Red Wings shut down by Hurricanes, losing streak at 3 games

Ted Kulfan, The Detroit News on Mar 4, 2025

Published in Hockey

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DETROIT — At what point does this current Red Wings' slide be considered a full-fledged slump? When do fans correctly become concerned?

After Tuesday's 2-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, the answer to both of those questions might be soon. Not many folks would likely argue.

Elmer Soderblom gave the Wings life with a third-period goal, getting the Wings within 2-1. Soderblom gathered a Hurricanes turnover, drove around a defenseman, and whistled a shot from near the hashmarks past goaltender Frederik Andersen at 10:05, Soderblom's third goal.

Carolina's second-ranked penalty kill shut down all three of the Wings' second-ranked power plays in the game.

The Wings (30-25-6) have won two of their last seven games (2-4-1). They still possess the second and final Eastern Conference wild-card spot, but could fall out of it after Wednesday night's games.

Carolina (36-22-4) is solidifying second place in the Metropolitan Division and home-ice advantage in the first round.

This was the first of three games between the Wings and Carolina in the season's final weeks and that might be bad news for the Wings. The Hurricanes played their usual pressure game and made things tough for the Wings.

"They play a pressure game all over," said coach Todd McLellan after Tuesday's morning skate. "There's nothing conservative in their game. They go the whole time, play four lines. They close gaps on you fairly quick. They rely on everybody doing their jobs because if you play that way, everybody has to be engaged in it.

"(Hurricanes coach) Rod (Brind’Amour) has done a great job in his time there of building that identity, and then they go find players that fit that mentality. It makes them a difficult team to play against."

The Hurricanes took a 1-0 lead on Jordan Martinook's 11th goal in the first period. Jalen Chatfield dumped the puck into the zone and stripped it from Mortiz Seider. Chatfield found Martinook skating in the zone and Martinook beat goaltender Alex Lyon with a backhander at 18:59.

Carolina's second goal was disheartening to open the second period.

Lyon mishandled the puck behind his net, and Staal (12th goal) grabbed the puck and scored on a wraparound as Lyon couldn't get back into position quick enough at 1:29.

Later in the second period, Carolina had the Wings hemmed in for a lengthy stretch - defensemen Simon Edvinsson and Albert Johansson were both on the ice for over four minutes — drawing boos from the Little Caesars Arena.

"They play four lines and six defensemen of the same type of hockey over and over and over again," McLellan said. "The pre-scout is not a difficult one, it's the actual action of playing against them that makes it difficult."

Lyon kept the Wings within 2-1 at 15:22 of the third period, stopping Carolina's Taylor Hall on a penalty shot.

The Wings were hoping to build off Saturday's Stadium Series game in Columbus. It was a loss, the Wings' second consecutive to the Blue Jackets over the long weekend. But the Wings rebounded impressively from a poor performance the game before to Columbus.

"When we talked as a staff (Monday) morning, I thought the second game was a 48-hour game for us," McLellan said. "What do I mean by that? We were obviously not who we wanted to be in game one. We just didn't play well, flat out, man to man. We had to wait almost 48 hours to get that next chance, and there were some honest conversations we had, there was some video, there was a good practice, and then the distraction of the outdoor game. All those variables went into play, and I thought we played a heck of a game in Columbus.

"That 48-hour game was real good for us to go through it."

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