenarios.
And the costs are usually high for minimal benefit, so I’m not expecting much of anything to happen at the deadline, honestly.
I believe in this team. I’d believe in it a little more if they could get some help. But help is expensive, perhaps too expensive for a team that’s trying to take second-half magic and bottle it.
Here’s hoping for the best, and preparing for an understandably move-shy managerial team doing very little to help the venerable Red Wings’ cause. Because today matters, but tomorrow does, too.
Update: 97.1 the Ticket’s Will Burchfield added a lamentful piece, so we’ll read some of it…
Larkin, understandably, didn’t want to go there. Doesn’t want to entertain the notion [of not making the playoffs]. He wants to believe that if you “zoom out from Christmas time — we talked about it as a group yesterday — and look at how far we’ve come,” the Red Wings have indeed “made a case to continue to push this thing and keep playing for the playoffs — and get in,” he said.
Trouble is, they led the wild card race entering last weekend. Now they’re fourth, with two teams to jump in the Rangers and Senators. The Canadiens have caught them from behind. The Bruins are on their heels. The Blue Jackets are two points ahead, in an exceptionally crowded field. They have a goal differential of minus-18, and their latest playoffs odds are under 20 percent.
McLellan has stressed that the Wings get to “write our own story,” as this year’s team is different than last year’s. But the core players are the same, going back to 2023. A sense of dread might be creeping into the dressing room, like they’re doomed to this fate. Asked about combatting it, Larkin said, “You have to play. You can’t be looking outside (of yourself).”
“You have to win hockey games to get into the playoffs. You can’t scoreboard watch, you can’t hope it happens. You gotta go out there and do it. There’s still time, but we don’t have many home games left. We have to capitalize on a chance like tonight, and I thought we missed the opportunity,” he said.
The Red Wings face the hardest remaining schedule in the NHL. Just one of their final 20 games comes against a team that is out of the playoff picture — next week against the Sabres — and they’re down to seven games at home. They have played six games since the 4 Nations break against teams either in the race or in the playoffs, and lost five of them. Yzerman is watching all of this from above, each game another data point in his decision on Friday.
McLellan said the team’s recent slide, which comes on the heels of a 17-4-2 run, “doesn’t necessarily change the approach” to the deadline. The Wings could use a stabilizer on the blue line to lessen the glare on the bottom pair, and/or a versatile forward to make up for the loss of Andrew Copp. They could certainly use a young defenseman like Bowen Byram, but the Sabres will want a lot — and even more to trade him to a direct competitor in the division. Ditto center Dylan Cozens.
“The organization will do whatever they can to make the team better for Saturday, for Sunday and for training camp next year and moving forward. It’s not just a short-term look, and it’s not just a long-term look,” McLellan said. “Looking at the group as a whole, can we find players that fit our team better? Can we find players that will make us better now? Can we find players that will help us with chemistry? That’s all talked about all the time.”
Update #2: DeroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills’ recap didn’t come out until nearly 2 AM:
McLellan on the importance of every game and point down the stretch
“I don’t know the past. I only know the past few months, and I can tell you the group genuinely cares. I’ve been around teams where they just don’t believe. They care. Sometimes, I think they care too much, tighten up and they’re afraid to swing the bat, which isn’t a bad thing because they’re into it. There’s passion on the bench. There’s a lot of self-frustration that comes out. I’m not always sure that’s a good thing. I think the group is buying into that. I think that we skated much better tonight.”
Larkin on the shot total and the impact Vejmelka had on the game
“It’s just not bearing down and understanding how big those goals are. Especially a time right now when they’re hard to find and games are tight. Todd always says it’s a race to three. I had a couple looks myself in the first [period] and just to bear down and get up two.”
Larkin on what he feels Detroit needs to do better
“Score more goals than the other team. We’re just not putting the puck in the net. We’re not keeping it out of our net. It’s a 2-2 game there, and they get one then get the fourth. We kind of had lapses in our own zone. We just can’t do that at that time of the game.”
Larkin on Mazur’s injury
“We know what he’s been through this season. He’s a great guy, and we wish him all the best. We’re thinking about him.”
Kane on if Thursday’s loss was a missed opportunity to collect more points on home ice
“Yeah, for sure. Especially when you look at the schedule and see that we don’t have many home games left. I think we have seven after this one tonight and 13 on the road, so definitely an opportunity missed.”
Multimedia:
Highlights: NHL.com posted a 10:13 highlight clip:
Sportsnet posted a 10:22 highlight clip:
Post-game: Utah Hockey Club posted Twitter clips of comments from…Well, okay, there’s a quick clip of Lawson Crouse’s remarks, but that’s it;
The Red Wings posted a 15:15 clip of Dylan Larkin, Patrick Kane and coach Todd McLellan’s post-game comments:
The Free Press’s Helene St. James posted a 6:19 clip of Larkin, Kane and coach McLellan’s remarks:
Photos: The Free Press posted a 15-image gallery;
The Detroit News posted a 31-image gallery.
Statistics: Here are the Game Summary and Event Summary:
