Detroit Red Wings
Duff: Red Wings Passing Tests, But Big Exams Still to Come
Club faces tough road trips in near future

Watching Sunday’s Detroit Red Wings vs Seattle Kraken game unfold on the Little Caesars Arena ice surface below, it was as if someone had programmed their EA Sports NHL video game to pit the Derek Lalonde Red Wings against the Todd McLellan Red Wings.
One team – the Red Wings – was aggressive. Attacking confidently. Driving the play. Forcing the other side into making fatal mistakes with with puck.
The second team – the Kraken – were like the designated victim in a pro wrestling match. Seattle played passively. The Kraken were stationary on the penalty kill as the Red Wings were pounding home three power-play goals. They played far too much of the game in their own end of the ice.
That the end result was a resounding 6-2 Detroit victory was hardly surprising.
Red Wings Longest Win Streak In 13 Years
The Red Wings are now 7-1 since McLellan was chosen to be replacing Lalonde behind the team’s bench. They’re winners of seven in a row. They’ve scored at least four goals in six of those seven straight wins. That’s the longest winning streak by a Detroit team since 2012.
THE RED WINGS CAN’T BE STOPPED 🔥 pic.twitter.com/s4SrDqKhnH
— Spittin' Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) January 12, 2025
The Wings have a power-play goal in all eight games under McLellan’s tutelage. Sunday, they were 3-for-5 with the man advantage. The power play is running at 50% (14-for-28) since McLellan took over.
“The power play is clicking right now,” McLellan said. “It feels confident. It’s not the same.
“Look, all the time the pieces are interchangeable. It makes it hard to prepare to defend it. Sometimes you get just stationary and then you can anticipate what might be coming.”
It’s an interesting point. When Lalonde was in charge, he’d complain that there was too much movement, too much freelancing, when his team was enjoying the man advantage.
Balanced Scoring Pacing Detroit Success
Collecting a goal and an assist Sunday, Patrick Kane was extending his points streak to seven games. He’s accumulated 13 (5-8-13) of his 27 points this season through that span. Alex DeBrincat is also enjoying a seven-game point streak. However, everyone is contributing to this run of success.
Sunday, 11 different players were on the scoresheet. Marco Kasper scored for the second straight game. Defenseman Albert Johansson was collecting an assist to extend his scoring streak to two games. With two assists, defenseman Erik Gustafsson was enjoying his first multi-point game with the Red Wings.
RED WINGS WIN AGAIN 🐙 pic.twitter.com/HcoTjUlAxa
— Woodward Sports Network (@woodwardsports) January 12, 2025
More contributors means more excitement and a jolt of confidence for everyone involved.
“Yeah, it’s individual confidence, but team confidence,” McLellan said. “The upper end of the offensive players are excited for those other guys to score.
“The bench is excited for them and that’s a real positive for us. You can’t just have Patrick Kane and Dylan Larkin and Razor (Lucas Raymond) doing all the scoring. It has to be balanced.”
Biggest Tests Still To Come For Red Wings
The Red Wings came into this four-game homestand knowing that there were four winnable games in front of them – Ottawa, Chicago, Seattle, San Jose.
Three down, one to go when the Sharks come to town on Tuesday.
Then the row gets a little tougher to hoe.
Detroit is facing the toughest remaining schedule of any NHL team. Later this week, the Wings embark on a four-game road trip to Florida, Tampa Bay, Dallas and Philadelphia. Two further four-game trips await them.
The Wings still must play the Lightning four times and the Panthers three times. There’s also three games remaining against Carolina and two each with Dallas, Minnesota, Washington, Vegas and the surprising Montreal Canadiens. Detroit finishes the regular season with a two-game road trip to New Jersey and Toronto. Four of the last five games are on the road.
Credit the club for pulling themselves back into the playoff chase. However, the real battle is only beginning.
“You win seven games in a row, you’re feeling pretty good and the spirit’s really good,” McLellan said. “Right now, it’s high. So we’re in a good spot.
“But all we did was crawl back into it. Now we got a lot of work in front of us.”