Author: George Malik

The Detroit Red Wings closed out their pre-Olympic break schedule with a match-up against the offensively potent Utah Mammoth on Wednesday evening.

With the Canadiens, Sabres and the rest of the Atlantic Division hot on their tail, Detroit would have to play a really strong game to match up with the Mammoth’s balanced attack.

On Wednesday night in Salt Lake City, the Red Wings were just a little too flat at the start, their power play was too inefficient, and they made Karl Vejmelka look too good in the Mammoth crease (while John Gibson was only OK against the speedy Mammoth).

Detroit lost 4-1 heading into the Olympic break, with Dylan Larkin scoring the team’s only goal.

If you believe Twitter, Larkin was totally at fault for everything that went wrong with the team, too, because he dared to slash back at Nick Schmaltz because Schmaltz speared Larkin in the balls off a faceoff, but I suppose that’s a matter of opinion.

Anyway, the Wings don’t go into the break with a great record of late, but they need the rest pretty badly as they’ve already played 58 games.

PREGAME: John Gibson and Karl Vejmelka led their respective teams out onto the ice at the Delta Center…

The Detroit Red Wings began a 2-game road swing with a rematch against a Colorado Avalanche team which embarrassed the Red Wings 5-0 on home ice this past Saturday.

The final 2 games before the Olympic Break offered the Wings the ability to rebound from an 0-2-and-1 streak going into Monday night’s game in Denver and Wednesday night’s game against the surging Utah Mammoth.

On Monday night at Ball Arena, the Red Wings did earn a measure of revenge by defeating Colorado 2-0. Marco Kasper and Lucas Raymond (empty-net) scored for Detroit, Dylan Larkin had 2 assists, and John Gibson stopped 22 saves for the shutout.

Observe:

PREGAME: John Gibson and Mackenzie Blackwood led their respective teams out onto the ice…

The Red Wings’ final three games before the Olympic Break kicked off with a matinee game against the struggling-of-late but still dominant-overall Colorado Avalanche.

Detroit hoped to break an 0-1-and-1 streak as they hosted Colorado in the first half of a home-and-home series; the Avs had lost 4 of their past 5 games heading into Saturday’s affair.

On Saturday afternoon at Little Caesars Arena, the Red Wings celebrated their era of “dominance” at Joe Louis Arena, and then they got trampled on by the Colorado Avalanche, losing 5-0. Nathan MacKinnon had three points, the Avs chased John Gibson, who stopped 13 of 17, after 40 minutes, and the flu-ridden Wings played like a team that needed more Pedialyte.

There are no excuses for going 0-2-and-1 on a 3-game home stand, and this is definitely an inflection point for the team, especially going right back against the Avs in Denver on Monday, and then playing in Utah to wrap up the pre-Olympic schedule…

But the team-wide flu is an explanation as to one of the reasons why the Wings have taken a big, fat belly flop onto the ice of late.

Here’s hoping that the team rebounds at Ball Arena on Monday, because this loss was extremely embarrassing.

PREGAME: John Gibson and Mackenzie Blackwood led their respective teams out onto the ice…

The Detroit Red Wings looked to rebound from an underwhelming performance against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday as Detroit hosted the high-scoring Washington Capitals at Little Caesars Arena.

With four final games left before of the Olympic break, and a “flu bug” going around the Wings’ locker room, there were legitimate concerns that Detroit would dress a patchwork lineup on Thursday evening.

Washington was wrapping up a 6-game road trip, boasting a very unpleasant 1-1-and-3 record, and on Thursday morning, they lost starting goaltender Logan Thompson to an upper-body injury, so they were no less desperate to win than Detroit.

But there are no excuses when you’re trying to remain ahead of the Sabres, Canadiens and Bruins in the Atlantic Division.

On Thursday night, history happened, of course…

And from there, the Capitals stole two points, and I am FURIOUS as to how they won the 4-3 SHOOTOUT victory.

Sure, it was great that after the Chiarot goal, with Washington up 3-1, Alex DeBrincat scored goals #29 and #30 (and a wild goal at that) at 18:20 and 19:07 of the 3rd period…

But Washington REFUSED to ENGAGE in overtime, looping BACK AND BACK AND BACK OVER AND OVER AGAIN, SIMPLY DEFERRING TO PLAY ANY OFFENSIVE HOCKEY UNTIL THEY COULD GO TO THE SHOOTOUT, where the Caps went 3-for-3 vs. Detroit’s 2-for-3–thanks to a crossbar by Dylan Larkin.

PREGAME: John Gibson and Charlie Lindgren led their respective teams out onto the ice at LCA:

The Detroit Red Wings began their final 5 games before the Olympic Break–and, hopefully, the only 5 games without Simon Edvinsson in the lineup–with a home tilt against the big, heavy and mean Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night.

On Tuesday at Little Caesars Arena, the Red Wings were placed in a sleeper hold by the Los Angeles Kings, and they could not recover. Los Angeles would win 3-1…

And Detroit not only blew a great opportunity to earn 2 points, but they also blew a fine 19-save performance by John Gibson, who stood on his head at times just to keep the Wings in the game.

Yes, Alex DeBrincat’s lone 6-on-5 marker afforded Patrick Kane an assist that ties Mike Modano for the U.S. all-time scoring lead, but this game was egg on the Wings’ faces, and two points that they squandered because LA played like every team is going to play against Detroit for the remainder of the season–hard, defensively-smothering, and sleepy enough to lull the Wings to take naps in their own defensive zone.

PREGAME: John Gibson and Anton Forsberg led their respective teams out onto the ice at LCA:

The Detroit Red Wings attempted to earn 2 out of 3 wins on their Midwestern road trip as they faced the Jets in frigid Winnipeg on Saturday night. It’s always difficult to play a struggling powerhouse–if you underestimate them, you’re cooked.

Worse for the Wings, Simon Edvinsson would miss tonight’s game with a lower-body ailment which requires more examination in Detroit. Winnipeg headed into tonight’s game at 5-1-and-2 over their past 8 games as well, so Detroit faced an uphill battle in Friendly Manitoba.

On Saturday night at the Canada Life Centre, the battle was indeed uphill, and the final score–a 5-1 victory for the Red Wings–did not reflect how incredibly close the game was for approximately 40 minutes’ worth of hockey.

Winnipeg actually opened the scoring at 10:08 of the 2nd as Connor Koepke beat Moritz Seider to the puck off a lost faceoff, but by the 15:50 mark of the 2nd, J.T. Compher would race up the right wing and stuff home the 1-1 goal…

And, well, you’ve got to read the rest of this one to find out what else happened. Needless to say, Compher’s 2 goals and John Gibson’s 25-save performance loomed large for the Wings here!

The @DetroitRedWings were RED HOT tonight! 🌶️ pic.twitter.com/QNrVJrpxIf

— NHL (@NHL) January 25, 2026

"I think we've gotten to know each other the last few years. We've been through highs and lows. I'd go to battle with this group any day."

J.T. Compher chats with @snseanreynolds following the @DetroitRedWings 5-1 win in Winnipeg ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/egsJJRmusk

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 25, 2026

PREGAME: John Gibson and Connor Hellebuyck led their respective teams out onto the ice…

The Detroit Red Wings headed to Toronto to open a 3-games-in-4-nights road trip, facing off against the playoff-desperate Maple Leafs on Wednesday night in Hogtown.

At the Scotiabank Arena, the Red Wings surrendered the game’s first goal, were out-shot 14-7 in the 2nd period, and surrendered a penalty shot to Scott Laughton (who opened the scoring 4:46 in) halfway through the game…

But John Gibson stopped 30 of 31 shots, and while Joseph Woll was equally excellent, stopping 39 of 41 shots, Simon Edvinsson would tie the game at 19:42 of the 1st, and, when regulation time solved nothing…

Dylan Larkin and Moritz Seider combined making fine plays–a stripping of the puck from Easton Cowan via Seider, and a blazing deke-dangle-and-shot move by Larkin–to score the OT winner at 3:08 of OT:

DYLAN LARKIN CALLS GAME IN @ENERGIZER OT! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/cBNjNyAurv

— NHL (@NHL) January 22, 2026

PREGAME: John Gibson and Joseph Woll led their respective teams out onto the ice…

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:

The @DetroitRedWings earn their 30th win of the season in overtime! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ii4zhinYVq

— NHL (@NHL) January 19, 2026

ALEX DEBRINCAT IS THE OVERTIME HERO FOR THE RED WINGS 🚨 pic.twitter.com/DBWNQmJEUe

— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) January 19, 2026

Alex DeBrincat called game. 😤 pic.twitter.com/CAM7RPYILV

— Sports on Prime Canada (@SportsOnPrimeCA) January 19, 2026

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…

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.

The @DetroitRedWings WIN! 🐙 pic.twitter.com/EKmjsDczw1

— NHL (@NHL) January 17, 2026

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

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…