Todd McLellan acknowledged the dichotomy: Here the Detroit Red Wings coach was, discussing what he liked about the performance – and yet they didn’t bank any points.
The Wings have a bit of a breather before their third straight game against an Atlantic Division opponent, at a time when their foothold inside the playoffs is precarious. At 38-24-8, their 84 points have them holding the second wild-card berth, with the New York Islanders only a point behind and the Ottawa Senators – that next opponent at Little Caesars Arena, on Tuesday, March 24 – three points behind.
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As the runway shortens – the Wings have 12 games left – and the standings remain snug, the awareness of their situation fuels the locker room attitude.
Boston Bruins center Elias Lindholm (28) scores a goal on Detroit Red Wings goaltender John Gibson (36) during the third period at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Saturday, March 21, 2026.
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“We’re in a great spot to fight our own battles,” defenseman Moritz Seider said. “I think that has to be the message. The last couple of years, we were waiting for help, and now it’s all in our hands. We’ve got enough games left to force our luck.
“I think it’s a great opportunity, great challenge for us.”
They’d just lost the challenge presented by the Boston Bruins, falling 4-2 thanks in no small part to Jeremy Swayman making 21 saves in the third period, among 41 total. The winning goal was a bad one, with Simon Edvinsson backing down as Nikita Zadorov approached the net.
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“Third goal, we just caved into our end,” McLellan said. “Our D-man didn’t gap up and give Zadorov credit. He used our D as a screen.”
The Wings looked on a good path when Lucas Raymond converted on a power play early in the second period, but then Seider sent the puck over the glass 7 seconds after a penalty to David Perron, and the Bruins didn’t need much time to use that two-man advantage to make it 1-1.
Seider was contrite.
“We played a very solid game,” he said. “I thought it was a very, very dumb mistake by me to get Boston on a 5-on-3. That’s probably something you want to have back. But we had great opportunities. Got to give a shout-out to their goalie. He played really, really well, made it really tough on us. Even when we had a screen in front of him, he always found a way to make sure he secures them and don’t even allow us rebounds.
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“We were frustrating and disappointing on our side. Most nights when you get that many shots, you’re probably going to score more than two goals.”
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Detroit Red Wings tackle Boston Bruins in battle of wild-card squads
Detroit Red Wings left wing Lucas Raymond (23) looks on during pregame warmups before the game versus the Boston Bruins at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Saturday, March 21, 2026.
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Detroit Red Wings tackle Boston Bruins in battle of wild-card squads
Detroit Red Wings left wing Lucas Raymond (23) looks on during pregame warmups before the game versus the Boston Bruins at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Saturday, March 21, 2026.
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Detroit Red Wings tackle Boston Bruins in battle of wild-card squads
Detroit Red Wings center Andrew Copp (18) looks on during pregame warmups before the game versus the Boston Bruins at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Saturday, March 21, 2026.
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Detroit Red Wings tackle Boston Bruins in battle of wild-card squads
Detroit Red Wings defenseman Justin Faulk (72) looks on during pregame warmups before the game versus the Boston Bruins at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Saturday, March 21, 2026.
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Detroit Red Wings tackle Boston Bruins in battle of wild-card squads
Boston Bruins left wing Lukas Reichel (75) handles the puck against Detroit Red Wings defenseman Ben Chiarot (8) during the first period at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Saturday, March 21, 2026.
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Detroit Red Wings tackle Boston Bruins in battle of wild-card squads
Detroit Red Wings right wing Alex DeBrincat (93) talks with right wing Patrick Kane (88) and defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker (25) during the first period against the Boston Bruins at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Saturday, March 21, 2026.
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Detroit Red Wings tackle Boston Bruins in battle of wild-card squads
Detroit Red Wings goaltender John Gibson (36) prepares to make a save during the first period against the Boston Bruins at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Saturday, March 21, 2026.
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Detroit Red Wings tackle Boston Bruins in battle of wild-card squads
Boston Bruins center Fraser Minten (93) shoots the puck during the first period against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Saturday, March 21, 2026.
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Detroit Red Wings tackle Boston Bruins in battle of wild-card squads
Detroit Red Wings defenseman Justin Faulk (72) looks on during the first period against the Boston Bruins at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Saturday, March 21, 2026.
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Detroit Red Wings tackle Boston Bruins in battle of wild-card squads
Detroit Red Wings center Mason Appleton (22) looks on during the first period against the Boston Bruins at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Saturday, March 21, 2026.
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Detroit Red Wings tackle Boston Bruins in battle of wild-card squads
Boston Bruins center Casey Mittelstadt (11) handles the puck against Detroit Red Wings defenseman Albert Johansson (20) during the first period at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Saturday, March 21, 2026.
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Detroit Red Wings tackle Boston Bruins in battle of wild-card squads
Detroit Red Wings defenseman Justin Faulk (72) handles the puck during the first period against the Boston Bruins at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Saturday, March 21, 2026.
That was McLellan’s stance: Generating 43 shots on net is likelier to end with a celebration rather than frustration.
“I liked our game,” he said. “I thought we did a lot of really good things tonight. I think if we play that game over again and get a little puck luck around the net, we score a few more. The offensive part of our game was a real positive. Probably the most aggressive offensively we’ve been. Our defensive game wasn’t a disaster. There were a few mistakes.
“We lost a game 4-2, but it wasn’t a terrible night.”
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Lucas Raymond pointed to the need to take something from the game, saying, “I thought in the second period we dominated them, we were the better team and we could have put them away right there and then kind of close it down in the third. It’s a valuable lesson. But I think everyone in this locker room enjoys them and we’re looking forward to the rest of it.”
The rest of it will come fast in the rundown from March 24-April 15, with eight games against teams in the East near the Wings in the standings..
“Everybody’s paying attention right now,” McLellan said. “Nobody loses, which is a real indicator that you better take care of your own work and not count on anybody on any given night from now until the end of the season. So we’re all well aware of that. We know what’s in front of us schedule-wise.
“If we were in the actual playoffs right now, which I think we are, it’s just the regular season, we would look at this game and we’d want to move on right away. We can’t dwell on stuff. We’d want to get to the next one and fix a few things, make a few adjustments and move on, and that’s the way we’re going to treat it. The next big one’s coming, so we’ll be ready.”
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Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com.
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Next up: Senators
Matchup: Red Wings (38-24-8) vs. Ottawa (36-24-9).
Tipoff: 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 24; Little Caesars Arena, Detroit.
TV/radio: FanDuel Sports Network Detroit; WXYT-FM (97.1).
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings 2026 playoff hopes ‘all in our hands’ after loss