Author: George Malik

My name is George Malik, and I'm the Malik Report's editor/blogger/poster. I have been blogging about the Red Wings since 2006, and have worked with MLive and Kukla's Korner. Thank you for reading!

Red Wings-Hurricanes Tweetcap: Detroit wins round 2 of a heavyweight series

The Detroit Red Wings hosted the Carolina Hurricanes in a battle of the top two teams in the Eastern Conference on Monday at Little Caesars Arena. If the Wings won, they’d own the East outright heading into a Tuesday night back-to-back in Boston; if the Canes won, they’d stand atop the Eastern Conference.

On Monday night at Little Caesars Arena, the game lived up to the hype. On a night where both teams were able to earn some calls that were spurious, Andrew Copp scored the overtime winner as Detroit took a 3-0 lead, blew it in the 3rd period on 2 power play and 1 shorthanded goal by Carolina, and John Gibson was stout in stopping 31 of 34 shots as Detroit won 4-3 in overtime…

PREGAME: John Gibson and Fredrik Andersen led their respective teams out onto the ice at LCA:

Continue reading Red Wings-Hurricanes Tweetcap: Detroit wins round 2 of a heavyweight series

Red Wings-Canucks Tweetcap: Gibson delivers as Kane hits 500 vs. Vancouver, Wings deliver an uneven performance but win anyway

The Red Wings attempted to keep the good times rolling against the struggling Vancouver Canucks on Thursday evening, with Detroit hosting Vancouver to open up a stretch of 4 games to be played over the course of 6 nights.

The Canucks still have the pieces necessary to win, but the atmosphere around their team’s been difficult; the Red Wings are no longer the kings of the Atlantic Division, but Detroit’s still doing quite well in the Eastern Conference standings.

On Thursday night at LCA, the Red Wings had a very mediocre 1st period, and a very mediocre 3rd period, but a spate of 2 2nd-period goals, and 25 saves from John Gibson, would propel Detroit to a 5-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks.

And this happened:

PREGAME: Kevin Lankinen and John Gibson led their respective teams out onto the ice…

Continue reading Red Wings-Canucks Tweetcap: Gibson delivers as Kane hits 500 vs. Vancouver, Wings deliver an uneven performance but win anyway

Red Wings-Senators Tweetcap: Gibson, Red Wings pull out a crucial victory over Ottawa

The Red Wings attempted to snap a 2-game losing streak when they visited the Ottawa Senators for the first of four meetings with Detroit’s Atlantic Division rival.

On Monday night in Ottawa, the Red Wings definitely looked like a team in progress, but it was a team that prevailed thanks to John Gibson’s strong goaltending. Gibson stopped 35 of 38 shots against as Detroit blasted its way to a 3-0 1st period lead, held on as the Sens made it 3-2, and raced away, ultimately winning 5-3 over Ottawa, which has 3 games in hand on Detroit.

I’m going to defer to the game summary for a recap thereof, and leave it to you to read what happened instead of summarizing it here…it’s gotten clunky, so, enjoy!

PREGAME: John Gibson and Leevi Merilainen led their respective teams out onto the ice at the Canadian Tire Centre:

Continue reading Red Wings-Senators Tweetcap: Gibson, Red Wings pull out a crucial victory over Ottawa

Red Wings-Penguins Tweetcap, rematch version: egg on your face, Red Wings

The Red Wings hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins in a Saturday matinee game, hoping to even their home-and-home series after losing in overtime to the Pens on Thursday. Detroit boasted a 24-14-and-4 record going into today’s game, good for 1st in the Atlantic Division and first in the Eastern Conference.

On Saturday at LCA, the Red Wings laid an egg, losing 4-1 to the Penguins, who went 2-and-0 against the 0-1-and-1 Detroit Red Wings.

Bryan Rust opened the scoring with a ripper at 3:44 of the 1st, and Yegor Chinakhov made it 2-0 at 17:30 with a mini-breakaway marker;

Alex DeBrincat would chip away at the Pens lead at 15:06 of the 2nd, zinging an unassisted marker past Stuart Skinner off a big John Gibson rebound…

But nothing was done in the 3rd and Detroit gave up 2 empty-netters, to Rakell and Dewar.

Pittsburgh out-shot Detroit 31-12, and Gibson stopped 27 of 29.

PREGAME: John Gibson and Stuart Skinner led their respective teams onto the ice…

Continue reading Red Wings-Penguins Tweetcap, rematch version: egg on your face, Red Wings

Red Wings-Penguins Tweetcap: bounces, screens, and Kris Letang yield an overtime loss to Pittsburgh in a weird, sleepy affair

The Detroit Red Wings headed into Pittsburgh for the back half of a back-to-back slate of games and the start of a home-and-home series against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night. The Penguins had won 2 straight and boast 17 wins on the 2025-2026 season.

On Thursday night at PPG Paints Arena, well…The game was weird. The Red Wings lost 4-3 in overtime, but Cam Talbot was excellent despite giving up 4 goals on 31 shots, and the Wings were 2-for-7 on 13:48 of PP time!

Crosby would open the scoring with a pair of goals at 4:08 and 5:46, taking advantage of significant screens on Talbot, but James van Riemsdyk would score the 2-1 marker with a tip of an Emmitt Finnie shot at 17:56, for the Wings’ first of two PP goals…

In the 2nd period,d Andrew Copp would score one of the stranger goals of the entire season off a stanchion bounce at 1:01 of the 2nd, but Blake Lizzotte would score through another double screen at 15:51 of the 3rd…

And while Alex DeBrincat scored off an end-boards-and-in rebound of a Lucas Raymond shot at 17:02, on the PP…

Detroit would lose in OT, with Kris Letang scoring on another weird screen at 58 seconds, from Crosby and Rust, no less, to force the Wings to lose one of two valuable points. At least the Wings got one…

PREGAME: Cam Talbot and Arturs Silovs led their teams out onto the ice at PPG Paints Arena:

Continue reading Red Wings-Penguins Tweetcap: bounces, screens, and Kris Letang yield an overtime loss to Pittsburgh in a weird, sleepy affair

Red Wings-Jets Tweetcap: a little sleepy farewell to 2025 goes Detroit’s way, 2-1 over Winnipeg

The Detroit Red Wings began a set of 3 game to be played over the course of 4 days and nights by hosting the Winnipeg Jets at Little Caesars Arena. Winnipeg’s had a rough season thus far, but the Wings didn’t want to be the team that hosted the start of a season-salvaging victory.

On Wednesday night at LCA, the Red Wings prevailed 3-1 in a real sloppy, sleepy victory over the Jets.

Winnipeg out-shot Detroit 25-19 and out-shot-attempted Detroit an ugly 55-34, but the Wings held on thanks to a 24-stop effort from John Gibson and a superb 18-shot-bock effort by his defense in front of #36.

Dylan Larkin broke open the scoring only 8:22 into the 1st period, on a power play marker from Seider and Raymond, and Mason Appleton gave Detroit a 2-0 lead at 14:48 off a lovely set of passes from Rasmussen and Compher…

Detroit sort of sailed through a 2nd period that wasn’t all that awake, and while the Jets put the hammer down in the 2nd and 3rd, out-shooting Detroit by a 20-9 cumulative total, Logan Stanley was the only Jet to dent Gibson, scoring at 7:04 of the 3rd period, and the Wings killed a power play to Winnipeg at 8:24 and held on from there.

PREGAME: John Gibson and Connor Hellebuyck led their respective teams out to the ice at LCA:

Continue reading Red Wings-Jets Tweetcap: a little sleepy farewell to 2025 goes Detroit’s way, 2-1 over Winnipeg

Red Wings-Maple Leafs Tweetcap: Edvinsson, Red Wings earn 3rd straight over Toronto in a gritty OT affair

The Red Wings looked to rally from Saturday’s loss to Carolina by hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday evening.

Toronto came into Sunday night’s game coming off a 7-5 win over Ottawa, and the Leafs had won 2 straight games.

On Sunday night at Little Caesars Arena, well..Wow. Detroit won an electric game in OT, rallying from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits to defeat the Maple Leafs 3-2 in overtime on a Simon Edvinsson goal.

The Leafs would open the scoring only 4:25 into the 1st as Matthew Knies took a pass from Auston Matthews and scored a power play marker on Cam Talbot…
Detroit would tie the game on a big booming wrist shot from Moritz Seider at 19:01 of the 1st…

But Nick Robertson would score the go-ahead-marker at 4:53 of the 3rd period on a pass from Tavares…But Mason Appleton would respond right back with a chipper shot, and in overtime…

Simon Edvinsson took a pass attempt from Toronto’s Dennis Hildeby, their goaltender, and skated back into the slot and scored at 1:45 to end the game and cap an unlikely comeback (for him and the Wings alike):

PREGAME: Cam Talbot and Dennis Hildeby led their respective teams out onto the ice at LCA:

Continue reading Red Wings-Maple Leafs Tweetcap: Edvinsson, Red Wings earn 3rd straight over Toronto in a gritty OT affair

Red Wings-Hurricanes Tweetcap: egg-laying made easy in Carolina’s 5-2 win

As the holiday break concluded, the Detroit Red Wings headed into Carolina on a 3-game winning streak, hoping to add to the Hurricanes’ struggles as the Canes were riding a 3-game losing streak coming out of the Christmas break.

The Canes still stood upon the top of the Metropolitan Division, and Detroit, of course, is in a dogfight for a playoff spot in the highly-charged Atlantic.

On Saturday night in Raleigh, the Red Wings laid an egg, frankly, losing 5-2 in a game in which Detroit was out-shot 38-20 and out-shot-attempted 77-39.

Michael Rasmussen would open the scoring for the Wings, surprisingly, at 12:39 of the 1st, giving Detroit the lead, but Jason Blake (3:22 of the 2nd), Eric Robinson (4:37 of the 2nd) and Shayne Gostisbehere (15:22 of the 2nd) would break the game open with the Canes leading 3-1 after 2 periods…

And while the Red Wings rallied with an Andrew Copp PPG at 3:11 of the 3rd, Svechnikov would take advantage of a Dylan Larkin stumble at 13:09 of the 3rd, and Jordan Martinook would salt things away with an empty-netter at 18:39.

John Gibson gave up 4 on 37 shots, while Brandon Bussi continued his dominant NHL start with 18 stops on 20 shots.

PREGAME: John Gibson and Brandon Bussi led their respective teams onto the ice at the Lenovo Center:

Continue reading Red Wings-Hurricanes Tweetcap: egg-laying made easy in Carolina’s 5-2 win

Red Wings-Stars Tweetcap: Captain Larkin delivers an OT Christmas present against the Star-studded Stars

The Red Wings ended their pre-Christmas schedule with a match-up against the scintillating Dallas Stars on Tuesday evening.

The Stars came into the game having won five straight games, and as Dallas began it’s “Fathers’ Trip,” they were looking to keep the good times rolling.

On Tuesday night, Dallas pushed Detroit to its limits. James van Riemsdyk would open the scoring at 9:23 of the 1st period, scoring off a lovely little pass from Michael Rasmussen at the side of Casey DeSmith…

But Dallas would score a PPG at 10:47 of the 2nd, from Roope Hintz, and Dallas would score a shorty at 19:16 as Jamie Benn ripped home a hard rebound through Gibson…

Emmitt Finnie jabbed a Lucas Raymond pass home from Lucas Raymond at 3:02 of the 3rd, however, and after Wyatt Johnston broke the game open with a 3-2 goal at 11:18 of the 3rd…

Dylan Larkin scored his 19th goal at 15:57 of the 3rd on the PP, and this happened in OT:

Captain Larkin’s 20th goal, at 34 seconds of OT, gave Detroit its 3rd win in a row and gave John Gibson his 8th in a row.

PREGAME: John Gibson and Casey DeSmith led their respective teams out onto the ice at Little Caesars Arena…

Continue reading Red Wings-Stars Tweetcap: Captain Larkin delivers an OT Christmas present against the Star-studded Stars

Red Wings-Capitals Tweetcap: sleepy Wings manage to salvage an OT win over the Caps, sweep the weekend series

The Detroit Red Wings looked to earn a series sweep against the Washington Capitals on Sunday afternoon, having defeated the Caps 5-2 on Saturday in the first game of a two-game “Moms’ Trip.” Detroit entered today’s affair with a 7-2-and-1 record over their past 10 games.

On Sunday afternoon, the Red Wings pulled off an unlikely win, frankly.

Washington out-shot the Wings 14-5 in the 1st period, and Ethen Frank scored walking through Albert Johansson and then going 5-hole on Cam Talbot at 14:17…

But at 8:37 of the 2nd period, on the power play, Lucas Raymond blasted an ASP pass into the goal to tie the game, and, remarkably, John Leonard would leg-score on an Alex DeBrincat’s shot at 13:44, giving the Wings a 2-1 lead…

And it looked like it would end that way, but Frank would sneak onto the ice and blaze a 5-hole goal through Talbot at 10:22 of the 3rd, in which the Caps out-shot a sleepy Wings team 10-4 (Detroit out-shot Washington 12-8 in the 2nd)…

And an OT power play did not work for the Wings, but the last-second regroups by the Caps didn’t pay off as they cycled back to center and back to center again…

And instead, Moritz Seider would benefit from a Copp-and-Finnie 2-on-1 which became Andrew Copp ripping the puck back to Seider, whose snap shot found the back of the net at 4:36 of OT.

PREGAME: Cam Talbot and Charlie Lindgren led their teams out onto the ice at Little Caesars Arena…

Continue reading Red Wings-Capitals Tweetcap: sleepy Wings manage to salvage an OT win over the Caps, sweep the weekend series