Detroit City Wire

The Detroit Red Wings faced a setback before the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off break, as their seven-game winning streak and eight-game point streak ended with a 6-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning at Little Caesars Arena. Despite the defeat, the Red Wings (28-22-5; 61 points) can reflect on their recent achievements and identify areas for improvement against the Lightning (30-20-4; 64 points).

"Our game is in a pretty good spot," said Alex DeBrincat, who scored a goal and provided two assists. "Obviously, not as good tonight but overall, we're doing good things and winning games. The feeling is confident in that room."

Detroit fell behind early in an eventful first period, trailing 4-2 after just 20 minutes of play. Head coach Todd McLellan commented on the team's performance: "Usually, the coach is coming in and losing his marbles because lack of effort... I thought we had that, but we didn't have any game-management skills at all."

Tampa Bay's Brandon Hagel opened scoring shortly after puck drop, followed by Erik Cernak's goal less than two minutes later. This prompted a goaltender change for Detroit from Alex Lyon to Cam Talbot.

Vladimir Tarasenko achieved a personal milestone with his seventh goal of the season and 300th NHL career goal. McLellan praised Tarasenko's performance: "I thought that [Tarasenko] had a real good game tonight... He found a way to score."

Despite efforts from Brayden Point and Nick Paul extending Tampa Bay's lead, Patrick Kane narrowed it with a power-play goal assisted by DeBrincat and Lucas Raymond.

DeBrincat added another goal in the second period to bring Detroit within one point of Tampa Bay. However, McLellan noted: "We failed to get it even in the second [period]."

Dylan Duke secured Tampa Bay's win with his first NHL career goal during his debut match. Hagel concluded scoring with an empty-netter.

"In the third [period], we got a little bit back to what we were in the first," McLellan stated regarding Detroit's performance.

The Red Wings will next face off against Minnesota Wild on February 22 at Little Caesars Arena. Meanwhile, Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond will represent their countries at an upcoming tournament.

Postgame comments included McLellan discussing goalie changes: "Two of the first three [shots] went it... It's so magnified for goaltenders." DeBrincat acknowledged team progress since January: "You're going to have off games... I think we forget about this one." Ben Chiarot reflected on maintaining aggression despite challenges: "It shouldn't really change anything."