Despite a thrilling comeback, the Red Wings' defense continues to show worrying cracks, a stark contrast to their offensive firepower.
The Detroit Red Wings completed a resounding 6-4 comeback on Saturday after trailing 4-0 early in the second period. The six-goal rally has been one of the highest bright spots for the season so far but the hole they found themselves in early is worth exploring.
After surrendering their fourth goal early in the second period, the Red Wings had now allowed 15 goals over their last eight periods, a stretch marked by inconsistent defensive play. Saturday’s game, however, showed signs of improvement, even if some familiar issues remained.
Comeback Complete: Red Wings Stun Blues, Win 6-4 After Trailing 4-0
The Detroit Red Wings picked up a victory for just the fifth time in team history in which they initially trailed by four goals, doing so on Saturday night against the St. Louis Blues at Little Caesars Arena.
Ben Chiarot, who had allowed the fewest goals with just two over Detroit’s recent back-to-back, saw his play regress as he was on the ice for three goals against, two on the power play and one at even strength. He did, however, land a +2 on the night after being on the ice for two Red Wings' goals at even strength.
Moritz Seider and Simon Edvinsson, both of whom had struggled defensively during that two-game set with Seider on for three goals against and Edvinsson for four, managed to rebound with more balanced efforts. Seider was on for two goals against but helped generate three at even strength, while Edvinsson, on for two even-strength goals against, responded offensively with a pair of goals and was on the ice for another, finishing with a +1 rating on the night.
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Rookie Axel Sandin-Pellikka also took a step forward after a difficult back-to-back in which he was on for five goals against without contributing any offense. On Saturday, he steadied his play and, as head coach Todd McLellan likes to say, "avoided being at the scene of the crime."
The young Swedish defenseman picked up an assist and was not on the ice for a goal against. Travis Hamonic similarly bounced back after a minus-three outing in the home opener, adding an assist and keeping his side of the scoresheet clean defensively. Jacob Bernard-Docker, who had been on for three goals against over the recent two-game stretch, was on for just one against on Saturday, marking another improvement from the unit.
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Detroit Red Wings forward Alex DeBrincat, who scored 39 goals last season, is still looking for his first tally of the 2025-26 campaign.
Collectively, Detroit’s blue line was bailed out at times during Saturday’s win as the offense took control and helped erase a poor start. The defense will need to tighten up, with five defensemen on the ice for five or more goals against over the last three games. The group must find more consistency, as the offense will not always be able to rescue them the way it did on Saturday. Finding stability on the back end remains crucial, as this unit has swung between extremes, either looking shaky, as they have recently, or playing lights-out, allowing two or fewer goals in four of their five games during their previous hot streak.
"We have to figure this thing out, we can't just be a yo-yo like that," McLellan told media following the game "I believe we are closer to the second half team than the first half but the proof is in the pudding, it has to show up over and over and over again, we can't pick and choose fractions of the game or segments of games where we want to play to our identity and then it just disappears."
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