Did Kane Save Red Wings Season?

The Detroit Red Wings know all about small margins. Last season, they missed the playoffs by a point.

“Everybody knew we came really close last year and we know every point, every single point matters in the long term,” Detroit defenseman Moritz Seider said.

That’s why Patrick Kane’s overtime breakaway winner in Sunday’s 5-4 triumph over the Anaheim Ducks is so vital. In the long run, we may come to realize that it’s the shot that saved Detroit’s season.

Patrick Kane overtime winner 🚨🚨

Showtime making it look way too easy 🤮

(via @DetroitRedWings) pic.twitter.com/Hfnc9X44XT

— BarDown (@BarDown) February 24, 2025

Saturday, the Red Wings blew a 3-1 lead to the Minnesota Wild, losing 4-3 in overtime. Minnesota’s tying goal came with Wild netminder Marc-Andre Fleury pulled for an extra attacker.

Sunday, the Red Wings allowed a 4-1 scoreboard advantage to escape their grasp. The Ducks scored twice in the final 2:16 of regulation to tie the game with goalie Lukas Dostal on the bench in favor of the extra attacker.

In the moments before Kane was tucking the puck behind Dostal, Anaheim’s Troy Terry and Jackson LaCombe both missed chances at a gaping wide-open Detroit net. If either of them score and the Wings lose for the second day in a row in similar heartbreaking fashion, it might be a deal breaker as far as the playoffs are concerned.

“Obviously nice to get that one,” Kane said. “A little bit better feeling than last night to get the two points. But like most, I definitely gotta learn from those situations.”

Red Wings Inexperience Showing

Good teams don’t get themselves into the kind of scenarios that unfolded for the Red Wings over the weekend. The thing is, these Wings haven’t had much experience at defending leads. Or winning consistently, for that matter.

“We got into a situation similar to (Saturday) where the last three or four minutes we had to play six-on-five,” Detroit coach Todd McLellan said. “It’s pretty evident we have to do a better job.

So all six guys, the three forwards, the two defensemen and the goaltender have to do a better job six-on-five. It’s not something you’re able to work on a lot, so maybe we’ll spend a little more time on that.

“But we also had, I think there was four icings prior to that, three icings and Patty Kane kind of down the ice and open. So we had plenty of opportunities to hit the net and we didn’t. We need to be better.”

TIE GAME 🦆

Cutter Gauthier's SICK backhand has forced overtime for the @AnaheimDucks! pic.twitter.com/N5TfSIzeTI

— NHL (@NHL) February 24, 2025

The lack of experience was evident everywhere. Three times, defenseman Simon Edvinsson took the puck in the defensive zone on his backhand. You learn in peewee that you aren’t getting the puck out of the zone with a backhand shot.

“Nick Lidstrom, Nik Kronwall, they would say if you can stay on your forehand, you have way more control, more power with it,” McLellan said. “But that’s experience. He’s got to learn those things.”

Ultimately, it came down to the one guy on the ice for Detroit who’s been there and done that to save the day. Kane’s fifth OT winner as a Red Wings player might have accomplished so much more than carry the day.

Come mid-April, it may be remembered as the shot that saved Detroit’s season.