The adjectives being used to describe the Detroit Red Wings following Tuesday’s 3-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings were commonly heard not that long ago.

Lethargic. Disjointed. Frustrated. Second-best.

This season, such terminology seems like a foreign concept when describing the 2025-26 version of the Red Wings.

“We’re getting – players, coaches, but also you (media) guys – used to us winning,” Red Wings coach Todd McLellan said.

That’s true. And you can include Red Wings fans among that group. So when things are going as south as they did on Tuesday, questions are going to be asked, and answers demanded.

🚫 NOPE 🚫 pic.twitter.com/p5i9oQ9fis

— LA Kings (@LAKings) January 28, 2026

The Red Wings looked a half-step behind for much of the game.

“We were slow with the puck,” Detroit defenseman Moritz Seider said.

They succumbed to LA’s relentless forecheck too often. The Kings were frequently overwhelming the Detroit power play with their puck pressure. Pucks were dumped into the LA zone without a purpose behind their placement.

“Nothing really went right for us,” Red Wings forward Patrick Kane said.

Solutions, so often unearthed during the course of a game this season by the Wings, weren’t forthcoming this time.

“We weren’t completing or executing two pieces of the puzzle,” McLellan said. “We may get one done, but we couldn’t get to the second.

“It looked like we were okay with being average, and that wasn’t good enough.”

Red Wings: The Model Of Consistency

You have to go back to a three-game losing streak from November 24-28 to find Detroit losing consecutive games in regulation time. That was nearly 30 games ago.

“We have this feeling in the locker room where going into every game, we have a chance to win,” Kane said. “And it’s a great feeling right now, but, you know, just didn’t have it (Tuesday) for whatever reason.”

Red Wings just can’t get any sustained pressure in the offensive zone tonight at all.

— OhNyquist (@OhNyquist) January 28, 2026

Performances like Tuesday’s setback have become the exception, not the rule. What’s keeping the Red Wings running with the NHL elite this season is the fact that they aren’t allowing mediocrity to become accepted.

They bounce back. They get back on track.

Hitting the reset button will be the objective when they hit the ice for practice on Wednesday.

“Just gotta turn the page and get back to work,” Seider said. “Just got to put the work boots on and get back to the grind.”