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The Detroit Red Wings rang out 2025 by hosting an opponent sitting at the bottom of the standings.
The Wings celebrated a couple of quick goals, but the Winnipeg Jets hung around and made a game of it at Little Caesars Arena on Wednesday, Dec. 31. The Wings have played on New Year's Eves as a franchise for nearly 100 years.
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They hung on to win, 2-1. At the halfway point of their season, the Wings are 24-14-3, with 51 points.
Red Wings playoff position
Wednesday's win moved them back atop the Atlantic Division, two points ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning, who also won Wednesday and have two games in hand on the Wings. Next up, the Wings head to Pittsburgh to face the Penguins on Thursday (7 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Detroit).
Cole Perfetti of the Winnipeg Jets tries to get a shot off next to Simon Edvinsson of the Detroit Red Wings during the first period at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Dec. 31, 2025.
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The Wings' latest iteration of their NYE tradition began well enough with goals from Dylan Larkin and Mason Appleton, and goalie John Gibson delivered another solid outing. He didn't break until seven minutes into the third period, when the Jets pressed and pressed and Logan Stanley made it 2-1 on a low shot. Winnipeg had outshot Detroit, 8-3, in the third period when there was 2:29 left and the Jets pulled their goalie.
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The first time the franchise rung out the old year was as the Detroit Cougars on Dec. 31, 1927, in a 6-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators at Olympia Stadium. The next time was in 1936, by which time the club had been acquired by James E. Norris and renamed. The tradition gained traction in the 1950s, with only a handful of exceptions over the years.
Larkin ensured the 2025 edition began with cheer when he drew a penalty and then scored with a shot from the high slot during the power play to put the Wings up 1-0 at 8:22.
Mason Appleton delivers
Appleton, who spent seven seasons with the Jets, scored on his old team at 14:48 of the first period. J.T. Compher was quick to pounce on a loose puck, driving to the net before passing to Appleton, who was at an awkward angle. But his shot ended up being knocked in by Luke Schenn as he slid into the net.
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The Wings were back on a power play early in the second period after Vladislav Namestnikov (who spent parts of two seasons during the coronavirus pandemic with the Wings) crosschecked Moritz Seider, but the two minutes were nothing but disarray – the Wings didn't generate so much as a shot on Connor Hellebuyck (Commerce).
A third power play, drawn by James van Riemsdyk, was negated after 20 seconds when Larkin was called for slashing. Shots after two periods were 16-16.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings ground Winnipeg Jets, 2-1, to end 2025
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