Red Wings Giving Lightning a Run for Their Money

In the race to win the Atlantic Division, the Detroit Red Wings are trying their best to give the Tampa Bay Lightning a run for their money.

Jan 18, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Red Wings left wing Lucas Raymond (23) is congratulated by teammates after scoring in the second period against the Ottawa Senators at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Lightning have been on a winning spree that’s propelled them to the top of the Atlantic Division standings. Nothing, at least over the past several weeks, has been able to stop the hockey operation down in Tampa. The team is on a 14-game point streak and is coming off winning 11 in a row. In a vacuum, it’d be fair to assume the Lightning are alone atop the Atlantic Division, with no other team in sight.

But the Detroit Red Wings are right there, lurking in the dark.

Against what some would call impossible odds, the Red Wings have kept pace with Tampa Bay so that, as of Jan. 21, Detroit (64 points) is just two points behind Tampa Bay (66 points) for the top spot in the Atlantic Division.

Even while the Lightning were in the midst of playing out of their minds, the Red Wings stayed the course and kept consistently performing at a high level. So while everybody else has been ready to proclaim January the month of the Lightning, Detroit is in the back of the crowd waiting to yell out, “Not so fast!”

A Red-Hot January

Jan 13, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Detroit Red Wings right-winger Patrick Kane (88) skates during warm ups before a game against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Natalie Reid-Imagn Images | Natalie Reid-Imagn Images

After losing their first two games of the new year — both tough defeats at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins — the Red Wings reeled off four straight wins to right the ship. The first, a 5-3 triumph against the Ottawa Senators on Jan. 5, saw left wing James van Riemsdyk put up three points. A few days later, on Jan. 8, Detroit took down the flailing Vancouver Canucks in a dominating 5-1 affair that saw veteran and future Hall of Famer Patrick Kane record the 500th goal of his illustrious career.

That was just the start of Detroit’s great January run. The Montreal Canadiens, another key Atlantic Division rival, were next on the chopping block on Jan. 10. Detroit then slew the mighty Carolina Hurricanes in a gritty 4-3 overtime victory on Jan. 12. So far, so good when it comes to keeping up with Tampa Bay.

The only step back the team has taken since the first week of the month came on Jan. 13, when the Boston Bruins completely stymied the Red Wings’ offensive attack en route to a 3-0 win. Luckily for Red Wings fans, that setback wasn’t too costly, as Detroit bounced back with two more wins over the San Jose Sharks on Jan. 16 and the Ottawa Senators on Jan. 18.

All told, the Red Wings haven’t backed down from the Lightning. And while Tampa Bay does have two games in hand on Michigan’s lone hockey squad, theoretically giving it the edge the rest of the way, one still can’t count out the Red Wings throughout the remainder of the campaign.

Even though the franchise hasn’t done much to warrant the respect of the public over the past decade — after all, the Red Wings haven’t made the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2016 — doubting this operation is a dangerous proposition. With everything it has going for it at the moment, considering Detroit a fraud is a fool’s errand. This team is for real and is in line to make its fan base happy for the first time in eons.

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