DETROIT — After an early season that has featured all kinds of swings, the Detroit Red Wings cruised into the season’s 20-game mark Tuesday night exactly where they want to be: atop the Atlantic Division.

Of course, there’s a lot of season left — 62 games to be exact. The parity in the Eastern Conference this year means the team is just one bad week away from being in a different place, as it was seven days ago.

After Detroit’s 4-2 win over the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday, it’s nonetheless notable where the Red Wings sit through the first quarter of the season. And more than that, what they showed in arriving at this spot over the last week.

Start in the aftermath of Saturday night’s loss to the Buffalo Sabres. The Red Wings blew a 4-1 lead, marked by mental mistakes in the game’s crucial stages. But one day later, they responded with a gutty 2-1 win over the New York Rangers, in which they won the shot battle by a 42-19 margin.

It was a good bounce-back win, to be sure. But for a Detroit team that’s oscillated between looking exciting and inexperienced so far, you never know what you’re going to see the next time out.

And after two periods of what coach Todd McLellan called “a tough game to play” Tuesday night, lacking rhythm and full of stops, starts and delays, the Red Wings led 3-2 — a chance to show, one way or another, what they learned from their mistakes three nights earlier.

This time, the answer seemed to be quite a bit. Throughout the third period, the only major drama came from a miscommunication between goaltender Cam Talbot and rookie defenseman Axel Sandin-Pellikka behind the net. It led to a scoring chance for Seattle, but nothing more as Talbot recovered to preserve the lead. Outside of that, though, Detroit gave up little in the third period, allowing just five shots on goal, and few of real consequence.

“I really liked that period,” the Red Wings’ Dylan Larkin said. “Mature period out of our hockey team.”

It was an important way for Detroit to cruise into one of the season’s mile markers, considering putting together a third period like that has been one of the team’s struggles this season. The Red Wings will face tougher tests this season, mind you, and it’s far from a closed case, but progress is progress, and every bit of it counts for this young team.

McLellan was pleased with what he saw. Skilled players were willing to get the puck deep and go for a change to start the next line in a good position. Defenders in shooting lanes. Timely face-offs. Smart breakouts. Discipline with penalties.

Put together, that sealed the kind of win the Red Wings need to repeat if they’re going to emerge from this crowded Eastern Conference field of playoff hopefuls, even if they have plenty more to prove on that front.

So where does that leave Detroit, 20 games in? With some elements, they can feel good about, and others they’ll still need to address.

Stars showing up

It’s hard to argue with this much about the Red Wings so far: Their best players have been their best players.

Larkin, whose empty-netter in Tuesday’s game marked his 600th career point, is on pace for a career year with 12 goals and 24 points thus far.

Alex DeBrincat is playing some of his best hockey as a Red Wing, too, with nine goals, 23 points and a real tenacity to his game. He’s Detroit’s most natural scorer, but also a more complete player than he sometimes gets credit for.

“He could go anywhere in our lineup,” McLellan said, “and I think he’d play the same game over and over and over again. And when you have a player like that, that doesn’t play outside his skin, or change who he is when you move him around, that’s pretty valuable.”

Lucas Raymond, who scored and added an assist, is at 22 points as well, and that’s while being below 100 percent while playing through an early-season injury. He’s looked much more himself of late, with nine points in his last four contests, including the game-winner Sunday in New York.

Lucas Raymond staying hot. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/F72hHFbJtb

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) November 19, 2025

And Moritz Seider, long tasked with some of the NHL’s toughest defensive minutes, has found a new level of shutdown ability, tilting the ice at a level he had not previously. He’s had a few rocky moments, and two turnovers off his stick played a part in the Buffalo loss, but the big picture has been strong from Detroit’s No. 1 defenseman.

Rookies chipping in, with more to learn

Entering Tuesday’s game, it had been a quiet stretch for the rookies who helped define the start of the Red Wings’ season.

Emmitt Finnie, Detroit’s seventh-round pick, who was the talk of the NHL after starting his career with eight points in his first nine games, went 10 games without seeing the scoresheet and had been dropped from the team’s top line. Axel Sandin-Pellikka looked like the pace and grind of the NHL season might be hitting him. The Red Wings sent Michael Brandsegg-Nygård down to Grand Rapids.

But the young players were once again Detroit’s spark in the second period Tuesday. Nate Danielson, playing in his fifth NHL game, scored his first career goal on a re-direct from a Sandin-Pellikka shot early in the second period. Danielson appeared to score again just minutes later on a great move around Kraken netminder Joey Daccord. The play was called back after replay officials determined Finnie had been offside, but Danielson set Finnie up for a power play goal later in the period.

Nate’s 1st. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/Rwu3XGMtU0

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) November 19, 2025

Finnie and Danielson played against each other growing up in Alberta, and Danielson said he told Finnie after the goal, “I would have been a little mad at him if he didn’t score that one” after the offside.

Danielson, Sandin-Pellikka and Finnie were part of the Red Wings’ 2023 draft class, and if the first 20 games are any indication, they’re going to have their ups and downs this year. They still have plenty to learn.

But there’s no denying the impact they’ve made when they’re on, in terms of their play and the energy they can bring to the bench. If the trio can find more consistency with more experience — and avoid the dreaded rookie wall — it will go a long way.

Who can step up?

While the stars and the rookies get the most attention, Detroit’s season will be decided in part by the contributions they can get from some of the less heralded names on the roster.

Mason Appleton, for example, was an under-the-radar offseason addition who made a significant impact early this season, filling in for Raymond (and then Patrick Kane) in the top-six when the two star wingers were out. Even now, Appleton is playing on the third line, alongside Danielson and Finnie (as of the end of Tuesday’s game), and will have a real say in setting a fast, hard tone for this team.

Ben Chiarot is another veteran who may be playing the best he has in a Red Wings uniform so far, and has recently been paired with Sandin-Pellikka. Andrew Copp and J.T. Compher have been key in reviving Detroit’s penalty kill from historic lows last season to now rank in the league’s top half, and Copp is probably due for an extra goal or two, as well.

If those players keep up what they’re doing or build on it, it will go a long way toward bolstering the early success this group has put together. And even more so if they can continue to get steps from some of last year’s emerging players. Marco Kasper seems to be finding his pace again after a quiet start. Simon Edvinsson is up on the top pair with Seider of late, and while he’s had a couple of rocky nights, the impact he makes when he’s on can be immense.

The NHL season is long and can be volatile. Players and teams run hot and cold, and this Red Wings team is no exception.

The best way to find that elusive consistency, though, is having waves of players ready to step up when others go cold, and often doing the simple things.

Of course, these Red Wings have a long way to go before anyone will be content on either front.

But 20 games into the season, it’s hard to argue with where they stand.