The Detroit Red Wings have been in Stanley Cup Playoff contention for three-straight seasons, but the schedule for the month of March has crushed them. It seems like nobody can fix the Red Wings’ issues in March, and it’s starting to make fans wonder if this team will once again collapse. Should this continue for the third-straight year, expect general manager Steve Yzerman’s seat to get ultra hot. That is, regardless of the progress Detroit has made.

Credit Image: © Dirk Shadd/Tampa Bay Times via ZUMA Press Wire

Detroit Red Wings Heading Toward Another March Schedule Collapse

In 2024, the Red Wings dropped their first six games in March. They finished the month 3-9-2. Between October 2023 and February 2024, the Wings were a healthy 33-21-6, with 72 points. Moreover, they sat in the top Eastern Conference Playoff Wild Card spot.

Fast-forward to the 2024-25 season, and Detroit was also in the top Wild Card spot when they had 66 points as March rolled around on the calendar. This season, they entered March with 74 points and were, once again, in the top Wild Card position. If there is any good news, it’s that the Wings are still in a Wild Card spot, with 80 points. But they once again have had a rough start to the month, and as we’re at March’s midway point. Hence, fans can’t help but feel a sense of dread.

So far, the Wings are 2-3-2, and they dropped five of their last six, including two games in which they blew a lead in the third period. Thursday night’s 4-1 loss against the Tampa Bay Lightning did nothing to quell fears that the Wings are, once again, on the verge of letting a playoff position slip. Ditto for Saturday’s overtime loss to the Dallas Stars.

Injuries Are Crushing the Red Wings at the Worst Time

To make matters worse, the Wings lost Dylan Larkin and Andrew Copp to lower-body injuries. Both look like they will miss at least two weeks, and it puts the Wings top two centres out of action. Larkin had 55 points and 28 goals before his injury, and was a stalwart on the first line. Copp isn’t known as a point-producer, but he had been solid centring Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat, recording 37 points and eight goals in 65 games while winning 54.4 percent of his face-offs.

This means somebody needs to step up and be a hero in Hockeytown when fans are expecting a playoff berth. Marco Kasper was supposed to make the jump in 2025-26, but he has just 16 points and seven goals in 66 contests. If there’s anyone who needs to see and embrace this as an opportunity, it’s Kasper.

J.T. Compher has been a disappointment during most of his time in the Winged Wheel, and this season has been no different. So far, he has just 21 points and nine goals through 67 games. That presents a negative regression from 2024-25 when he recorded 32 points and 11 goals in 76 contests. Compher, however, has shown that he can be productive, having logged 48 points and 19 goals in 77 games during the 2023-24 season, his first in Detroit.

Organization Need to See These Struggles as an Opportunity to Grow

Adversity is striking the Wings once again, and there’s not a single player in the locker room who isn’t familiar with the way things fizzled in recent seasons. None of them should look at this as a “here we go again” moment. Instead, they need to recognize that it’s an opportunity to change the narrative.

Right now, they’re the team that falters down the stretch, but with talents like Alex DeBrincat, Patrick Kane, Moritz Seider, Justin Faulk, and Lucas Raymond, they’re still too good to fold for the third-straight season. Underperformers like Compher and Kasper must take things up a notch, but so do the best players on this team.

Things won’t get easier for the Detroit Red Wings. Four of their final seven games in March are against legitimate contenders. Still, if they see this as an opportunity instead of an obstacle, they will venture into April with a fine chance to land a Wild Card spot.

Main Photo Credit: Keito Newman-Imagn Images