Red Wings Move Into Wildcard Spot on DeBrincat OT Goal

Since the Detroit Red Wings received coach Todd McLellan as their best Christmas present, the team has turned in a steady stream of sharp, efficient performances.

Sunday night’s effort wasn’t one of them and yet the Detroit squad found a way to down the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 on Alex DeBrincat’s overtime goal to slide into a playoff position in the Eastern Conference. They are tied for the first wildcard spot with Columbus, but Detroit owns the tie-breaker. Detroit is also a single point out of third place in the Atlantic Division.

“I think today wasn’t our best game,” DeBrincat told FanDuel Sports Network. “The third period we sat back too much and obviously gave up that goal to tie, but to get the win and get two points is huge.”

HOW 'BOUT THOSE RED WINGS?! 🔥

Alex DeBrincat pots the @Energizer OT winner to extend Detroit's win streak to six games! pic.twitter.com/JUDzt6XuES

— NHL (@NHL) February 3, 2025

Embracing Change

The Red Wings have now won six in a row and are 6-0-1 in their last seven. They have given up only 11 goals in those seven games. Detroit hasn’t surrendered more than two goals in any game during the past seven games. They are also 3-0 on this 4-game road trip, which wraps up Tuesday in Seattle.

When GM Steve Yzerman offered McLellan the job at Christmas, Detroit was eight points out of a playoff spot. But the team is 14-4-1 since McLellan took over.

This certainly wasn’t Detroit’s best game under McLellan. Detroit managed only 15 shots on goal in regulation, coming up with only two shots in the third period. The Red Wings fell behind 1-0 at 4:19 of the first period. They gave up a tying goal to Filip Chytil midway through the third period.

The team wasn’t as effective offensively it has been throughout the surge, but goalie Alex Lyon stopped 25 of 27 Canucks shots to keep the Canucks from taking advantage of that.  The Canucks were playing without No. 1 defenseman Quinn Hughes, the former University of Michigan standout who is sidelined by an upper body injury.

Tired Group

Playing their third game in four nights, the Red Wings seemed a bit weary. McLellan is big on his team winning the race to three goals. He believes if you win the race you most often win the game.

Plus, having a winning culture means winning games on nights when you are not at your best.

“We were running on fumes, we got a few guys sick, back to back — you never use that as an excuse with the travel but I thought we checked real hard,” McLellan said. “We didn’t get a lot of scoring opportunities, a lot offensive zone time but we did check. And I think that’s as much a character win of any of them that we’ve had since I’ve been here.”

Lucas Raymond set up DeBrincat for the game-winner on a one-timer. It was his second goal of the game and 23rd of the season.

Patrick Kane returned to Detroit’s lineup after missing five games with injury, and J.T. Compher went on the injury list.