Is history repeating itself with the Detroit Red Wings? Are we talking about deja vu all over again?

If you think you’ve all of this before, it’s only because you have.

The Wings come out of the gate flying and firing on all cylinders. Hopes are raised. The fanbase begins to dream. Visions of playoff appearances dance through their heads.

And then comes the boom, and it all blows up.

Blows up real good.

Consecutive road losses on consecutive days – 4-2 Wednesday at Buffalo and 7-2 Thursday at the New York Islanders – have taken much of the sheen off Detroit’s impressive 5-1 start to the 2025-26 NHL season.

“We didn’t start well in Buffalo,” Red Wings coach Todd McLellan said. “We responded a little better as the night went on.

“(In New York) we didn’t start well, and we never got it going. So certainly there’s the on-ice product that has to be worked on, but there’s the between-ears part that has to be managed as well.”

Familiar Fate For Red Wings

Six times over the past seven seasons, Detroit has come out of the gate like a champion thoroughbred, then turned into a cheap claimer before even reaching the quarter pole of the race.

Last season, the Wings were 4-3 after seven games. They went 3-6-1 over the next 10 games.

In 2023-24, the club also got off to a 5-1 start. That good start was then followed by a 3-6-2 skid.

The previous season, Detroit was 7-3 after 10 games and 11-5 through 16 contests. A 2-6-3 drought took care of that impressive beginning to the campaign.

The 2021-22 Red Wings were 4-2-1 after seven games. They were 4-7-2 over the ensuing 13 games.

In 2019-20, Detroit was 3-1 after four games. Then came a 0-7-1 slide into oblivion.

In each instance, a familiar scenario unfolded. As soon as adversity hit the Red Wings, they just kept on sliding downhill.

McLellan fears that the same fate will await his team if they don’t pull up their socks immediately.

“I didn’t think we’ve (dealt well with adversity) on this road trip,” McLellan said. “We haven’t done a real good job of handling it, and that’s a huge area of growth for this team.

“When it doesn’t go your way, how do you respond?”

Captain Dylan Larkin feels it is up to the players to get back on board, right the ship, and once again begin steering a course in the right direction.

“We’ve got to get some emotion,” Larkin said. “We’ve got to find energy. We got to find…get our spirit going to get everyone involved, and win hockey games as a team.”