Detroit, MI
Campbell: ‘We’re in the Middle of the Circus’
The Detroit Lions have high expectations as they begin their journey to New Orleans.
As the NFC No. 1 seed, the Lions had the advantage of earning a first-round bye and now need to win two games to punch their ticket to the Super Bowl. It is, in some ways, uncharted territory for an organization that has never been the top seed in the NFC.
However, this team is comprised of players that made a run to the NFC Championship game last season. It’s a young team that has valuable playoff experience, and as a result Dan Campbell does not view added expectation or pressure being attached to the team as a new experience.
“We’ve had attention for four years here. There’s been more stuff that’s been made out, that’s been built one way,” Campbell said. “We’ve been so good, we’ve been so bad. We were a laughingstock, now we’re great. And it’s been this rollercoaster of up and downs, and it’s the next week of it. This is nothing new that we’re in. This is nothing new for me, for the coaches, for the players. We’re in the middle of the circus, man, and it’s about time to perform.”
There could be more pressure facing the Lions as a result of the team holding the top seed and home field advantage. However, Campbell hasn’t allowed doubt to creep into the organization.
“I don’t think about, ‘Man, we’re the one seed, so if you guys don’t succeed, then —’ I never think like that. I don’t know, to me, I look at it as like — I know how who we are. I know what we’re about. I know how we have to prepare,” Campbell explained. “I respect the opponent, and now it’s time to go to work. That’s how I look at it. I don’t look at anything else. I don’t think of, ‘What if it doesn’t?’ The what ifs, like f**k man, I couldn’t sleep at night if I lived that way. There’s no freakin’ way. We’re the one seed, we earned the one seed. We’ve got a good opponent coming in, and we’re gonna be ready to play.”
Ultimately, the team’s goal is to reach the Super Bowl and emerge victorious. However, the team has been steady in not letting their focus divert from the upcoming opponent, and even with the postseason arriving it appears that the team will once again remain focused on the next opponent ahead.
“No, listen everything’s about this game right now,” Campbell said. “I’ve said it before, I’ve been to a Super Bowl and I’ve lost it. It stings. It’s about this week. We’ve got to find a way to win this game, this week.”
MORE: Early Storylines For Lions Playoff Matchup Against Commanders
Notes
The Lions have multiple key players dealing with injuries suffered in the team’s win over Minnesota, including offensive lineman Kevin Zeitler and cornerback Terrion Arnold. Campbell did not have a new update on either player, as the team was given three days off prior to returning Monday.
“I’ll know more tomorrow. I’ll know more tomorrow where everybody’s at,” Campbell said. “Yeah, I can’t give you a straight up answer off of three days off really. I just know everybody’s treatment has gone well and we’ll see.”
RALEIGH, N.C. – Wrapping up the February portion of their 2025-26 regular-season schedule, the Detroit Red Wings unfortunately spent most of their Saturday night playing catch-up in an eventual 5-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes at Lenovo Center.
“They’re a heck of a team,” Detroit captain Dylan Larkin said. “This is a hard building to play in…They’re the class of the East, and you got to come in here at some point and get points. I just didn’t think we executed. We allowed them to be on top of us and come back in waves on Talbs.”
Goalie Cam Talbot made 30 saves in his first start since Jan. 22 for the Red Wings (34-20-6; 74 points), who moved to 11-5-2 on the road since Dec. 6. Meanwhile, turning aside 27 shots netminder Frederik Andersen helped the Hurricanes (38-15-6; 82 points) win their fifth straight game and extend their point streak to 12.
“We’re leaving without points, so that’s real disappointing,” Detroit head coach Todd McLellan said. “I thought that the game was real fast to begin with. There was a lot of pace going both ways. It was a good game for us to play in. A lot of their offensive opportunities came off of basically our tape…[Carolina] really took advantage of our mistakes.”
Detroit held steady against Carolina’s characteristically heavy, initial 10-minute push in the opening frame, but the leaders of the Metropolitan Division went up 1-0 when Taylor Hall blocked Simon Edvinsson’s shot attempt in their defensive zone and proceeded to score on a breakaway at 14:05. Then with eight seconds left in the period, while the hosts were on the man advantage, Sebastian Aho’s shot from the left face-off circle deflected off Edvinsson’s stick down low and into the back of the net to extend their lead to 2-0.
“They come out flying and shoot a lot of pucks,” Larkin said. “You can’t really pay attention to the shot clock because they fire it from everywhere, but I liked our start. It’s just that we had some times where we didn’t execute, and they score with eight seconds left. That’s a tough one, but we responded well. We won the second period.”
The Hurricanes struck again just 2:52 into that second period, as Eric Robinson jammed a wrist shot from the top of the crease to push ahead 3-0. But in a span of just 47 seconds late in the stanza, the Red Wings beat Andersen twice to put the hosts on their heels and make it a one-goal game going into the second intermission.
A teenage male is recovering and police are investigating after a shooting near a school on the east side of Detroit on Friday night.
According to police, the incident happened at 8:28 p.m. on the 3400 block of St. Aubin Street, the same area where the Detroit Edison Public School Academy’s Early College of Excellence is located.
Officials said an altercation ensued inside a building on the block and continued outside. An individual then fired shots that struck the male, whose age has yet to be disclosed, according to police. He was taken to the hospital where he was in stable condition on Saturday.
According to The Detroit News, the altercation was a fight that broke out during Detroit Edison’s boys basketball game against Detroit University Prep.
As of Saturday afternoon, police haven’t shared whether any arrests have been made.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Duluth Police Department at 313-596-5740 or Crime Stoppers of Michigan at 1-800-773-2587.
RALEIGH, N.C. – The Carolina Hurricanes will try to extend their point streak to a dozen games on Saturday, when they go head-to-head with the Detroit Red Wings.
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When: Saturday, February 28
Puck Drop: 7:00 p.m. ET
Watch: FanDuel Sports Network South, FanDuel Sports Network App | Learn More
Listen: 99.9 The Fan, Hurricanes App
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Canes Record: 37-15-6 (80 Points, 1st – Metropolitan Division)
Canes Last Game: 5-4 Win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday, Feb. 26
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Red Wings Record: 34-19-6 (74 Points, T-2nd – Atlantic Division)
Red Wings Last Game: 2-1 Win (OT) over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday, Feb. 26
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