Perhaps the only good news about the visit the Detroit Red Wings made to Long Island is that they don’t have to go back again this season.

Thursday was the only road game the Red Wings are playing this season against the New York Islanders. And what a nightmare of a journey it turned out to be. When it comes to being shanghaied on an island, that three-hour tour on the SS Minnow was a pleasure cruise by comparison.

Back home Saturday. pic.twitter.com/smOlqa5WSg

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 24, 2025

In a 7-2 loss to the Islanders, the Red Wings managed to fail in just about every aspect of the game. It might have even been an uglier performance than the one the Wings turned in while losing 5-1 to Montreal on opening night.

“Our puck management through the neutral zone or in the offensive zone led to multiple rushes going the other way, and our sort-outs coming into our end were non-existent, really,” Red Wings coach Todd McLellan said on the team’s website. “They found the fourth man, they found the third man. They scored off rebounds.

“So areas that we’ve worked on and tried to put time into correcting or thought we corrected after Game 1, they showed up again tonight.”

Red Wings Went From Bad to Worse

It was 2-0 after one period and 5-0 by the end of the second frame. The Wings tied the third period 2-2, but McLellan wasn’t drawing any solace from that.

“Garbage time,” McLellan said. “You know what, we didn’t generate enough early, and it got to 7-1 or whatever it was.

“It’s garbage time. They’re playing a different game. They’re getting through it, and maybe some calls even went our way. So we got some time on the power play, but not enough from a lot of players offensively.”

Captain Dylan Larkin broke down the debacle in simple, straightforward terms.

The Red Wings didn’t show up.

“From the start, we were just lacking execution,” Larkin said. “I think lack of showing up here with being on a back-to-back. We just made it very easy for them.

“They capitalized, and then we just chased it and let it get more and more out of hand. So to a man, it wasn’t good enough.

Larkin Keeps Streak Going

On a night lacking positive outcomes, Larkin scored. He has points in all eight of Detroit’s games this season. Emmitt Finnie assisted on the goal. He now shares the NHL rookie scoring lead with Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaeffer. Each player has seven points.

one thing the red wings learned tonight: don’t mess with matthew schaefer pic.twitter.com/Fq5WpQnw1g

— kaitlyn (@53zeeker) October 24, 2025

Red Wings rookie forward Michael Brandsegg-Nygard drew an assist on Jonatan Berggren’s goal for his first NHL point.