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-Senators Tweetcap: overtime magic from DeBrincat, Detroit prevails over Sens

The Detroit Red Wings and a pissed off Ottawa Senators team faced off on Sunday afternoon at Little Caesars Arena.

Ottawa was far from vulnerable playing the back half of a back-to-back slate of games, because the inconsistent Sens blew a 2-goal lead en route to an 6-5 overtime loss to Montreal on Saturday night. Ottawa aimed to avenge their January 5th loss to the Wings with James Reimer in their crease.

On Sunday evening at the Pizzarena, the Red Wings had a very rough start against the speedy Sens, who blazed out to a 2-0 lead with 2 goals scored over the course of 39 seconds (Batherson and Cozens scored), but Axel Sandin Pellikka gave the Wings a foothold with a 1st period goal only 2 minutes after the Sens went ahead 2-0…

Detroit dug deep in the 2nd, and scored 2 goals (Raymond and a gorgeous van Riemsdyk through-the-legs marker) to make it 3-2, but Shane Pinto would tie the game 3-3 with 55 seconds left in the 2nd, on the power play…

The 3rd would solve nothing, but this happened in OT:

So the Red Wings prevailed 4-3 in overtime over Ottawa, with John Gibson stopped 19 of 22 shots, and James Reimer stopping 30 of 34 in his return to NHL action. Reimer arguably got the Sens a point, but Detroit needed two, and the Wings got ’em.

PREGAME: John Gibson and James Reimer led their respective teams out onto the ice at LCA…

Continue reading Red Wings-Senators Tweetcap: overtime magic from DeBrincat, Detroit prevails over Sens

Red Wings-Sharks Tweetcap: a blue-collar 4-2 win for Detroit over the pesky, plucky Sharks

The Detroit Red Wings and San Jose Sharks met for the second and final time in the 2025-2026 regular season on Friday, and the surprising Sharks came into the match-up having won 4 of their past 5 games. San Jose boasted a very respectable 24-19-and-3 record, and Macklin Celebrini continues to establish himself as one of the NHL’s best players, never mind an elite young talent.

In the crowded Atlantic Division, however, the Red Wings are in an every-game-is-a-playoff-game mode, and they had to pounce upon the Sharks as best as they were able to keep pace with their division rivals.

On Friday night at Little Caesars Arena, the Red Wings arguably won despite themselves, earning a 4-2 victory over a plucky, fast and physical San Jose Sharks team. After Alex DeBrincat opened the scoring 6:18 into the 1st, the Sharks pulled ahead by the start of the 2nd period, and Detroit struggled somewhat to counter the Sharks’ 2-1 lead until J.T. Compher broke through 6:55 into the 2nd…

And it took until 4:41 of the 3rd for Dylan Larkin to score off a pool shot on Yaroslav Askarov to give Detroit a lead it would not relinquish…With the workmanlike, superb Marco Kasper sealing away a win that John Gibson helped the Wings earn with a 19-save performance.

PREGAME: John Gibson and Yaroslav Askarov led their respective teams out onto the ice at LCA…

Continue reading Red Wings-Sharks Tweetcap: a blue-collar 4-2 win for Detroit over the pesky, plucky Sharks

Red Wings-Bruins Tweetcap: Detroit looked gassed while losing 3-0 to Boston

The Detroit Red Wings attempted to win in a Detroit graveyard in the Boston’s TD Garden on Tuesday, facing the Boston Bruins in a back-to-back affair.

On Tuesday evening in “Beantown,” Detroit’s gas tanks were simply empty as they played in their 10th back-to-back scenario against a rested Bruins team.

Boston would win 3-0 despite a spectacular performance from Cam Talbot, who valiantly stopped 38 of 40 shots as the Wings just couldn’t or wouldn’t get to the front of Jeremy Swayman’s crease.

The B’s goalie was good, too, stopping 24 shots, but the Wings were so exhausted mentally and physically that they just didn’t have the “oomph” to make it particularly difficult for Swayman or his teammates until late in the 3rd period, where the Wings emptied the tanks, but couldn’t narrow their deficit, and instead, the B’s would score an empty-net goal.

Perhaps the let-down was due to the excitement of the Fedorov jersey retirement game, or maybe the Wings were gassed after that rough 3rd period vs. Carolina, but in any case, the Wings lost a critical game, and they’re going to have to rebound after a 2-day break, when the Wings play San Jose on Friday and Ottawa on Sunday.

PREGAME: Cam Talbot and Jeremy Swayman led their respective teams out onto the ice…

Continue reading Red Wings-Bruins Tweetcap: Detroit looked gassed while losing 3-0 to Boston

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