Red Wings Fall Flat in LA, But This Team Isn’t Built to Stay Down
For most of this season, the Detroit Red Wings have been a picture of consistency - fast, structured, and confident in their identity. But Tuesday night in Los Angeles? That wasn’t the team we’ve come to expect.
The Red Wings dropped a 3-1 decision to the Kings, and the words floating around afterward were the kind that haven’t been associated with this group in a long time: lethargic, disjointed, frustrated. In short, second-best.
And head coach Todd McLellan didn’t shy away from that reality.
“We’re getting - players, coaches, but also you guys - used to us winning,” McLellan said postgame.
He’s not wrong. The Red Wings have raised the bar this season, and with that comes a different level of scrutiny when things go sideways. Tuesday was one of those nights.
A Step Behind from the Start
From puck drop, Detroit looked just a little off - a half-step behind, a touch slow in transition, and lacking their usual crispness with the puck. The Kings, meanwhile, brought the kind of aggressive forecheck that can unravel even the most disciplined teams, and the Red Wings never found a rhythm.
“We were slow with the puck,” defenseman Moritz Seider said. And that slowness showed up everywhere - in zone exits, in neutral zone decisions, and especially on the power play, where LA’s pressure forced rushed decisions and low-percentage plays.
Detroit’s entries were often aimless, with pucks dumped into the zone without a clear plan for retrieval or support. That’s not how this team has been winning games this season.
“Nothing really went right for us,” Patrick Kane admitted.
It wasn’t just one area falling short - it was a breakdown in the chain of execution. McLellan pointed to a lack of cohesion in the team’s play, saying, “We weren’t completing or executing two pieces of the puzzle. We may get one done, but we couldn’t get to the second.”
He added, “It looked like we were okay with being average, and that wasn’t good enough.”
A Rare Misstep in a Strong Season
To put this loss in perspective, you have to go back nearly 30 games - all the way to late November - to find the last time Detroit dropped back-to-back games in regulation. That’s a testament to how dialed-in this group has been.
Kane summed up the team’s mindset well: “We have this feeling in the locker room where going into every game, we have a chance to win. And it’s a great feeling right now, but, you know, just didn’t have it (Tuesday) for whatever reason.”
This wasn’t a team getting outclassed over a long stretch. It was one off night. And for a group that’s been one of the NHL’s most consistent performers this season, that’s not cause for panic - it’s just a reminder that even the best teams need to hit the reset button now and then.
Back to Work
The Red Wings know what needs to happen next. It’s not about reinventing the wheel - it’s about getting back to the habits that have carried them this far.
“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.”
That grind has been the hallmark of this team all season. They don’t let bad nights linger.
They don’t let mediocrity creep in. And that’s why they’ve stayed in the conversation with the league’s top contenders.
So while Tuesday’s loss may have felt like a step back, it’s likely just a blip - a reminder of what happens when they stray from their identity. If their track record this season is any indication, don’t expect them to stay down for long.