The 2025-26 NHL Regular Season is well underway, and while it wasn’t exactly the start that head coach Todd McLellan wanted in his first official “home opener” since taking the job, the veteran coach is probably resting a little easier this Sunday after the Red Wings handled their business against the Toronto Maple Leafs at LCA Saturday night.
Editor’s Note: I mentioned starting these “weekly roundup/recap” stories in a previous article. This is the first of what hopefully will be many. The purpose is to give you a quick rundown of what happened during the week, provide some nuance, and set the stage for the week ahead.
Thursday night was the season kickoff for Detroit. It could not have gone much worse, honestly. Dylan Larkin opened the scoring on the power play and quickly put some energy into Little Caesars Arena. It was pretty much all downhill from there. If you watched the game, I don’t really need to explain it. Montreal scored five unanswered goals, paving the way to a 5-1 win on the road against a division rival.
What I Liked in This Game: Despite the lack of scoring, I thought the power play looked good. Obviously Dylan Larkin’s goal was awesome (his reaction was even better!), but I was encouraged by the puck movement. I thought the rookies looked good enough for their first-ever NHL regular season game. Axel Sandin-Pellikka was a bright spot for me — the dude handled 27 shifts and 22:34 of ice time in his first appearance. He’s just 20 years old! That’s a tough assignment and I thought he handled it quite nice. It’s just a matter of time before he’s comfortable showing his unicorn-like ability.
Detroit had the wide edge in SOG, hits, and face off wins. It wasn’t actually the worst game ever, despite what the score says. Just a few things hogtied the team’s ability in this game, which brings me to…
What I Didn’t Like in This Game: Probably the same stuff you didn’t like! I truly believe that Travis Hamonic should shoulder most of the blame. He is not an NHL talent, and that was clear from the very beginning of this game. Albert Johansson ended up having one of if not the worst game of his young career, and it was clearly due to the fact that he was tied to the boat anchor that is number 52 (would you just look at this!!). Of course, it’s not all on one player. The Wings let so many odd-man chances develop that at one point I felt like I was in a fever dream. Don’t quote me on this, but I recall like two or three odd-man rushes happening back-to-back. Ugly scene.
And onto John Gibson… He certainly was not to blame for all of the goals. He was hung out to dry many times. However, he had at least two goals that were pretty soft. Am I concerned about that? A little, but let’s go ahead and chalk this up to the offseason cobwebs. I think Gibson will need a week or two before he hits his stride. Same can be said for a lot of other players, too. Probably not Hamonic though.
Overall, the game was a very unpleasant viewing experience. 0/10. Fortunately for the Red Wings, and all of us fans, we finally have a coach that has a sense of accountability:
Habs vs. Red Wings Official Box Score
And onto the Toronto Maple Leafs…
Coming into Saturday night, Toronto was 1-0-0, the lone win coming against the same Montreal Canadiens team that dropped five goals on the Red Wings. Wasn’t feeling confident about this one at all, but I sure do love a good surprise. The Wings went down 2-0 in the first period and it sorta felt like one of those games again. From the second period on, it was all Detroit. This was the exact response that McLellan wanted, and it led to a 6-3 win.
What I Liked in This Game: When Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane are on the same page, it really is a beautiful thing to witness. Just a couple of friends wiring passes and ripping piss missiles all over the damn place. The same can be said for Lucas Raymond, who notched two goals, including this beauty on the power play, which was a career milestone for the young Swede:
Another thing I liked about this game was replacing Hamonic with Jacob Bernard-Docker, who I thought did a pretty good job in sheltered role with Albert Johansson. The defense was night and day IMO. Hopefully the front office takes the hint.
Here’s a real cool fact that could be encouraging for you: Detroit held Toronto to less than 10 shots in every period of this game. Pretty good!
What I Didn’t Like in This Game: There wasn’t much for me to hate honestly. If I had to pick, I think it’s going to be Michael Rasmussen. This is more of a blanket statement than anything, I just don’t believe that “Moose” brings much to the lineup that can help them win. To be fair, he doesn’t play much, but I’m not sure it makes sense having him with a player like Jonatan Berggren. I personally think it’s a waste of Berggren’s ability and upside.
Leafs vs. Red Wings Official Box Score
The week ahead features four games, three of which are against division opponents. It’ll be a good challenge for this team early on in the season.
This Week’s Record: 1-1-0
Next up on the Schedule:
Mon, Oct. 13: at Toronto (2:00 PM ET)
Weds, Oct. 15: vs. Florida (7:00 PM ET)
Friday, Oct. 17: vs Tampa (7:00 PM ET)
Sunday, Oct. 19: vs Edmonton (3:00 PM ET)
