Detroit Red Wings lament special teams failures in latest loss
Detroit Red Wings Dylan Larkin, Nate Danielson & Todd McLellan, Nov. 9, 2025 in Detroit.
After using special teams to feed their rise in the NHL standings the first month of the season, the Detroit Red Wings are starving for points.
They spent much of their matinee on Sunday, Nov. 9, chasing the Chicago Blackhawks, and ended up being foiled, 5-1.
The Wings (9-7-0) have lost three in a row for the first time this season and have two even-strength goals in that span. They’re 1-for-20 on man advantages going back five games.
They tried to make something happen with an extra attacker with 3:45 to go, pulling John Gibson, but the Blackhawks took advantage of the empty net and pulled further away when Andre Burakovsky flipped the puck half the length of the ice less than 20 seconds later.
The Wings (46 shots) gave up another goal with 15.6 seconds to go to Oliver Moore. That was Chicago’s 20th shot on net.
Sunday’s outing marked the debut of 2023 first-round pick Nate Danielson, whose call-up was announced a couple hours before the 1 p.m. puck drop. He entered the lineup on the third line, while Michael Rasmussen and Jonatan Berggren were scratched.
The Wings were booed by fans at Little Caesars Arena late in the second period when they spent most of a four-minute lengthy power play retrieving the puck. The third period began with 24 seconds left with a man advantage.
When the Blackhawks went on their power play early in the third period, ex-Wing Tyler Bertuzzi, a pest all game, needed just 13 seconds to convert. When the Wings went on their fifth power play of the game soon after, they got four shots on net.
Red Wings lag early, then tie it up
The start couldn’t have gone much worse for the Wings: Dylan Larkin was called for a tripping infraction 28 seconds in; at 59 seconds, Connor Bedard picked a corner of Gibson’s net and made it 1-0 for the Blackhawks. But there were 59 minutes of hockey left and the Wings only needed about three of them to even things up, with Larkin knocking Lucas Raymond’s shot past Arvid Söderblom – brother of Wings forward Elmer – at 4:19. Patrick Kane’s attempt was turned away, leaving the Wings with a 24-15 edge in shots after two periods.
Gibson preserved that score with back-to-back saves when Oliver Moore had a breakaway.
Tyler Bertuzzi draws boos
The Wings opened the second period with 1:22 left on their second power play of the game, but again struggled to build momentum. Instead, the Blackhawks grabbed a 2-1 lead 30 seconds into a penalty on Travis Hamonic when Teuvo Teravainen snapped Burakovsky’s pass into Detroit’s net. Fans were busy booing because it appeared Bertuzzi had high-sticked Dylan Larkin, causing him to fall, but no whistle sounded on that liberty.
Söderblom used his left leg to deny Larkin on a glorious chance, midway through the second period.
There were cheers when Bertuzzi was called for roughing Larkin and then also for unsportsmanlike conduct with 3:36 to play in the second period, to give the Wings their extended power play at the end of the frame. Alex DeBrincat corralled a wobbly puck and fired a shot on net that went wide.
Next up for the Red Wings
The Wings now have three days off before facing another Western Conference foe at Little Caesars Arena, as the Anaheim Ducks come to town on Thursday (7 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Detroit). The Wings and Ducks met on Oct. 31 in California, with Anaheim prevailing, 5-2.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com.
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