Red Wings let lead slip away in Calgary but hold on for third consecutive win

Ted Kulfan, The Detroit News on Dec 10, 2025

Published in Hockey

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That was a lot harder for the Red Wings than it should have been.

The Wings took a quick lead Wednesday in Calgary, dominated most of the evening, but eventually had to hold on while defeating the Flames, 4-3.

Goaltender John Gibson stopped 34 shots and Alex DeBrincat scored two goals to highlight the Wings' third victory in four games on this trip (3-0-1).

But the Wings saw their 4-0 lead disappear in the third period when Calgary's Joel Farabee (penalty shot) and Matt Coronato scored goals 1 minute, 5 seconds apart midway in the period to slice the Wings' lead to 4-2, and MacKenzie Weegar's one-timer at 14:40 got Calgary to within 4-3.

The Wings close out the trip with games Thursday in Edmonton and Saturday in Chicago.

The victory lifted the Wings (17-11-3, 37 points) back into first place in the Atlantic Division, one point ahead of idle Tampa and Boston.

Axel Sandin-Pellikka and Dylan Larkin added the Wings' goals, while Andrew Copp and Patrick Kane both had two assists.

The Wings lost defenseman Simon Edvinsson to a lower-body injury. Edvinsson didn't play the third period, with no update on his availability for Thursday's game in Edmonton.

The Wings started quickly Wednesday as DeBrincat scored his first goal just 1 minute, 2 seconds into the game. Kane carried the puck into the zone, noticed Copp driving to the net and taking a Flames defender with him, and Kane backhanded a pass through the slot to DeBrincat, beat goaltender Devin Cooley.

Sandin-Pellikka made it 2-0 at 4:33 with his third goal, stretching his point-streak to four games (five points in that span). DeBrincat found Sandin-Pellikka open near the dot for a one-timer that Cooley had no chance on.

The Wings bunched two quick goals together midway in the second period. DeBrincat scored his 16th at 7:41, after an effective Copp forecheck forced a turnover, and Copp fed DeBrincat near the hashmarks for a wrist shot.

Larkin extended the lead to 4-0 with his 17th goal. Lucas Raymond found a streaking Larkin, who got behind the Flames defense and beat Cooley at 9:09.

But Farabee's penalty shot goal, while the Flames were shorthanded, put Calgary on the scoreboard and ignited the Flames.