{"id":529261,"date":"2026-03-29T12:54:31","date_gmt":"2026-03-29T12:54:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/529261\/"},"modified":"2026-03-29T12:54:31","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T12:54:31","slug":"inexcusable-red-wings-effort-in-loss-to-flyers-dhn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/529261\/","title":{"rendered":"Inexcusable Red Wings Effort In Loss To Flyers \/ DHN"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are plenty of appropriate adjectives that could be applied to the performance of the Detroit<\/a> Red Wings in Saturday\u2019s 5-3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers<\/a>. Certainly, some of those words wouldn\u2019t be appropriate for a family publication such as this.<\/p>\n

However, there\u2019s one descriptive that is both appropriate and accurate \u2013 inexplicable.<\/p>\n

Considering the circumstances, that\u2019s exactly what type of effort the Red Wings turned in on Saturday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think we were good today by any means,\u201d Detroit forward Alex DeBrincat<\/a> said.<\/p>\n

The final scoreline is somewhat deceptive. The Flyers led 4-0 with just over six minutes to play. With the goalie pulled, the Red Wings netted three times before the Flyers were able to shoot the puck into the vacated Detroit cage to seal the victory.<\/p>\n

The rally might\u2019ve made the outcome more palatable from a Detroit point of view, but it was fool\u2019s gold.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re\u00a0not\u00a0getting\u00a0tricked\u00a0either\u00a0by\u00a0the\u00a0three\u00a0goals\u00a0at\u00a0the\u00a0end\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0night,\u201d Red Wings coach Todd McLellan<\/a> said. \u201cThat made it close. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a disappointing response after a big win for us in Buffalo (on Friday).\u201d<\/p>\n

Consistency Continues To Elude Red Wings<\/p>\n

With a win, Detroit would\u2019ve moved back into the second wildcard playoff position in the NHL\u2019s Eastern Conference. Instead, they remain a point out of the postseason.<\/p>\n

Fun Fact: Lucas Raymond became the third #RedWings<\/a> player in the past 20 years to record three-straight 70-point seasons!<\/p>\n

The others: Pavel Datsyuk & Henrik Zetterberg. pic.twitter.com\/afmNrsE19x<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) March 28, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe know what\u2019s at stake, what we need to do, but it\u2019s about coming out there and doing it,\u201d Detroit forward Lucas Raymond<\/a> said. <\/p>\n

Except they didn\u2019t do it. <\/p>\n

Just 4:07 into the game, Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider turned the puck over to Philly\u2019s Trevor Zegras. He fed a breakaway pass to Owen Tippett, who slipped the puck through the five-hole of Detroit goalie John Gibson to open the scoring. <\/p>\n

\u201cDisappointed in that performance,\u201d McLellan said. \u201cI think there\u2019s more in a lot of guys. You know, I think some guys came to compete, but not think at all.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe stuff we did is training camp material, and here we are at game 72, so I\u2019m disappointed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tippett wound up scoring three of the goals that fashioned Philly\u2019s 4-0 lead. Anyone will tell you how difficult it is to win the match when you surrender three Owen goals.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s frustrating, it\u2019s unacceptable, and we gotta be better,\u201d DeBrincat said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNine games left,\u201d Raymond said. \u201cWe have to be desperate or, you know, we\u2019re going to be out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n