Entering Monday, the last time the Detroit Red Wings left Denver with a win, they were playing under the open skies at Coors Field in a Stadium Series game.
That was in 2016; 10 years later, under a roof at Ball Arena, the Wings finally snapped their eight-game skid in the Mile High City as Marco Kasper – who hadn’t yet turned 12 at the time of that previous victory – scored the winning goal in an 2-0 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Feb. 2.
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ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Detroit Red Wings’ trip before Olympic break may define their season
Members of the Detroit Red Wings celebrate a goal by Detroit Red Wings center Marco Kasper (92) (center) during the first period against the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena in Denver on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026.
And unlike their wait for a road win over the Avs, the Wings didn’t have to wait long for Kasper’s goal; the winger broke toward the offensive zone along with linemate Lucas Raymond just 30 seconds in. As Raymond carried the puck into the zone, drawing the attention of goalie Mackenzie Blackwood, Kasper darted to the net to tip in the pass from Raymond with 19:27 remaining in the first period – on the Wings’ first shot of the game – for his sixth goal of the season, and third in nine games. The assist was Raymond’s 41st, extending his team lead.
After that, the Wings dominated the run of play for two periods, holding the Avs to just 12 shots on goal over the first two periods. It was a stark contrast to the first matchup between the teams, on Saturday, when league-leading Colorado rolled over Detroit at Little Caesars Arena, 5-0. The Wings, meanwhile, had 20 shots on net in 40 minutes.
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Raymond padded the lead with a wrister into an empty net with 30.7 seconds remaining.
The few times the Wings defense did falter, goalie John Gibson was there; he stopped 22 shots in all to pick up his 22nd victory. That his most since winning 26 during the 2018-19 season, when he finished 10th in Vezina Trophy voting.
The victory gave the Wings (33-18-6) 72 points, getting them within two points of the Tampa Bay Lightning for first place in the Atlantic Division (though the Bolts have four games in hand). Detroit is two points ahead of third-place Montreal in the division and three points up on surging Buffalo, which also won Monday night to take over the top wild-card spot with its 21st win in 25 games.
Detroit Red Wings goaltender John Gibson (36) makes a save next to defenseman Axel Sandin-Pellikka (44) and Colorado Avalanche center Parker Kelly (17) in the first period at Ball Arena in Denver on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026.
Cold open in the third
Although the Red Wings ruled the first two frames, the third opened with a sustained Avalanche push, as Colorado took seven of the first eight shots of the period. The Wings tallied just one shot on net over the first 10:43 of action and didn’t get their second and third shots until there was less than six minutes remaining in the game.
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What’s next for the Red Wings
The Wings have one game left before the NHL’s Olympic break, which runs Feb. 6-24: A visit to Salt Lake City to face the Utah Mammoth on Wednesday (9 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Detroit). The Wings’ losing streak in the Beehive State is shorter than the one just snapped in the Rocky Mountain State: zero games, as the Wings won their Utah debut, 5-1, last March. (The Mammoth, formerly the Arizona Coyotes, moved from Glendale – where the Wings were 0-4 since the start of the 2018-19 season – ahead of the 2024-25 season.)
After the break, the Wings have three more road games – at Ottawa, Carolina and Nashville – before returning home on March 4 to host the Vegas Golden Knights.
This story will be updated.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Lucas Raymond gives Detroit Red Wings win over Colorado Avalanche