McLellan Says Red Wings ‘Upside-Down’ on the Power Play

DETROIT — When Dylan Larkin was carrying the Detroit Red Wings offensively with his season-launching points streak, nobody was thinking about what happens when Larkin isn’t scoring.

That’s certainly a discussion now after the New York Rangers ripped the Red Wings 4-1 to give them three losses in four games. More importantly, the Red Wings have scored only two goals in their last two games, and six goals in the last four. Detroit was 0-for-4 on the power play against the Rangers, leaving them 1-for-15 in the last four.

“We know we (have) a good power play,” Detroit’s Lucas Raymond said. “Got to execute better. We didn’t play with enough speed, sloppy through the zone.”

The power play isn’t giving the Red Wings the boost it received earlier in the season.

“You’re not always gonna score, but you got to gain momentum and come out with a bit of push for the team,” Raymond said. ” And we didn’t do that tonight. ”

Where is Secondary Scoring?

The Red Wings’ top line of Emmitt Finnie, Larkin and Raymond hasn’t scored in a goal in the past three games. Larkin, still among the NHL scoring leaders, has gone five games without a goal.  The Red Wings need secondary scoring when Larkin doesn’t deliver, and that isn’t occuring.

The Red Wings put up 32 shots — with enough quality chances — but Jonathan Quick stopped them all except one. Detroit needs Marco Kasper to be the player he was late last season. They need Alex DeBrincat to get white-hot. This team is counting on Patrick Kane to be the player he was before being injured three weeks ago.

🚨JT COMPHER🚨
The Detroit Red Wings Compher lights the lamp to tie the game against the New York Rangers 1-1. 🔥
Assisted by: Mason Appleton & Andrew Copp#LGRW #NYR pic.twitter.com/uiCHqml88Z

— Tyler S (@Tyler_SS11) November 8, 2025

“My biggest concern offensively is the power play, and that’s unacceptable,” McLellan said. “We’ve put some really good players on the ice, and they’ve got to get it done, whether it’s the first unit or the second unit, and we’re not getting it done right now.”

McLellan said the Red Wings’ power play is “upside-down.”

“We start from all around the net and then get there,” McLellan said. “And I believe we should be going to the net first with the puck, and we want to make all these plays. Hey, we got this and we got that. And you know what, sometimes it’s great and the goalie makes a save.  You feel good about your power play. But overall, I go back to some of our power plays in San Jose. The simplicity of creating a shooting opportunity, taking advantage of it, and then jumping on them right after.

“We do it differently. We want to make eight passes and spring somebody open for a grade A chance, and if it works, great. If not, well, then we got to go do it all over again. We’re upside down a little bit. We’ll fix it.”

Whether it’s five-on-five or the power play, Raymond believes the Red Wings are not where they need to be.

“I think we’re a little bit too much on the outside right now, looking for that perfect opportunity,” Raymond said.”Guys not getting to the net. We’re not getting to those dirty areas right now where a lot of the goals are scored.”