Things are certainly going poorly for the Detroit Red Wings. And as bad as it feels, the reality is that it’s much worse than that.

On January 24, the Red Wings had 69 points and were tied with the Carolina Hurricanes for top spot in the Eastern Conference. Carolina was ahead based on points percentage. Overall, Detroit was third in the NHL standings.

My, weren’t those halcyon days.

Since that point, the Red Wings haven’t so much gone into a slide as they have crashed and burned. Over the past two months, Detroit has gone 6-9-3, garnering 15 points.

That’s the worst record in the entire Eastern Conference and tied with the San Jose Sharks (6-10-3, 15 points) for 30th overall in the NHL. Only the Vancouver Canucks (4-12-3, 11 points) have fared worse than Detroit over the past two months.

The Red Wings have slipped to 10th overall in the East and 13th in the NHL.

Red Wings Lose While Everyone Else Wins

On Jan. 24, the teams that Detroit now finds itself jockeying with for playoff positions were distant from the Red Wings in the standings. Montreal (28-17-7) was eighth overall in the league. Boston (30-20-2) was 10th. The New York Islanders (27-195) sat 13th, with the Philadelphia Flyers (24-17-9) in 16th.

Distanced and seemingly out of the race were the Columbus Blue Jackets (24-20-7) in 23rd and the Ottawa Senators (23-21-7) in 25th.

Back from Twitter jail what did I miss? Hows the Red Wings season going guys?

— March Madness Red Wings (@FlockyouMean) March 26, 2026

What a difference two months have made.

“Well, everybody’s paying attention right now, and nobody loses,” Red Wings coach Todd McLellan said.

Well, almost everybody, Todd.

While Detroit stumbles down the stretch, the rest of the teams in the East playoff battle are roaring.

Columbus (14-2-4) and Ottawa (15-3-2) are tied with Buffalo for the NHL’s best record. Each has accumulated 32 points. The Islanders (13-8-0, 26 points) are seventh. Montreal (11-4-3, 25 points) is tied for eighth. Boston (9-4-6, 24 points) is 13th, and Philadelphia (10-7-3) is 15th.

McLellan looks upon Detroit’s situation as being about taking care of business.

“Its a real indicator that you better take care of your own work and not count on anybody on any given night from now till the end of the season,” McLellan said. “So we’re all well aware of that.

“We know what’s in front of us, schedule-wise.”