The Detroit Red Wings are surging in the month of December, having posted a 6-2-1 record to improve their overall season record to 19-13-3 after 35 games. The Atlantic Division is still a log jam with only seven points separating the first-place Red Wings and last-place Buffalo Sabres.
While December has already been a month that has brought the Red Wings to near the top of the Eastern Conference, the final six games to close out 2025 will be a good measuring stick stretch for a Red Wings team looking to enter the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
I recently wrote about how the Red Wings’ six-game road trip would be pivotal in staying around in the Eastern Conference picture, and they passed that test with flying colours, going 4-1-1. In today’s National Hockey League, you can’t rest after a good run, as many Red Wings fans know from previous seasons, how one bad stretch can turn things quickly.
Over the Red Wings’ final six games, they will face the Washington Capitals twice, the Dallas Stars, Carolina Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Winnipeg Jets. Three of these five teams currently find themselves sitting in the playoff picture, while last season, all five of these teams made the playoffs, and all five of them made it out of the first round. Dallas and Carolina both made their way to their respective Conference Finals.
In this six-game stretch to close out December, there will be two sets of back-to-backs with the first one coming Dec. 20, and 21, in a home-and-home with the Washington Capitals. The second will come on Dec. 27, and 28, when the Red Wings travel to Carolina to take on the Hurricanes before returning home to square off with Atlantic Division rival, the Toronto Maple Leafs.
What do these back-to-backs mean?
This almost guarantees that Cam Talbot will be in the crease at least twice throughout these six games, as in today’s NHL, goalies rarely get the nod two days in a row. After a hot start, Talbot has faltered as of late, losing his past six starts, to bring the season record to 9-6-2, with a 3.07 goals-against average and 0.883 save percentage.
With John Gibson surging, having won six in a row, to improve to 10-7-1, to go along with two shutouts, a 3.07 goals-against average and 0.890 save percentage, some strong nights out of Talbot will really boost this Red Wings team.
A tired team shouldn’t be an issue, as in the first set of the back-to-backs, the Red Wings and Capitals will have already squared off the day prior and travelled the same distance back to Michigan for the second half.
Last season, the Red Wings really struggled in back-to-backs when facing the same team twice in a row. The Red Wings had three sets of these and lost all six of those games to the New York Rangers, Montreal Canadiens and Columbus Blue Jackets, being outscored 28-12 over the duration of those six games. Picking up at least one win is integral against the Capitals.
This season the Wings have turned their fortunes around in these types of matchups, having posted a 5-0-1 record in home and home games. The Wings beat the Maple Leafs and St. Louis Blues in both, then split with the Boston Bruins. The Red Wings have scored 27 goals and only given up 18, really flipping the switch so far from last year's results.
The beginning of the second back-to-back starts in Carolina, where both teams will be coming off of the three-day holiday break, and both will have played their last games on Dec. 23. In the second half, the Maple Leafs come to Little Caesars Arena, having also played the night prior, when they host the Ottawa Senators, making the fatigue factor even for both sides.
So far in 2025-26, the Red Wings are 4-6-2 overall when playing in back-to-backs, but have a 1-4-1 record in the second half of these matchups, so with points at a premium in the Eastern Conference, the Red Wings need to find a way to get any points possible.
With six games to play in December, the Red Wings will be tested and having to play five playoff teams from the year prior, this will be a good stretch to assess how the Red Wings are in comparison of playoff teams from last year and where they will be when the calendar flips to 2026.