A Night of Frustration in Newark as Wings Fall to Devils 4-3
Games like this are so frustrating. The Red Wings dominated in the offensive zone, outshooting the New Jersey Devils, 35-20, and they still came away empty-handed. This is a game that Detroit will look back on and try to figure out how they let it slip away. In a chaotic 4–3 loss, the Red Wings were caught in a perfect storm of defensive breakdowns, questionable officiating, and a postgame scrum that perfectly matched the mood on the Wings bench.
From the opening faceoff, this one felt like trouble. The Devils raced out to a 3–1 lead in the first period, capitalizing on Detroit mistakes and forcing the Wings to spend the rest of the night playing uphill. Detroit pushed back with goals from Alex DeBrincat, James van Riemsdyk, and captain Dylan Larkin, but they never fully erased the damage from those first 20 minutes.
📊 Red Wings @ Devils — Stat Capsule
Final: New Jersey Devils 4, Detroit Red Wings 3
- Shots: DET 35 — NJ 20
- Faceoffs: DET 64.9% — NJ 35.1%
- Hits: DET 22 — NJ 25
- Power Play: DET 1/3 — NJ 0/1
- Penalty Minutes: DET 23 — NJ 17
🔴 Red Wings Leaders
- Alex DeBrincat: 1 G, 1 A, 3 SOG
- Dylan Larkin: 1 G, 4 SOG
- James van Riemsdyk: 1 G
- Moritz Seider: 2 A, 28:25 TOI
- Cam Talbot: 16 SV on 20 shots (.800)
😈 Devils Leaders
- Nico Hischier: 1 G, 1 A
- Timo Meier: 1 G, 1 A
- Connor Brown: 1 G, 1 A
- Jacob Markstrom: 32 SV on 35 shots (.914)
Defensive Breakdowns Prove Costly
The story of the game was written early. Detroit surrendered three goals on just eight Devils shots in the opening period — all stemming from missed assignments, blown coverages, and puck-watching. Even though the Wings outshot New Jersey 35–20 on the night, the high-quality chances they gave up were simply too much to overcome.
Head Coach Todd McLellan didn’t sugarcoat his frustration afterward.
“There’s probably going to be a lot of talk about what we didn’t get or didn’t find down the stretch, but in my opinion it’s what we gave up,” McLellan said. “Maybe we did deserve better, but we can’t give up goals for free. We did tonight.”
Those “free” goals proved to be the difference — and McLellan’s postgame message was loud and clear: the Wings can’t afford these lapses as the standings tighten.
Bad Blood Boils Over
The game wasn’t just sloppy — it was nasty.
Tempers flared all night, starting with a controversial blindside hit by Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler on Lucas Raymond. With no penalty on the play, Detroit’s bench erupted, and the tension only grew from there. Scrums piled up throughout the night, and emotions finally spilled over after the final horn, with Raymond and Siegenthaler at the center of the postgame chaos.
The NHL’s Department of Player Safety had something to say about Monday night’s chaos in Newark. On Tuesday, the league fined Red Wings defenseman Ben Chiarot $5,000 — the maximum allowed — for a butt-ending incident involving Devils rookie Simon Nemec. The play happened late in the third period during yet another post-whistle scrum. While tied up with Timo Meier and a crowd of bodies, Chiarot appeared to jab his stick backward into Nemec, who was behind him in the pile. The officials missed it entirely during the game, which was filled with physical flare-ups but somehow produced only 40 total penalty minutes. The league caught it on review, and the fine money will head to the NHL’s Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.
Looking Ahead: A Quick Turnaround Against Nashville
The Wings won’t have long to dwell on the loss. They head right back to work Wednesday night at Little Caesars Arena, hosting the Nashville Predators in their annual Thanksgiving Eve matchup. Nashville enters searching for traction, and this presents a prime “get-right” opportunity for Detroit — but only if they clean up the defensive mistakes and limit the self-inflicted wounds.
A strong response at home could steady the ship heading into the holiday break and reinforce Detroit’s push in the crowded Atlantic Division.
Prospect Pulse: A Setback for Forslund
Elsewhere in the organization, 2024 draft pick Charlie Forslund has hit a bump in the road. The 19-year-old winger was released by Mora IK of HockeyAllsvenskan after failing to earn regular playing time, according to the team’s sporting director. He has since signed with Almtuna IS, where he’ll try to reestablish himself and carve out a meaningful role.
Player development isn’t always linear — and Forslund’s journey is a reminder of how challenging the road to the NHL can be.
Translation: Mora IK and Charlie Forslund are ending their collaboration. Charlie wants to focus on senior hockey, which we currently cannot offer. Big thanks for your efforts, Charlie, and good luck moving forward!
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Info gathered from team reports, pressers & trusted media outlets — the way we always do it at Mitten Sports Talk.
