As former Beatle John Lennon famously sang in his famed Christmas-themed tune, “Another year over, and a new one just begun.”
Well, almost.
The Detroit Red Wings put the finishing touches on the calendar year of 2025 with a few hours to spare before midnight, thanks to their 2-1 victory over the struggling Winnipeg Jets at Little Caesars Arena.
The Red Wings improved to 24-14-3 and now have a three-point cushion over the Montreal Canadiens for the top spot in the Atlantic Division.
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Meanwhile, the Jets, who won the President’s Trophy last season as the NHL’s best regular-season club, lost their seventh straight contest and fell to 15-19-4.
The win, which was Detroit’s sixth in their last seven games on home ice, was thanks in large part to a little help from an old friend of Winnipeg’s.
Mason Appleton, a 2015 draft selection of the Jets who played 351 games for the team, scored what proved to be the game-winning goal in the first period for the Red Wings.
It came minutes after a power-play goal from Dylan Larkin, who opened the scoring earlier in the period with his 21st tally of the campaign.
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Goaltender John Gibson concluded his December to remember by making 23 saves on the 24 shots he faced, allowing only Logan Stanley’s goal midway through the third period. He finished the month with a pristine 9-1 record, and improved to 13-8-1 overall.
Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, a metro-Detroit native, countered with 17 saves on the 19 shots Detroit fired his way.
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The game also marked the first time in the NHL careers of former Chicago Blackhawks forwards Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews that they played against one another; the two posed together at center ice for a photograph during pregame warmups.
Detroit’s players won’t have much time to enjoy the victory, as they’ll be back in action in less than 24 hours on the road against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
It’s on to 2026, which the Red Wings hope will ultimately bring their first postseason berth since 2016.
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