Detroit Red Wings: Power play has been ‘unacceptable’
Detroit Red Wings Lucas Raymond, J.T. Compher & Todd McLellan, Nov. 7, 2025 in Detroit.
The Detroit Red Wings celebrated their past – and cheered their recent one – as part of a game night that very much mattered in the present.
The game against the New York Rangers, an Original Six foe, on Friday, Nov. 7 was the Wings’ first at Little Caesars Arena in two weeks, and part of the franchise’s centennial-season jubilee. The Wings had pace to their game and directed shots on net, but their defensive zone coverage lacked cohesiveness and wound up costing them in a 4-1 loss.
The Wings (9-6-0) have dropped two straight.
Hopes of a comeback faded around midway through the third period when Artemi Panarin lifted the puck behind goalie Cam Talbot and took another hit when Alexis Lafreniere followed up a minute later. That put a damper on an evening that began with a fond look back into history.
Shortly before puck drop, there was a roll call honoring those who built the franchise’s dynasty in the 1950s and whose numbers hang from the rafters: Terry Sawchuk (No. 1), Red Kelly (4), Ted Lindsay (7), Gordie Howe (9), Alex Delvecchio (10), and Sid Abel (12), with their descendants coming onto the ice. From a more recent era, Tomas Holmström sounded the pre-game buzzer and Brendan Shanahan was among those in the audience.
The Wings fell behind at 6:48 of the first period, less than 20 seconds after Andrew Copp was called for a penalty, when Will Cuylle had an open shot on Talbot’s net. They nearly got scored on again during their own power play minutes later when Moritz Seider’s carelessness with the puck led to a breakaway by Noah Laba (Northville), but Talbot denied that doozy.
Instead the Wings drew even, when J.T. Compher pulled up to the left of the Rangers’ net, perfectly positioned to redirect Mason Appleton’s pass past Jonathan Quick at 11:06.
The Rangers scored again at 4:52 of the second period, shortly after spending a power play buzzing around Talbot, when Laba poked in the puck from near the right goal post. Patrick Kane, returning after a nine-game absence nursing an upper-body injury, looked like he’d even it up midway through the period. Quick came out of his net to play the puck as Kane approached. Kane lost the puck briefly, and appeared to have a wide open net only to be thwarted by Quick’s stick on his, as well as multiple defenders who descended upon Kane at the net.
The Wings have another Original Six foe on the docket this weekend, with the Chicago Blackhawks (6-5-3) visiting LCA on Sunday (1 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Detroit).
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter.
