Detroit Red Wings
Red Wings Watch Themselves Get Snowed Under by Avalanche
Detroit lets Avs have their way
Betcha didn’t know you had a lot in common with the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday afternoon.
You were watching the league-leading Colorado Avalanche make their only appearance of the NHL regular season at Little Caesars Arena.
So were the Red Wings.
“They won 5-0,” Detroit captain Dylan Larkin said following Saturday’s setback against the Avalanche. “And we were just kind of watching.
“They got to what they like to do, and we kind of just watched a little bit. There are some really good players over there, and they got it easy.
“And then they executed and capitalized when they had their big chances and scored.”
It's happening later than usual but the Detroit #Redwings slide from first place has started, I anticipate another year of not making the playoffs.
— Bobacheck (@Bobacheck) January 31, 2026
Where do you start with this debacle? First of all, it was quite the wake-up call for the Red Wings. A clear message that, for all the progress made this season, they are still far away from matching up with the NHL elite.
Plenty Of Work For Red Wings To Do
“Disappointing” was the first adjective that came to mind for Detroit coach Todd McLellan.
Then he proceeded to itemize the level of disappointment that was evident in his team’s performance.
“A lack of energy,” McLellan said. “A lack of drive, a lack of execution. You can’t have all of those things disappear at one point and expect to have success.
“I didn’t think we skated well at all. I didn’t think we passed real well at all, which affects your skating. And then when it was time to do some of the harder or the heavier things – battles, 50-50s, loose stuff, the four-foot races – they were much better than we were.
“So we got to fix something.”
Worst week of hockey the #RedWings have played in 2 months, and it’s highlighted the glaring needs, plural, that Detroit needs to attempt to address at the trade deadline.
This is a good hockey team, but as currently constructed they’re nothing more than 1st round fodder. #lgrw
— 🪩🎉 New Year (Same) 〽️ario 🎉🪩 |#BLM (@NotLuigi89) January 31, 2026
That’s three straight losses for the Red Wings (0-2-1), their longest downturn since a four-game slide (0-3-1) in late November.
Another loss presents the opportunity for Tampa Bay, atop the Atlantic Division, to pull further away from Detroit. It enables Montreal and Buffalo, the chasing teams closest to the Red Wings, a chance to inch closer.
That’s the nature of the sporting beast. Every day, some team loses while other teams win. And in this season, with so many teams bunched tightly together, circumstances can go from good to bad in an instant.
“No one cares from the outside,” McLellan said. “The rest of the hockey world doesn’t care. We have to care. We have to get it back on track. No one feels sorry for you.
“This is what it feels like to be in a battle and in a race, and that’s good for us to be in it. But the fact that we’re in it, we have to respect the opportunity that we have, and we haven’t done a good job of that lately.”
We are too damn soft. Put a forecheck.on the Wings and they are done. Our biggest hitter is Kasper!!! They need grit and physicality.
Soderblom won’t use his body to his advantage, he’ s worthless. Should have waived him rather than Berggren. Rasmussen spends more time on his ass than hitting anyone. Copp and Compher are skaters. Now SY has to overcompensate because his roster was not balanced to begin with. What a Tkachuk coukd do for this team! Sy will probably go get a goon or a cancer–If help is coming at all. Get your kites ready, looks like March is coming early. Gee, I wonder if the Coach could do something too?
Zack Attack,
I have been saying this since December, these “Nancy’s” have to grow some Johson’s right this instant, the whole team, regardless of size or position. They need to start slamming people into those boards with impunity, nothing cheap but get after it.
As soon as Ovechkin hit Ben Chiarot in the back of the head there needed to be three Red Wings (it doesn’t matter who) driving that Russian into the boards and down on the ice.
This entire team needs to grow a pair. They don’t need to be Zdeno Chara just a Brad Marchand, show some guts and start acting like men in the NHL. Drop gloves and get after it, you may get your ass handed to you but do it often enough and people start saying “these guys are serious and crazy”, then they start avoiding you rather than the other way around!!!
PBB
The team’s fault is on Yzerman. Big he keeps what he has and keeps getting softees in the FA and draft
How many fans actually believe they will make a trade?
I hope not, but this might be the end of the season for them. Will they pick things up? How many fans believe they will? Things do not look good at all.
I am not sure what they expect from the roster. Kasper has had more than a terrible second season. What player is he really? The one now or last season? There is no indication he is or will be better. His play is abysmal.
The rest of the team has just collapsed including goal-tending.
Yzerman mentioned he does not believe in doing anything big until a team is a consistent playoff team. And indeed, they may fall out of it again.
I hope Yzerman either steps aside or is asked to step aside if that happens. The fanbase has boed the team and rightfully so. I hope it continues. I hope GM hears it in his sleep.
Amen 👍
Agree particularly with your take on Kasper. Been preaching that for months here. Folks here don’t like hearing the truth about Marco, it gets down-voted like crazy. Kasper gets handed an empty net goal and manages a couple of assists and they think he’s a star again. Fact is productively, he has produced basically nothing the entire season. This will be downvoted too . .
100% and F the downvotes. You know what I think of those.
I expect they’ll lose the next 2.