The maladies afflicting the Detroit Red Wings carry a familiar tone to them.
They are slow starters. Too many pucks are finding their way into the Detroit net, and many of those goals against are coming in rapid-fire fashion.
It seems as though we’ve been talking about these issues since Jeff Blashill was behind the Red Wings bench. Seasons change, the roster undergoes upheaval, and yet the same problems persist.
That’s how a team misses the playoffs for seven years in a row.
Yet here we are, discussing the same issues. And if the Wings don’t clean up this mess, you can forget about postseason hockey again this spring.
Show Up On Time
No team in the NHL is slower out of the gate than the Red Wings. Detroit has scored 17 first-period goals. That’s the fewest of any NHL team.
By contrast, the 38-second-period goals registered by the Red Wings are tied for the NHL lead with the Colorado Avalanche. Still, the slow starts too often find the Red Wings playing catch-up hockey. And catch-up hockey is always a losing proposition in the long run.
“We gotta have a better sense of urgency,” Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond said.
Red Wings Need To Slow The Goals Against
Overall, Detroit is still fishing too many pucks out of the net. Thursday’s 6-5 shootout loss to Columbus was the fifth time in six games that the Red Wings have allowed four or more goals in a game. It’s occurred 14 times in 28 games this season, exactly 50% of the time.
That’s too many goals to be giving up regularly to expect to win games with any consistency.
HE WANTED MO! 💥
CBJ x @FanaticsBook pic.twitter.com/l0py2gCVSD
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) December 5, 2025
“There are boatloads of teams that win games scoring three (goals),” Red Wings coach Todd McLellan said. “It’s a three-goal league over and over
and over again.”
Stop Feeling Sorry For Themselves
When things begin to go south for the Red Wings, they tend to snowball and pick up speed like a toboggan sliding downhill. Those goals against start coming fast and furious.
In 28 games this season, there have been 21 instances in which Detroit has allowed multiple goals against in a span of less than five minutes. It’s happened twice in seven different games.
In case you missed it, we slowed it down for ya!
CBJ x @FanaticsBook pic.twitter.com/fZMLlN9YLb
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) December 5, 2025
“You get punched, you want to throw a jab quickly back at them and stay on your feet,” McLellan said. Too often, the Red Wings keep on taking dives.
Detroit is 3-9-2 in those games.
“We gotta be better than that,” Raymond said. “We know it. We’ve gotta have better game management.”