It’s been a familiar lament from Todd McLellan, and in fact dates back to before his tenure as coach of the Detroit Red Wings.

Slow starts have proven to be an ongoing staple of Red Wings hockey for many years. And the ailment is showing no sign of entering the healing process.

“Our starts have been a little indifferent,” McLellan said.

Lately, that’s proven to be quite the understatement.

#RedWings warm-up for practice prior to hosting league-leading Colorado tomorrow at 1 on ABC. Everyone is practicing. pic.twitter.com/BeTnZGrq9X

— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) January 30, 2026

Over the past eight games, the Red Wings have trailed in seven of those contests. They’ve been behind by two goals in four games and once trailed by three goals.

In six of those games, Detroit surrendered the first goal of the game. Amazingly, despite breaking from the gate so slowly, the Red Wings own a 4-2-1 record in these seven games.

Still, they know that their luck can’t last if they continue to play this style of hockey over the long haul. Ultimately, prolonged catch-up hockey turns into losing hockey.

 Red Wings Need To Play More Like A Unit From The Outset

“Yeah, for sure,” Detroit forward James van Riemsdyk said. “Probably having better starts is definitely a good thing.

“Yeah, I think it comes back to just playing connected as a five-man group and just playing simpler. And I think when we do that, we get to our game with a lot more kind of consistency and frequency.”

Defenseman Moritz Seider believes the team needs to get back to playing that simple hockey of which van Riemsdyk speaks right from the outset of the opening faceoff.

“Just gotta make sure we get pucks behind their D, really challenge their defensemen,” Seider said. “Make sure we get onto our forecheck, get everyone going.

“And I think those are simple things that hopefully make a difference.”

Knowing that their next two games are a home-and-home set with the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche, the Red Wings recognize that digging a hole from the start against the Avs would be akin to burying themselves.

“Hopefully we gotta do that tomorrow,” van Riemsdyk said of getting off to a fast start. “Obviously, you can’t start late against this team, or it’s gonna be a long night.”