Red Wings Recap: Gibson’s Masterclass Propels Detroit to First Place
If you’re trying to figure out how the Vancouver Canucks lost to the Red Wings on Monday night, don’t start with the shot totals. Vancouver poured 39 shots on net to Detroit’s 20 and somehow walked away with a 4–0 loss. That stat makes no sense on paper — until you look at the one number that mattered most:
39 shots.
39 saves.
John Gibson.
Gibson didn’t just play well — he completely erased Vancouver’s offense. Every rush, every rebound, every grade-A look… he turned aside all of it in what became his 25th career shutout and his first wearing the Winged Wheel.
This was the third stop on Detroit’s extended road trip — Columbus to Seattle to Vancouver — and the Wings walked out of Rogers Arena with a 4–0 win and six of a possible seven points so far. And make no mistake: Gibson was the headline, the subplot, and the story.
He turned back the clock, slammed the door, and basically told the Canucks, “Not tonight.”
And because of that, Detroit now sits alone in first place in the Atlantic Division.
Yeah — first place.
It wasn’t perfect hockey. Detroit got outshot 39–20 and spent long stretches hemmed in their own end, especially early. But when your goalie is playing like a brick wall dipped in super glue, sometimes that’s enough.
The Gibson Wall
What made this win especially satisfying is who delivered it. John Gibson has had his struggles this season — there’s no way around it. His .881 save percentage coming into the night ranked 48th out of 57 NHL goalies, a number that tells you he hasn’t exactly been stealing games.
But on Monday night in Vancouver?
He stole one.
Detroit didn’t have their legs early — but Gibson did. Vancouver came out firing, throwing 11 shots at him in the opening period alone. He handled every single one calmly, cleanly, and without a hint of panic. It was the kind of steady, veteran goaltending Detroit has desperately needed.
And yes, Gibson gave the usual “it was a team effort” line afterward — forwards blocking shots, defense clearing bodies, all that. But anyone who watched this game knows the truth:
Gibson was the difference.
Gibson stole this win.
Plain and simple.
Todd McLellan, in his postgame, didn’t try to dress it up either:
“It took us a while to get our legs… then [Gibson] saved our bacon in the first.”
When your coach says you saved the bacon, you were the chef in charge.
JVR Won’t Cool Off
James van Riemsdyk continues to prove that fountain of youth jokes might actually be based on real science. He opened the scoring late in the first — completely against the flow of play — knocking in a rebound after J.T. Compher outworked everyone down low.
That’s now four straight games with a goal for JVR, the longest streak of his career at 36 years old. And honestly? He looks like a guy who’s enjoying every second of it.
McLellan summed it up well:
“There are players where the puck just finds them — that’s JVR.”
Detroit will take every bit of it.
Youngsters Working Together.
The second period belonged to Steve Yzerman’s youth movement.
It started with Andrew Copp finishing off a beautiful passing sequence sparked by rookie Axel Sandin-Pellikka and Alex DeBrincat. Then — just 37 seconds later — Sandin-Pellikka stamped his name on the game again, firing a shot from the point that rookie Nate Danielson redirected for his second career goal.
That gave Sandin-Pellikka his first multi-point game as an NHL player. And honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me if we get used to seeing that kind of production from Detroit’s 2023 first-round pick (17th overall).
ASP — as fans have already started calling him — looks more and more like the real deal. All season long, he’s shown crisp vision, clean breakout passes, and a calmness under pressure that you don’t often see from a teenager. Sure, there have been a few rookie bumps along the way, but that’s expected. What matters is the trend line, and for Sandin-Pellikka, it’s pointing up.
Closing Time
Vancouver emptied the tank in the third, firing 17 more shots at Gibson. It didn’t matter. He slammed the door shut every single time.
With the Canucks’ net empty late, Dylan Larkin added his 16th of the season to wrap up the scoring and officially cap a game that belonged to Detroit’s vets, kids, and most of all — their goalie.
This win also marks the first back-to-back victories for Detroit since mid-November. More importantly, the Wings have gone 3-0-1 in their last four after a rough stretch. The timing? Couldn’t be better.
For now, Detroit sits alone atop the Atlantic — and they earned it.
What’s Next
Not much rest. Detroit heads to Calgary for a Wednesday night matchup against the Flames. If Gibson stays in this zone and the young legs keep producing, the Wings will be a headache for any team on this road trip.
Puck drops at 9:00 PM ET.
Do you think the Wings can count on Gibson to deliver more performances like the one against the Canucks? Drop a comment below or join the conversation in the Red Wings Wheelhouse — where fans break down every game, every angle.
Info gathered from team reports, pressers & trusted media outlets — the way we always do it at Mitten Sports Talk.
