There was no need for Detroit Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan to hold back following the heartbreaking loss to the Buffalo Sabres. But McLellan was short and blunt following a game that saw the Wings blow a three-goal lead, ultimately losing in overtime.
“It goes back to [training camp], which is when we started talking about game management and learning how to play in certain situations,” McLellan told NHL.com. “Clearly, we haven’t learned that lesson.”
Now, the burning question is: When are the Red Wings going to learn that lesson? Here you were, playing the weakest team in the division, one that had been hit hard with injuries, lost five games in a row, and looked like it's on the verge of dismantling, and you couldn't close it out.
The season is 18 games old, you have been playing up-and-down hockey for over a month, and look like a team that's capable, but not entirely interested, in earning a playoff berth in April. Because if you were, you would have figured out how to maintain a three-goal lead at home against one of the worst teams in hockey.
What are the Red Wings capable of if they can't hold a big lead against a bad team at home?
Other than heartbreaking, disappointing, and underperforming, there aren't many more adjectives to describe this team at the moment. McLellan is right about "game management," and while cornerstones like Dylan Larkin and Moritz Seider, just to throw a couple names out there, may talk all they want, it's hard to believe anything will change until they start closing out home games against bad hockey teams.
Until the Red Wings learn how to manage such golden opportunities, you have every right to stay skeptical of whether this is a playoff team or if 2025-26 is just another year that this team is going to finish in the "close, but no cigar" category. Right now, and over the past two seasons, that is all they have proven it's the best they can do.
Brutal loss to Sabres should be embarrassing for the Detroit Red Wings
Maybe this ugly loss will be a wake-up call, but there is hardly an easier team in the league to maintain a three-goal lead against, and no easier team in the Eastern Conference. Right now, don't expect much more from the Wings until they give you a reason to expect something different.
And if you want more fun? This was the Sabres' first win on the road this season. Coming into the game, they were riding a five-game losing streak and looked like a demoralized hockey team. Buffalo was also depleted late in this game, forced to roll for a while with just 15 skaters, and that fact just pours more fuel onto the flame.
Right now, if you're the Red Wings, you need to be embarrassed that you let what should have been an easy win slip away. As for Todd McLellan, he's been tough on this team all season and has delivered his fair share of blunt comments. But apparently, he hasn't been tough enough, and it's time to kick things into high gear with this hockey team. If not, then the season will end in April.