Mike Eruzione shares thoughts on men’s Olympic hockey semi-finals
Legendary ‘Miracle on Ice’ captain Mike Eruzione joins Milan Magic and shares his thoughts on the men’s Olympic hockey semi-finals.
Sports Seriously
The 2026 Milano Winter Olympics are in the books, which means the NHL schedule can finally return to action.
Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin had a dream Olympic break, helping lead Team USA to a gold medal and was even on the ice when Jack Hughes scored the game-winning goal vs. Canada on Sunday, Feb. 22.
But Larkin and the rest of the Olympians won’t have much time off, as there are eight games on the schedule for Wednesday, Feb. 25.
The Red Wings, who had three players (Larkin, Lucas Raymond for Sweden and Moritz Seider for Germany) playing in the Olympics, will return to the ice on Thursday, when they face the Ottawa Senators on the road at 7 p.m.
It has been a long break for the Wings, who last played Feb. 4 against the Utah Mammoth, a 4-1 loss on the road, but the first 58 games of the season have been undeniably a success.
Here’s where the Red Wings stand with the Olympic break completed and 24 games to play:
Before we look ahead, let’s look back at how the three Wings did in the Olympic games in Milan.
It’s no secret that Larkin had the memorable Olympics, winning the gold medal and scoring two goals and adding an assist in his six games, but he wasn’t even close to the most productive.
That honor goes to Sweden forward Lucas Raymond, who had nine points in just five games, which included just one goal and eight assists. His final assist came in his final game, an overtime loss in the quarterfinals to the United States. He finished third in the tournament in points, behind only Canadian stars Macklin Celebrini and Connor McDavid.
Defenseman Moritz Seider and his Germany squad ended the tournament on a rough note, a 6-2 loss to Slovakia in the quarterfinals, but Seider helped the team advance out of the group stage and had two assists in the tournament.
After a strong start to the season, the Red Wings have 72 points in 58 games and are tied for second place in the Atlantic Division and tied for third in the Eastern Conference.
The Tampa Bay Lightning and Carolina Hurricanes both have 78 points to lead their respective divisions, and the Montreal Canadiens also have 72 points, the same as the Wings, but have a game in hand.
Can the Wings finally make the playoffs for the first time under general manager Steve Yzerman and snap a nine-year playoff drought?
If you ask the predictive models, the answer is yes.
MoneyPuck.com gives the Red Wings a 77.8% chance of making the playoffs, which is the fifth highest in the Eastern Conference.
Returning to the playoffs will not be easy for the Wings, even if the odds are pretty good.
According to Tankathon, the Red Wings have the fifth-toughest remaining schedule, which is as Tankathon points out, is good for teams trying to tank their way to a top pick, but not so good for teams trying to end playoff droughts.
The Red Wings’ toughest remaining opponents are the Tampa Bay Lightning (twice), Carolina Hurricanes, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, Montreal Canadiens and Pittsburgh Penguins.
The good news for the Wings? Many of the teams they’re competing with for playoff spots also have tough remaining schedules, with the Penguins, Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres and Canadiens all in the top-10 for the toughest schedules left.
The Wings have just 24 games left, but the trade deadline has not passed yet.
That won’t happen until 3 p.m. on Friday, March 6.
Will the Wings be a big player at the deadline? That might depend on how they play over the next couple weeks. Last year, the Wings stayed quiet at the deadline, which was a point of contention between Larkin and Yzerman.
The Wings have the most current cap space of any NHL team ($46.15 million), according to PuckPedia, their first-round picks in the next three drafts and prospects to deal. The question is if Yzerman likes any deal enough to pull the trigger to add more top-end talent.
Andrew Birkle is an assistant sports editor for the Free Press. Contact him via email at abirkle@freepress.com.
Oksana Zavadenko moved to the United States seven years before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. But Russia was still the reason she moved.
Zavadenko stayed in Ukraine for a year after Russia invaded and annexed Crimea. It was her fourth year in the country after moving back from the U.S. in 2011 to be with her family.
She and her children supported the soldiers in their defense of the country, but eventually, she decided it was best to return to the U.S.
“Because of that war, there was no safe life for my kids and their future,” said Zavadenko.
Now a resident of Sterling Heights, Zavadenko watched in February 2022 as Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. Her parents live in Ternopil, where Russia bombed two residential buildings in November.
“People say, ‘War is still going on?’ Yes, it is. And there is no safe part. It’s like Russian roulette – you don’t know who’s going to be next, and when,” Zavadenko said.
Zavadenko was one of a few hundred people who on Sunday afternoon came to Hart Plaza in downtown Detroit to protest Russia’s continued occupation of Ukraine. The demonstrators waved Ukrainian flags, gave speeches and listened to Ukrainian music.
The rally was held two days before the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion of the country, which Russian President Vladimir Putin justified on a claim that a “neo-Nazi regime” in Ukraine needed to be combatted.
The war has displaced roughly 9 million people who have fled to western Ukraine or out of the country entirely. A study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies published in January estimated combined casualties from the war could reach 2 million by springtime.
“It was so difficult and so dangerous in our country,” said Yevheniia Romanenko, who lived in the city of Lviv until 2024 and now lives in Troy as a refugee. Romanenko said she didn’t have water in her apartment before she came to the U.S.
World leaders this past week met in Geneva for peace talks, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said were insufficient for the interests of his country. Zelenskyy posted on X that Russia was making negotiations longer than they needed to be.
A White House spokesperson said “meaningful progress” was made at the talks, although President Donald Trump has consistently pressured Ukrainian leaders to agree to a peace deal that could mean conceding to Russian demands for land in the eastern part of the country.
Zavadenko said this is unacceptable. She believes Russia won’t stop there, pointing to the invasion after they seized Crimea.
“It’s not about the land or the mines and resources in that area. It’s about the people. They will not have a chance for a democratic life,” she said.
The Trump administration has criticized past support for Ukraine, arguing it costs taxpayers disproportionate amounts of money.
Michigan has the ninth-largest Ukrainian-American population in the United States, according to recent Census Bureau numbers. And on Sunday, immigrants and descendants from the country spoke well of the U.S.’s support for the country’s war efforts.
“So often, you speak about freedom. We now want this freedom,” Myroslav Dymuch, a priest at St. John’s Ukrainian Catholic Church, told the crowd at the rally.
“We are fighting for this freedom, and the example of this freedom. Thank you, our brother and sister Americans, for supporting. Together, we are fighting, and we will win, and peace will be in Ukraine,” Dymuch said.
Michael Sawicky, an attorney born to Ukrainian parents, wore a U.S. flag draped on his shoulders to the rally. He said it’s important to support Ukraine as a U.S. citizen because they’re fighting for “the basic principles that our country was founded on.”
“If we really want to stand for principles of democracy, then I think it’s important for the United States to support like-minded countries,” said Sawicky.
The rally was held as the Trump administration continues its immigration crackdown throughout the country. The administration recently instructed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to detain lawful refugees if they haven’t retained permanent residency a year after their admission to the U.S.
Ksenia Cozak, whose parents came to the U.S. when they were children during World War II, said the ICE crackdown was responsible for a smaller crowd at the rally than in 2025. She estimated about double attendance last year.
Multiple rally attendees also declined to speak to The Detroit News out of fear of ICE.
“Most of these people are here because of official U.S. programs. They followed the rules, they submitted all the paperwork, and they are here legally. And so I want to make sure that those people are not afraid to stay in the U.S., that they’re not afraid to go about their lives. But unfortunately, the actions of ICE are such that I cannot tell them, ‘Don’t be afraid,’” said Cozak. “I would be afraid if I was in their position, even if I were here legally.”
But those who did come to the rally said Ukraine needs to continue the fight for its freedom.
“If we would stop the fight, we will not exist anymore,” said Zavadenko. “Russia has to be the one who is forced to stop the war, because they are the ones who started it, who are continuing it.”
“I want this war to be not just stopped. I want to win this war, and it never happen again,” said Romanenko.
mbryan@detroitnews.com
Reuters contributed to this report.
DETROIT, MI (WXYZ) — Anthology Events is hosting an exclusive farm-to-table collaboration dinner with Dinners with Will at the historic Book Tower in Detroit on Friday, February 27, 2026, from 6:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
This event wil feature a three-course, locally sourced menu in the Conservatory, preceded by a cocktail hour with charcuterie in the Linden Room.
To learn more or to reserve your seat (s), visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/anthology-events-collab-with-dinners-with-will-tickets-1376528566999
DETROIT – A child was killed in a two-car crash in Detroit on Friday night, police said.
The crash happened just before 9:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 20, in the area of Tireman and Southfield.
Police said a car ran a red light and hit another car, killing a child who was in the car that was struck.
The at-fault driver is cooperating with the investigation, according to police.
No other details about the crash, including the child’s age, have been released.
The investigation is ongoing.
Copyright 2026 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit – All rights reserved.
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