Detroit Red Wings: ‘Up and down’ performance in win at Seattle
Detroit Red Wings Andrew Copp, Patrick Kane, James van Riemsdyk & Todd McLellan, Dec. 6, 2025 in Seattle.
If this keeps up, James van Riemsdyk may not want to return to Detroit.
The  Detroit Red Wings forward opened the scoring Monday, Dec. 8, at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, part of a trio of goals for the Wings in an 4-0 victory over the Vancouver Canucks.
Van Riemsdyk, 36, put the Wings up 1-0 on a backhand with just under six minutes left in the first period. He has scored in all three games to open the Wings’ six-game road trip, part of a four-game scoring streak and his sixth goal in seven games. This, after the 2007 No. 2 overall pick scored in the Wings’ opener and then went 16 games with a goose egg.
The No. 1 pick in that 2007 NHL Draft, Patrick Kane, went scoreless Monday, remaining at 497 career goals with two games left before a return to Chicago, where he played 16 seasons. Kane is seeking to become the fifth U.S.-born player with 500 goals. (The others? Joe Mullen, Jeremy Roenick, Keith Tkachuk and former Red Wing Mike Modano.)
Captain Dylan Larkin, sporting a facial shield after taking a puck to the face i the second period Saturday in Seattle, added the final score, scoring his 16th of the season on an empty net from the blue line with 4:31 remaining Monday.
Red Wings playoff picture
Van Riemsdyk’s goal, combined with scores from Andrew Copp and Nate Danielson 37 seconds apart late in the second period, improved the Wings’ record to 16-11-3. The Wings, with 35 points, vaulted from fourth in the Eastern Conference wild-card race to the top of the Atlantic Division board, a point up on the Tampa Bay Lightning (who lost Monday) and Boston Bruins.
J.T. Compher got the primary assist on van Riemsdyk’s score, winning a board battle behind the net and then making a one-arm pass to van Riemsdyk in front of the crease. Van Riemsdyk backhanded in his own rebound.
Helper wanted
Danielson’s goal came on a deflection of a shot when he redirected a one-timer from Axel Sandin-Pellikka, who had two assists. Sandin-Pellikka’s one-timer, meanwhile, came on a feed from second-year forward Marco Kasper, who saw an ignominious streak come to an end: The assist was his first of the season, ending a 29-game run without a helper. Kasper also has three goals this season, a year removed from posting 37 points in 77 games in his first full campaign.
Blank space for John Gibson
Gibson, who entered with a 3.58 goals-against average and a .869 save percentage in his first season with the Wings, picked up a milestone of his own: His first shutout wearing the Winged Wheel.
Gibson had 39 saves in his second straight start, including several highlight reel-worthy stops at Rogers Arena, where he recorded his first career win – also a shutout – as a member of the Anaheim Ducks on April 7, 2014. The shutout was Gibson’s first in nearly three years, with his last blanking coming on Jan. 4, 2023. Gibson shut out the Canucks for the fourth time in his career – his top total against any NHL team.
Kevin Lankinen stopped 10 of 13 shots for Vancouver before giving way to rookie Nikita Tolopilo at the start of the third period. Tolopilo finished with six saves for the Canucks, who lost for the eighth time in 10 games (2-7-1).
The road rolls on for the Wings
The Red Wings begin heading back east with a back-to-back in Alberta. First up: facing the Flames in Calgary on Wednesday (8:30 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Detroit). The Flames have crawled out of the Pacific Division cellar with three straight wins, including a 7-4 win at home over the Buffalo Sabres on Monday. That’ll be followed by a Thursday stop in Edmonton to face the reigning Western Conference champion Oilers. The Wings wrap up their six-game road trip with a visit to Chicago to face the Blackhawks on Saturday night.
Next up: Flames
Matchup: Red Wings (16-11-3) at Calgary (12-15-4).
Faceoff: 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 10; Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, Alberta.
TV/radio: FanDuel Sports Network Detroit; WXYT-FM (97.1).