The Detroit Red Wings may have been on a back-to-back, but they were at home, and they only needed to stop the so-so Utah Mammoth. Utah was also on a back-to-back, traveling from Boston to Hockeytown, on the final leg of a three-game road trip and their third contest in four days.Â
It should have been an easy win for the Wings. Instead, they decided to run out of talent, losing 4-1, their second regulation loss in their last 10 contests. Still, you don't let opportunities like these slip, and the Wings did. Until they take advantage of these opportunities, you can't call them an upper-echelon hockey team.
What's more frustrating is that the Wings didn't play a bad game. They stifled the Mammoth on all four power play attempts, matched Utah in shots, and converted one of their four opportunities on the man advantage. They also won on the face-off dot, but lacked urgency at times and couldn't outmuscle Utah.
And the Wings better recover fast. They have a home-and-home coming up with the Washington Capitals on Dec. 20 and 21.
Detroit Red Wings missed an opportunity, but John Leonard didn't
Suiting up once more in place of the injured Patrick Kane, John Leonard made his presence known, providing the helper on Emmitt Finnie's power play goal at the 9:55 mark of the third period to bring the Wings within one. But Utah answered with two goals at 15:52 and 16:23, downing any hope of a Wings' comeback.
Still, that's good news for Leonard, who skated for 12:08 and logged 17 shifts. He committed a pair of giveaways, but his assist on Finnie's goal showed that Leonard is capable of putting up points at the NHL level following his monster AHL stint. It will be interesting to see if he sticks with the big club when Kane returns.
Other Red Wings' news and tidbits
On Wednesday, Max Smith wrote about the Red Wings' youngest line and their contributions so far in 2025-26. He highlighted the ups, downs, and what fans can expect as they mature and grow more acclimated to the NHL.
Smith also wrote an awesome piece on how the Red Wings can follow a former rival's method of building a championship team. While the Wings are still up and down, though mostly up lately despite their loss to Utah, they are building a force here in Hockeytown. Should they copy that old rival's blueprint, this team will make annual playoff appearances again.
Nestor Quixtan broke down the potential deal-breaker in the Wings potential bid for Quinn Hughes. Hughes, recently traded to the Minnesota Wild, went for a massive price, as expected. The Wings may not have been willing to pay that price as it possibly comprised one player Steve Yzerman wasn't keen on parting ways with. While it's speculative, it's worth taking a deep dive into.