Having hit the 30-game mark, Red Wings feel their Centennial season has ‘flown by’

CALGARY -- It might be hard to believe, but the Detroit Red Wings are already 30 games into their 2025-26 regular-season schedule.

“When you’re in it, and the games are compacted the way that it is, you’re just trying to breathe,” head coach Todd McLellan said after Detroit’s practice at Scotiabank Saddledome on Tuesday afternoon. “But when you reflect, we’re like 30 to 35 percent done with our season already. It has flown by, but it does feel like a grind for everybody. I don’t think that’s going to change, obviously, until the end of the year.”

There’s a lot of hockey still left to be played in the months ahead, but ahead of Tuesday’s NHL slate, Detroit found itself atop the Atlantic Division with an overall record of 16-11-3 (35 points).

“It feels like there’s been so many games,” Andrew Copp said when looking back on the past two months. “I feel like, usually, at this stage of the year you’re at like 22 or 23 games. There’s usually a lot more breaks early in the season, but with the Olympic break it’s been an absolute sprint. It’s kind of been game after game after game, so momentum is a huge thing when that’s happening. We got to find a way to continue the positive momentum we have right now.”

The Red Wings are currently enjoying the wind at their backs, as they improved to 3-0-2 in their last five contests after blanking the Vancouver Canucks, 4-0, at Rogers Arena on Monday night.

Copp believes Detroit’s current point streak, which matches a season high, is the product of several things coming together.

“I think we’re playing better defensively and capitalizing on our opportunities,” Copp said. “The PK’s been a little bit better the last five [games] too, so kind of a little bit of everything. Gibby stood on his head last night and Talbs has been playing well, so kind of full-team efforts.”

Also as of Tuesday afternoon, nine points separated first from eighth place in the Atlantic Division. Copp said the Red Wings aren’t getting too caught up in the standings; rather, they’re trying to focus more on the work that needs to be completed on and off the ice to ultimately help them improve.

“You’re just stacking points, as many as you can, at this stage of the year,” Copp said. “I saw something that we were out of the playoff picture and now we’re in first. It changes every day, so we just got to concentrate on our process and how we’re playing.”

McLellan admitted that, over the course of an 82-game slate, the message players receive from their head coach can “get old quickly.” That’s why it’s critical, he stated, for “different voices” inside of a team’s dressing room to contribute.

“They can’t always hear mine,” McLellan said. “The staff that we have put together, they participate. They do presentations to the players and some one-on-one stuff with them. It just can’t constantly be the same voice over and over again. Then practice, we try to come up with concepts that we want to work on, but maybe vary the drills a little bit to keep them entertained and enthused about actually being on the ice. It, again, can become a grind. And then, it’s about playing the games. That’s what we’re here for. Sometimes, you got to make adjustments, teach or use clips game-wise to improve rather than practicing.”

McLellan said the groundwork was laid in the summer and early fall, and the Red Wings are just trying to add to it every day.

“The first thing is making sure they’re doing what they’re supposed to do to prepare for Training Camp, then Training Camp comes,” McLellan said. “That’s a real important segment. Obviously, it’s not about points, wins or losses at that time. It’s about implementing a foundation. I thought the first five to 10 games were going to be a tough road for us based on the schedule and opponents that we had, so we looked at that. Then, you settle into the season.

“But after about the 10-game mark, all teams are prepared. I think the star players have found their groove and the goaltending settles in, so it becomes real hockey. That’s the phase we’re in now. Next target is Christmas. We have eight games left, so we’ll work hard to bank as many points as we can then we’ll breathe for three days and it starts up again.”