As he was acknowledging that his team was running out of runway to make the NHL playoffs, it was evident that Detroit Red Wings coach Todd McLellan was running short on patience with his perplexing team.

Clearly, he’s also running out of ideas to motivate this moribund bunch.

“We’re all over the map with poking and prodding and then a little bit of a hug here,” McLellan said. “We have to find some consistency so that they will too.”

Consistency was again an elusive quality for the Red Wings during Sunday’s 5-4 loss to the Minnesota Wild.

Detroit took a 1-0 lead into the dressing room for the first intermission. That’s a rarity for this team.

“I didn’t mind our first period,” McLellan said.

Red Wings Can’t Live With Prosperity

Living with prosperity once again wasn’t on the agenda of things to do for the Red Wings.

“We score first, we have a lead, we get in between periods, and now we’re discussing what we’re going to do the period coming up,” McLellan said. “We win the opening faceoff, which is always important. You have possession right away, and bang, it’s in your net.

“We lollygag around and don’t advance the puck.”

Detroit defenseman Simon Edvinsson lost a puck battle along the wall to Joel Eriksson Ek, who sent Matt Boldy on his way for Minnesota’s first goal.

“So now it’s in our net and our team right now, as soon as it doesn’t go our way, we crumble for a while,” McLellan said.

“And then a couple more mistakes, a horrendous change by two defensemen at the same time, and all of a sudden it’s (4-1).”

It was Moritz Seider and Edvinsson who went for the ill-advised change, leaving Kirilli Kaprizov an open lane to the Detroit net to score his second of the game.

“Then you can feel the energy go from excitement in the building to disappointment in the building,” McLellan said.

Appropriately on Easter Sunday, the Red Wings would rise up and amazingly, tie the game at 4-4 with three third-period goals.

“We go out in the third, we get playing a half-decent game again, and now it starts to come back,” McLellan said. “We pick ourselves up off the mat, but it’s too late, and we did it again today.”

Selfish Kane Penalty Finishes Off Red Wings

Just when it looked as if the Red Wings, at the very least, would escape with a valuable point, the most experienced and most successful player on the roster decided no, that’s not the way it’s going to go.

Patrick Kane, after scoring the tying goal in a wild 3 goal comeback, takes one of the most needless, stupid penalties I’ve ever seen late in the 3rd period, leading to a Minnesota goal & a regulation loss for Detroit with their season on the line.

Can’t believe it. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/z9YQirClyp

— Ryan Hana (@RyanHanaWWP) April 5, 2026

Heading to the bench for a change, three-time Stanley Cup winner Patrick Kane pointlessly pulled the legs out from under Minnesota defenseman Quinn Hughes.

Only moments earlier, Kane had netted the tying goal.

Kane was sent to the penalty box for tripping with 3:37 left in regulation. Kaprizov scored the game-winner on the ensuing power play.

“Oh, it hurts,” McLellan said of Kane’s penalty. “It hurts. We get the comeback, and we take a penalty 150 feet from our net. Not even in the play.

“It hurts.”

Time is running out on the Red Wings. They are suffering a death from a thousand cuts. The majority of them are self-inflicted wounds.

You better believe it hurts.