When an opponent lands a cheap shot on your own teammate, you respond exactly the way the Detroit Red Wings did following their 4-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Monday. Heck, if you win that game, you still go after the guilty party, and that's why the Wings, despite coming off on the wrong side in this one, should have earned respect from their fans.
During the matchup, New Jersey defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler landed a blind open-ice hit on Lucas Raymond. The impact shook Raymond up, but he managed to play the entire game, skating for 22 shifts and 18:51 of total ice time.
Still, the Wings, right after they nearly tied the game with several opportunities in front of the net, started swinging after the final horn. Every time someone lands the kind of cheap shot Siegenthaler landed, retaliation is a must if you don't want opponents to keep doing this.
Crazy scene after Red Wings - #NJDevils. All stems from an earlier Siegenthaler cheap shot on Raymond. Goalies involved and more #LGRW pic.twitter.com/glWlTLIktv
— NHL News (@PuckReportNHL) November 25, 2025
Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Larkin are Mr. Automatic Numbers 1 and 2
While the Red Wings can't seem to find consistency, you can always count on Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Larkin to make plays. One game after burying the game-winner in that epic comeback over the Columbus Blue Jackets, DeBrincat again made his presence known, notching his 11th goal and 25th point of the season.
Larkin's goal in the third period helped make a potential comeback for the second straight game possible. He buried his 13th of the year and, like DeBrincat, has 25 points. Lucas Raymond had an assist on Larkin's goal, giving him 17 helpers for the year and 24 points.
All three of the Wings' top point producers are averaging over a point per game just one month out of Christmas and six weeks from the New Year. If they keep up that stellar play, the Wings will have a chance in most games.
The Travis Hamonic experiment needs to end
With John Gibson playing so poorly when given an opportunity and the fact that the Red Wings paid more than just fair compensation for him, he's often the one under the microscope. But on Monday night, Gibson rode the bench while another summertime acquisition, Travis Hamonic, took the ice at the Wings' blue line.
And yeah, his lack of positioning directly contributed to the Red Wings losing this one. While it's the netminder's job to be the last line of defense, it's hard to blame Cam Talbot, who started in the net on Monday, since Hamonic left him on an island.
The 35-year-old blueliner finished the game with a minus-3, and he has a minus-9 rating in 14 games. That number, when extended to the 23 games the Wings have played this season, would sit between minus-14 and minus-15. Why not start giving more ice time to Jacob Bernard-Docker and leave Hamonic in the press box on most nights?
Either way, the Wings will have a shot at redemption on Wednesday, as they take on the Nashville Predators before returning to action on Black Friday vs. the Tampa Bay Lightning. Both are home games, so maybe they'll score the 'W.'