DETROIT — The Detroit Red Wings didn’t get their perfect punctuation mark going into the 4 Nations Face-Off break.
Coming into a Saturday matinee on a seven-game win-streak, Detroit doomed its chances of continuing that run when they let up four goals to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the game’s first 15:13. It’s hard to win that way, and even more so when Lightning’s Andrei Vasilevskiy is in the opposing net.
While the Red Wings’ goaltenders won’t be thrilled with a night they allowed five goals on just 18 shots (including an empty netter, in a 6-3 Red Wings’ loss), Detroit head coach Todd McLellan made a point to say of the team’s slow start, “by no means is that on the two guys that wear the pads.”
Detroit’s starter Alex Lyon will particularly want the game’s first goal back — a routine shot from Brandon Hagel that just leaked through him — but the Red Wings’ first period as a whole left a lot to be desired in multiple ways.
Shortly after that first goal (which came just 1:28 into the game), Erik Cernak lofted a point shot through a screen that beat Lyon again — chasing him for Cam Talbot in the game’s first three minutes. After that, an Alex DeBrincat turnover at the offensive blue line sent the Lightning in transition, where Brayden Point got loose and scored an easy-looking one, despite Detroit having all five skaters back on the track.
Brayden Point’s got his 30th goal of the season off a sweet feed from Gage Goncalves! ⚡️
How many goals do you think Point will score at the #4Nations Face-Off?
🇺🇸: ABC & @ESPNPlus ➡️ https://t.co/S5tPrXCygm
🇨🇦: @Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+ ➡️ https://t.co/4KjbdjVctF pic.twitter.com/7FRNzLkn7z— NHL (@NHL) February 8, 2025
Then, rookie Marco Kasper turned one over on an entry, leading to a Nick Paul breakaway to make it 4-1 Lightning just over 15 minutes into the game.
“They’re a team that (if) you make a mistake with the puck, it’s a good chance there’s gonna be some sort of chance coming the other way,” Ben Chiarot said.
It was an all-around bad start — and not even necessarily in the way McLellan had feared before it started, going into a long break for his team.
“We didn’t have any game management skills at all,” he said. “The number of turnovers, the gifts that we gave them — I didn’t see that part coming. I thought the game management might be there but we might not have the drive or the jump that we might need. So it worked out (the) exact opposite as I thought it could for our team.”
Credit to the Red Wings for finding their game as it went on, cutting it to a 4-3 game after a roaring second period in which they outshot the Lightning 19-15. It wasn’t enough to overcome that sloppy start, though — and now they’ll have to wait two weeks before their next game.
But while that naturally comes with disappointment, coming down from the high of a seven-game win streak that included a four-game sweep in western Canada and Seattle last weekend, the Red Wings still feel good about where they stand as the league takes its pause.
“I think our game’s in a pretty good spot,” DeBrincat said. “Obviously not as good tonight, but overall we’re doing good things and winning games. And yeah, the feeling’s confident in that room. The break’s going to be nice to get rested and come back full strength.”
And they’ll need that because when they do get back, the Eastern Conference playoff race is shaping up to be quite the derby.
Saturday’s loss does sting extra in that way, as with the win the Lightning put a gap between themselves and the Red Wings in the Atlantic, now sitting at 64 points in 54 games — three more points in one fewer contest. They’ll have a chance to add two more points Sunday in Montreal.
By the end of the game against Tampa Bay, Detroit was holding steady in the conference’s second wild card position — one point behind division rival Ottawa. But their grip on that spot is tepid and could change depending on results in Boston and Columbus later on Saturday. Also lurking in the weeds are both the Rangers and Islanders, both of whom have started to find their game and are still within striking range.
If you include the Lightning, that’s seven teams battling for, realistically, three spots down the stretch. And the Red Wings have the league’s hardest remaining strength of schedule, with a combined opponents’ points percentage of .586.
The good news is, that will include multiple head-to-head chances against both the Blue Jackets and Senators in the second half, and will also get another look at each of the Lightning and Bruins.
But it’s going to be a real challenge to emerge from that pack.
It’s a testament to how good Detroit has been under McLellan that the Red Wings are even in this position at the break. At Christmas, before the Red Wings brought him in to replace Derek Lalonde, they looked destined for another year in the NHL Draft lottery.
After going 15-5-1, though, they’ve earned their way back into the race. They’ve seen surges of growth from young players such as Kasper and Albert Johansson, and returns to form from veterans such as Chiarot and Andrew Copp. Saturday notwithstanding, they’ve made strides defensively, and perhaps most impressively, have done it while actually getting more aggressive. They’re scoring more, and finding ways to win even on nights they don’t.
It’s been a great story — one of the best in the NHL over the last six weeks.
The loss on Saturday means that the story will not be going into the break on a high note.
But it’s all set up for one heck of a race to the finish when they return.
(Photo: Rick Osentoski / Imagn Images)
