Yesterday, the Red Wings lost to the Ottawa Senators in a heartbreaking 3-2 collapse. This caused their playoff odds to fall to below 50% for the first time since November of last year. Their loss to the Boston Bruins earlier this week made this game a near must-win for the Red Wings. They even got a massive boost to the lineup with the return of team captain Dylan Larkin. Unfortunately, this may have had unintended consequences for the lineup's mentality, which cost the team a massive game.
""For as much as he means to the team, and how hard he goes, and us wanting and needing him back, that may have even set us back a little tonight.""Todd McLellan
It's hard to not agree with McLellan here. Larkin's presence seemed to have caused an unexpected outcome in terms of the team's mentality. But it's not for the lack of trying on Larkin's part.
How is this possible?
First, let's dispel the notion that Larkin was the reason the team lost to Ottawa. He's not. In fact, he scored on the power play and looked pretty solid overall. This is especially encouraging considering it was his first game back after the injury he suffered.
Unfortunately, the team's mentality seemed to shift from a "we need to step up" mentality to a "Larkin's back, now we can relax a bit" mentality. And it was clear from the start of the game that they weren't going to play with the same intensity they had in the previous three games. In fact, they couldn't snap out of it until the last 15 minutes. But, by then, it was too late. Ottawa settled in, Ullmark locked in, and the Red Wings got frustrated. This resulted in sloppier play and fewer chances to score as the time kept ticking down.
Ottawa was on the second half of a road back-to-back, 5th game in their last 7 days, 5 defensemen hurt (incl. Sanderson & Chabot), rookie making his NHL debut in the lineup, trailing Detroit by 1 point in the playoff race.
— Ryan Hana (@RyanHanaWWP) March 25, 2026
And the Red Wings lost in regulation. Pathetic. #LGRW https://t.co/bmvIB95sBH
The fact of the matter is, despite the team getting one of their best scorers and overall players back, they looked worse. From the looks and sounds of it, they played like Larkin coming back would magically solve all of their problems and that he'd carry the team to glory. That's what the main issue with this team seems to be.
Red Wings ride the hot hand
This team seems built (as of now) to ride off the backs of whoever is hot at any given moment. If DeBrincat and Kane are scoring every game, everybody else takes a back seat. When Larkin and Raymond are going 100%, the rest of the team sits back and watches. If the goaltending is stellar, the defense goes away.
A team cannot win when its survival hinges entirely on one or two players being hot. But it's where the team finds itself. If the team mentality is "Larkin's back, he'll take care of things," then it will be a rough end to what was otherwise an incredible season.