The Detroit Red Wings already were without their captain. Then they lost their starting goaltender.
They didn’t show it.
By the time John Gibson departed on Sunday, March 8, the Wings had a two-goal lead on the New Jersey Devils. Delivering a much better performance in the third period at Prudential Center than their two previous games – both at home – the Wings held on to win, 3-0.
Mar 8, 2026; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Detroit Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider (53) celebrates his goal against the New Jersey Devils during the first period at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Salus-Imagn Images
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That bumped the Wings (36-21-7, 79 points) into third place in the Atlantic Division. In earlier Sunday action, the Buffalo Sabres outlasted the Tampa Bay Lightning, 8-7, to move into first place in the division. The Wings are 2-1-1 in March, with both victories coming on the road. The Wings’ margin is razor-thin – just one point separates them and the wild-card-leading Montreal Canadians, though the Wings are six points clear of the playoff line.
What’s next for the Red Wings
Sunday’s game was the start of a four-game trip that continues at the Florida Panthers on Tuesday (7 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Detroit). The Wings lost to the Panthers, 3-1, on Saturday night in Detroit, with all three Florida goals scored by Matthew Tkachuk. After that, it’s on to Tampa on Thursday and finally, to Dallas on Saturday night.
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Seider scoring
Moritz Seider had a goal and two assists and James van Riemsdyk had a goal and an assist. Van Riemsdyk picked up his helper midway through the third period when he angled a backhand pass through the crease to Dominik Shine, an AHL call-up who scored his first career NHL goal.
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Detroit Red Wings drop puck on 4-game road trip vs New Jersey Devils
The Detroit Red Wings celebrate a goal scored by Moritz Seider during the first period against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Sunday, March 8.
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Detroit Red Wings drop puck on 4-game road trip vs New Jersey Devils
The Detroit Red Wings celebrate a goal scored by Moritz Seider during the first period against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Sunday, March 8.
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Detroit Red Wings drop puck on 4-game road trip vs New Jersey Devils
The Detroit Red Wings celebrate a goal scored by Moritz Seider of the Detroit Red Wings during the first period against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Sunday, March 8.
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Detroit Red Wings drop puck on 4-game road trip vs New Jersey Devils
Brenden Dillon of the New Jersey Devils controls the puck as Dominik Shine of the Detroit Red Wings defends during the first period at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Sunday, March 8.
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Detroit Red Wings drop puck on 4-game road trip vs New Jersey Devils
Jacob Markstrom of the New Jersey Devils looks on during the first period against the Detroit Red Wings at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Sunday, March 8.
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Detroit Red Wings drop puck on 4-game road trip vs New Jersey Devils
James van Riemsdyk of the Detroit Red Wings controls the puck during the first period against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Sunday, March 8.
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Detroit Red Wings drop puck on 4-game road trip vs New Jersey Devils
Ben Chiarot of the Detroit Red Wings controls the puck as Nick Bjugstad of the New Jersey Devils defends during the first period at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Sunday, March 8.
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Detroit Red Wings drop puck on 4-game road trip vs New Jersey Devils
Evgenii Dadonov of the New Jersey Devils looks on during the first period against the Detroit Red Wings at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Sunday, March 8.
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Detroit Red Wings drop puck on 4-game road trip vs New Jersey Devils
Michael Brandsegg-Nygard of the Detroit Red Wings controls the puck during the first period against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Sunday, March 8.
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Detroit Red Wings drop puck on 4-game road trip vs New Jersey Devils
Jacob Markstrom of the New Jersey Devils looks on in goal during the first period against the Detroit Red Wings at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Sunday, March 8.
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Detroit Red Wings drop puck on 4-game road trip vs New Jersey Devils
Alex DeBrincat and Lucas Raymond talk with Patrick Kane of the Detroit Red Wings during the first period against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Sunday, March 8.
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Detroit Red Wings drop puck on 4-game road trip vs New Jersey Devils
Marco Kasper passes the puck to Lucas Raymond of the Detroit Red Wings during the first period against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Sunday, March 8.
The Wings grabbed the lead on a seeing-eye puck. Seider fired a wrist shot from the blue line through traffic that sailed past Jacob Markstrom 3:20 into the game. That momentum did not carry into a power play a minute later, as the Devils did a better job creating offensive chances while killing off a penalty to Luke Hughes than the Wings did with the man advantage. Gibson had a far busier start than his counterpart; when Patrick Kane fired a wrist shot from the right hash marks with 8:45 to go in the firrst period, shots favored New Jersey, 9-4.
A shot from almost the exact same spot yielded an assist for Seider in the second period. Kane caught the puck as it rolled along the boards and passed it back to Seider, who took aim at the net. Van Riemsdyk had come out form behind the net and was in position to tip Seider’s shot, for a 2-0 lead at 6:37. That was on the Wings’ third power play of the game; they were 3-for-32 on man advantages dating back 11 games coming into the night.
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John Gibson injury
Detroit Red Wings goaltender John Gibson (36) uses his stick to make a stop against the New Jersey Devils during the second period at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Sunday, March 8.
Gibson did not return for the third period. He faced 21 shots through two periods, and endured a collision when Lucas Raymond entered the paint with Timo Meier. Cam Talbot came in in relief for the second time in four games, after Gibson left the March 2 game at the Nashville Predators with an upper-body injury.
Todd McLellan told reporters in New Jersey that Gibson got hit in a bad spot and should be fine.
Dylan Larkin was unavailable because of an injury suffered two nights earlier. The game marked the debut of newcomer Justin Faulk, who, as expected, slotted onto the second pairing opposite Ben Chiarot. Defenseman Axel Sandin-Pellikka was not in the lineup.
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During the tail end of a fourth power play late in the second period, Faulk bulled his way through traffic to get in ahead of Devils defenders and took aim short side, but Nre Jersey’s Jacob Markstrom came up with a huge glove save.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings shut out Devils, 3-0, despite John Gibson injury