"It's A Wake-up Call": Red Wings Know They Must Tighten Up Defensively After Dropping Three of Four Games

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The Detroit Red Wings controlled much of the play against the Seattle Kraken on Friday night, holding a commanding advantage in shots.

However, Seattle made the most of its scoring chances while Detroit struggled to do the same.

The Kraken scored three goals in a disastrous 3:05 span in the second period to secure a 6-3 victory at Little Caesars Arena, handing the Red Wings their third loss in the first four games of the 2026-27 season.

"I think we got a little lazy and soft on pucks," said forward Alex DeBrincat in the dressing room afterward. "Not connected. We go back into our zone and we're not supporting each other and not going as a five-man unit, and we turn pucks over and they shoot it into the net. It's something we can learn from, for sure. 

"I thought our first period was really good, but the second just cost us...definately disappointing." 

Despite William Wallinder and Michael Brandsegg-Nygård each scoring the first goals of their NHL careers, the Red Wings have an uphill climb ahead of them in the standings, sitting in last place in the highly competitive Atlantic Division.

DeBrincat, who has become one of the veteran leaders on the club, knows that what Detroit showed on Friday isn't going to cut it for a team that wants to break a decade-long playoff drought.

"One bad period cost us the game...it's a wake-up call," he said. "We know we're not good enough to take any time off, and that's what happened. We have to be ready every game, every shift. Win your battle and move on to the next shift. Not good enough." 

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It may be early in the campaign, but the Red Wings know they cannot afford to let precious points slip away.

"There's so much hockey left, we can't get down on ourselves," DeBrincat continued. "We know what we can do. We're confident in the way we've been playing other than the second period today.

We're confident in our game. We can get better, look at the tape, and move on."

The Red Wings will have a chance to get back into the win column on Saturday evening when they face the divisional rival Montreal Canadiens. 

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